Struggling with buying a house

[jessmarimba]

I'd go for the second

Only reason I didn't do the exact same thing here is because my isolated fixer upper couldn't get internet or cell service, which I needed for work. I'd say if the house is structurally sound and you're up for the work - follow your heart.

[TrekDianna]

I would go for the second one, but that's just me. I do things like that. You can make your own technical trail to practice on and then access the one you mentioned in no time at all.

We just actually closed on a townhouse 2.5 hours away from us so we can ride the central Oregon trails and not have to drive back home over the pass. So, we essentially spent a ton of money so I could have access to more trails on the dry side of the state.

[Wahine]

I'd go for the second

Only reason I didn't do the exact same thing here is because my isolated fixer upper couldn't get internet or cell service, which I needed for work. I'd say if the house is structurally sound and you're up for the work - follow your heart.

I totally understand what you're saying here. The funny thing is that as long as I'm not dealing with the road, for eg, if I'm lying on the couch in my living room looking around at the house we are in, I love it!! I think that I forgot to mention that the perfect house, smaller lot, busy street option is the house that we have been renting for the last 1.5 yrs. So we really know the ins and outs of this place.

[Kiwi Stoker]

We are living next to a railway line and crossing. However there's things that can be done to help with noise.

Laminate coatings put on windows OR changing to soundporrof glass windows.

Inserting spray-in sound insulation into walls facing the road (will require some holes punched into the walls but can be filled in).

Recladding the road side of the house with new sound-proof cladding.

Growing trees or replacing the fence with sound-proofed materials.

And also you do get used to it and in some ways becomes comforing as you know that people are around.

I like being able to walk to the shops and the library. In this day and age of high petrol/gas costs I think that this is becoming more and more important.

[Wahine]

Thanks to everyone for their input. It's time for me to sleep on things a bit.

[Tri Girl]

personally, I would jump at the 2nd house. You can change a house, you can't change it's location. You can customize it the way you want over time, and you will have that acerage to build trails, have a little breathing room, and get in a little extra mileage on the commute to work. Plus, it's only 6 miles from work (not 20), so the commute is still doable and you're still close. Go with your gut. What will make you the most happy in the long-term?


Good luck with your decision.

[Catrin]

Which house can you see yourself living in for the long term? As someone else said, you can do a LOT with 4 acres Also being able to ride from your front door is very hard to put a price on.

Personally, I would choose the second house and just take my time doing the work that might need to be done since it is currently livable. Fixer-uppers do take a lot of time and effort, but in the long run you will have the best of both worlds. Of course it is easy for me to say that as I won't be the one spending the money or doing the work...

[jyyanks]

I would choose LOCATION! LOCATION! LOCATION! As others stated, you can change almost everything about a house except where it's located. A better location would help with resale and would make life easier in the long run.

Remodeling is a pain but it's a temporary pain. We did a whole house remodel (8 months where I had to live with my in-laws. Practically got divorced) and while it was a long, stressful and expensive process, it was well worth it in the end. We love our house, and we customized it for us so it has exactly what we wanted. Good Luck with your search.

[Geonz]

The logging trucks would be the deal killer for me, period... I'd want to know the fatality rate on the road...

[Crankin]

I'm going to give this another spin.
Always think of resale when you are buying. Most people don't; they get too personally attached to "their "house,whether it's beautiful or a piece of cr*p.
My advice is given being on my 5th house in 2 states. All sold in 3 months or less, 4 of them during recessions.
OK. As another poster said, you cannot underestimate how much time home remodeling/repairs take. The house I am in now had to be totally rehabbed: roof, doors, windows, outdoor landscaping, 3.5 baths, kitchen, paint inside. Then, there's the upkeep. This is time away from riding.
Are you willing to live in a house that is not what you want inside? We thought we could, for awhile, but our house was totally remodeled inside within 9 months. If this isn't important to you, then it's a different story. For a lot of people I know, those plans to remodel never happen.
So, while house #2 has the acreage,it's not really what you want. And, when thinking of resale, how important are those trails you are going to build, to other people? I've seen several examples of things that were personally important to homeowners (the most obvious being elaborate pools/spas/backyards) that are actually liabilities when selling. Again, you might not be thinking of resale now, but sometimes this stuff hits you in the face, later.
Last point. DS just bought his first house. He was lucky to get a state subsidized first time buyer loan, but with home prices the way they are around here, he was outbid on every decent house he and DIL liked in the more "prestigious" areas. So, this is what he bought: a totally rebuilt/rehabbed 3 bedroom 2 full bath Cape. Stainless appliances, hardwood floors, woodwork from 1905 saved and prominent in the living room/dining room. A sun porch, a finished full basement, with a work area/studio for DS to do his music and DIL to paint. Boiler room big enough for the washer and dryer plus tools and 4 bikes. Downsides: on a very busy street in a close in suburban city that's traditionally more blue collar, plus home to a well known university. Schools not so great, but not the worst, either. No driveway, garage, have to park on adjacent street. House is high up on a steep hill, with 50 steps up to the front. Has a large amount of side land and a back yard. Front yard is a steep slope that is terrible to cut the grass on. Bus stop to almost anywhere one block away, close bike ride into Somerville, Cambridge, Boston. Oh, and very near (but not next to) a major highway. You can hear it and probably see it in the winter.
DS and DIL overbid the asking price by about 6K. They were about 500.00 over the closest bidder and got the house. There were tons of young couples wanting to buy this house, despite the obvious negatives. Why? Because of what my son says... the other houses were just pieces of sh*t inside. This house was walk in ready. The came to us with hesitation about putting a bid in on the house and we said "do it." They are used to living in the city and dealing with parking. And they can slowly look at how to fix the slope, parking, etc.
They are very happy and their friends are very jealous.

[shootingstar]

Hope you make the best decision Wahine...for a place that you both plan to stay for the next..10-30 yrs.?

Location (close to services, accessible roads) plus a decent inside of the home is always a big draw.

Speaking of which, we were vacationing 15 yrs. ago in a small town-resort area along the British Columbian coast. We wondered about the low pricing of large homes sitting on top of long hills in an area that tends to get grey days and enough rain in fall and winter. A long hill is ok in areas where there isn't much snow.

But not in the region where I live with much colder winters and if there is a sidewalk to shovel, etc. What looks great in one region, is not easily coped with in another region of a country.

More and more locals in our city are SLOWLY finally now getting it: living close to services, transit and parks, etc. and designing communities accordingly.

[shootingstar]

I'm sure it's a temporary thing 6 month, a year? Things do change especially with construction traffic and logging traffic. Once they finish the "clear cutting" up the canyon, they will move on.

But looks like the touristy traffic..which is ...3-4 months annually? And in 1 day, is the traffic just continuous for 8 hrs. or is it just 3-4 peak hrs. per day?

I'm fascinated by different perceptions of country living vs. city living vs. surburban living.

Maybe it's better to think of country living best for different stage in life..when one has time, energy to deal with maintenance, travel time (to get to services), etc. when having more acreage.

Appreciate Wahine's strong sense in the area where they are looking, the housing prices and mortgage rates may be more ideal this year compared to 3-5 yrs. later. (Who knows.) This is what happened to me: I only looked at 4 places before I bought. I live in an expanding city where housing prices are going up moderately.

I do wonder if I did the right thing but on the other hand, nearly once a month, I'm exclaiming happily to dearie while we're cycling homeward on home's peaceful street downtown: I'm so glad we live close to many things and services.

Every time I tell people I live downtown, people think of traffic, crowds, etc. No, my street dead-ends into a cul-de-sac and half a block away is a park greenbelt that is the spine of a major 80 km. bike-ped. path (that interconnects to 300 km. more of bike-ped paths and interconnected parks.)

I like my hobbies (cycling as one of them, even though it's just transportation to me 60% of the time) but I have to do other stuff ...shopping, banking, work, etc. efficiently by getting there.

So location, location, location is important. But in your gut, it must feel right now ..and for next 10-20 yrs. for you?

[OakLeaf]

Four acres isn't big enough to remain secluded for very long. If you're leaning toward that one for reasons of privacy and quiet, take a look at the plat maps and find out who your neighbors are, do a little bit of background checking to try and guess whether they're likely to sell or build in the foreseeable future, and consider budgeting to buy surrounding properties in the future. And as far a trails ... how long could they be? Half a mile max?

Other than that, my biggest hesitation about the house on the road would be whether you'll have to sleep in earplugs every night. My ear canals are permanently sensitized just from motorcycling, and even the softest earplugs on the market sometimes wake me up with pain if I've been wearing them several nights in a row. Custom earplugs would be an option if you sleep on your back, but not if you sleep on your side where they'd contact your pillow and conduct noise.

[Becky]

I think that I forgot to mention that the perfect house, smaller lot, busy street option is the house that we have been renting for the last 1.5 yrs. So we really know the ins and outs of this place.

In those 1.5 years, have you said, "OMG, I can't stand living here/can't wait to move/hate this place?". If not, and it's almost the perfect house as it is, I'd give serious thought to staying there. I see two major positives: the resale value of a cute house centrally located, and the fact that you don't have to move. Moving in and of itself can get expensive, both time- and money-wise.

[indysteel]

I think Crankin has made some very good points. Given what you and your partner like to do with your time, give serious thought to how much time you want to be eaten up by a remodel. But I'd also urge to you to consider how much either home will require--time and moneywise--in upkeep. I've lived in two homes, one of which was virtually maitenance free and another that requires a lot more. I miss the former and bemoan the latter. I love my current house, but it's a PITA. That weight of that becomes hard to bear at times. Plus, we will never see a dime of what we're putting into it unless we stay in the house for a long, long time.

How long do you expect to live in this house? I think you need to weigh that with the expense of building a workspace for your partner. You may not see a huge return on that investment.

Are you being forced into a decision right now for some reason? If neither home is perfect, why not just wait to see if anything else comes on the market that you like more? I don't know what the housing market is like in Hood River and its environs, so maybe that's not an attractive option either.....