Misc Homeowners! What house do I buy?

[Lb54TG]

Have to retype this chit hang on

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...75385680_zpid/

Pros:
- Great lot location (It's on west edge of the community) Faces East
- No houses behind mine, across the road is open space
- Master Br Views is the mountains, backyard views is the mountains
- Mainly hardwood (or vinyl wood) carpet only in bedrooms
- More Sq footage. 5br 3ba
- Open loft space upstairs with front views / big window

Cons:
- LGI spec home, so no customizations (I'll have to pay a contractor after to put in a gas fireplace) / install some lighting and stuff myself after
- less windows (I like big windows / a lot of natural light
- More expensive (516k)

Second option
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2...78719485_zpid/

Pros:
- Love this floor plan, a lot of open space in living room / kitchen room areas
- Big windows in living room / kitchen area
- Face south so it gets all day sunlight
- North side (back) no houses, but north doesnt have mountain views
- Cheaper (475k) but its accepting backups, so ill likely have to pay more

Cons:
- Less Sq Footage
- Less Br and baths (3 br 3ba) so it may be less desirable in the future for those with families
- Location not as good as the first one


(Sorry for potato pic, uploaded from my phone but the first house will be gray exterior, pic is of a house a similar color)

[Caeculus]

The first one you can get.

[darkninja67]

the one you can afford

[LtGoose]

Love this for you

[Lb54TG]

Two things I needed looking for a house:
Main floor bedroom with full bath (in the future I may have my parents come live with me or buy them a ranch, mom is 68 and dad is 70+ so they won’t be able to do stairs)

A nice bath tub because I take epsom salt baths prettt frequently

Both houses offer this. I’m single, live by myself with my pupper. Was planning on setting up a room for Airbnb cause I’ll be pretty close to Estes park.

I wanted something that will have a lot of good resale value in the future as well, and that’s why I leaned heavily into the first one with its lot location.


What y’all think? I’m planning on buying an investment property in another state too so going with the cheaper house would help my DTI.

[scooterbrah]

i like the 2nd one mainly because of the street its on

[Tinge52]

Both look like great houses OP, congrats on either option!

Im in the market myself for this summer, however in the area we are looking its is fukin crazy right now with places going 80-100K over asking price!

[Drew23]

Go with the bigger house.

But would also be another pro for the house on Angus street. Because it's on Angus.

[Lb54TG]

Both look like great houses OP, congrats on either option!

Im in the market myself for this summer, however in the area we are looking its is fukin crazy right now with places going 80-100K over asking price!

thats insane. the market here in Colorado is crazy. The house in front of mine right now just listed for 439k and has 45 saves in 1 day... and I signed a contract to sell last Monday for $440k..
The first house I posted was listed for $511k.. i signed for 516k... and the new listings are $521k..

[Lb54TG]

Go with the bigger house.

But would also be another pro for the house on Angus street. Because it's on Angus.

Inb4 all miscers on Angus street and its a indian bodybuilding sausage fest

[deltpecx]

Have to retype this chit hang on

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...75385680_zpid/

Pros:
- Great lot location (It's on west edge of the community) Faces East
- No houses behind mine, across the road is open space
- Master Br Views is the mountains, backyard views is the mountains
- Mainly hardwood (or vinyl wood) carpet only in bedrooms
- More Sq footage. 5br 3ba
- Open loft space upstairs with front views / big window

Cons:
- LGI spec home, so no customizations (I'll have to pay a contractor after to put in a gas fireplace) / install some lighting and stuff myself after
- less windows (I like big windows / a lot of natural light
- More expensive (516k)

Second option
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2...78719485_zpid/

Pros:
- Love this floor plan, a lot of open space in living room / kitchen room areas
- Big windows in living room / kitchen area
- Face south so it gets all day sunlight
- North side (back) no houses, but north doesnt have mountain views
- Cheaper (475k) but its accepting backups, so ill likely have to pay more

Cons:
- Less Sq Footage
- Less Br and baths (3 br 3ba) so it may be less desirable in the future for those with families
- Location not as good as the first one


(Sorry for potato pic, uploaded from my phone but the first house will be gray exterior, pic is of a house a similar color)

The all day sun in a south facing house is ideal for me in the winter.

The sun is low and fills the house with light and heat.
In summer the sun is high and doesn't enter the windows.

Remember; Location, location, location.

Those empty plots of land might have houses built on them in the future.


Bottom line in which one can you see yourself living long term?

[MadNinjaSkills]

What house fits your budget, your family size, and future plans? Pick the home that suits your life now and in the future.

We have a 1611sq ft home and two kids. We just fit. Would be nice to have a spare bedroom for guests, office stuff and workout gear and a bonus space for the kids play things. For us the school district was also an important factor. If we could have afforded a bigger home, we would have definitely gone that route.

[Lb54TG]

The all day sun in a south facing house is ideal for me in the winter.

The sun is low and fills the house with light and heat.
In summer the sun is high and doesn't enter the windows.

Remember; Location, location, location.

Those empty plots of land might have houses built on them in the future.


Bottom line in which one can you see yourself living long term?

I have a south facing house right now and in Colorado idk if its something alot of ppl consider when moving here from Cali. When it snows I never shovel my driveway and it melts the next day. Meanwhile the house across from me still has snow when mines been melted for 5 days.

I plan on living here for another 5 years or so. Either career development takes me somewhere else, or I can build off real estate and get myself into a nicer home.
Moving is such a pain and I've had to do it twice in the last year, as well as help friends move.

[Lb54TG]

What house fits your budget, your family size, and future plans? Pick the home that suits your life now and in the future.

We have a 1611sq ft home and two kids. We just fit. Would be nice to have a spare bedroom for guests, office stuff and workout gear and a bonus space for the kids play things. For us the school district was also an important factor. If we could have afforded a bigger home, we would have definitely gone that route.

I'll likely be single for a while, so no family in sight. I'll have friends that visit once or twice a year so its nice to have an extra guest room. The other rooms and flex spaces I plan just to have an artist room and an office/work area.
That's why as a single guy just chilling I wouldnt mind the smaller living Sq footage, but it may not appeal to some in the future in terms of being able to sell easily

[rectifryer]

Rent. You're an absolute moron if you buy right now.

[hoganrulz]

The big ones

[Lb54TG]

Rent. You're an absolute moron if you buy right now.

Please explain?
I live in Colorado, the amount of Californians with money that have come here is off the charts. they cant build houses fast enough. Any house between 400k-900k will have a ton of interest

On Zillow, go to any house listing and look at the views and demand.

Why not sure if srs. srs

[deltpecx]

I have a south facing house right now and in Colorado idk if its something alot of ppl consider when moving here from Cali. When it snows I never shovel my driveway and it melts the next day. Meanwhile the house across from me still has snow when mines been melted for 5 days.

I plan on living here for another 5 years or so. Either career development takes me somewhere else, or I can build off real estate and get myself into a nicer home.
Moving is such a pain and I've had to do it twice in the last year, as well as help friends move.

I've moved 6 times once across country.

I'll only move again if I absolutely have too.

I live in the PNW so snow isn't usually a problem.
If it snows in a few days or less it's melted.

The back of my house faces south.
This is the side with most of the windows and French doors.
The sun is very low in the sky here during winter.
Thereby warming the house on sunny days.

[StrongFella]

So you are picking between 2 houses that as of now everyone who opens this thread will know you live in one of exactly 2 places? Strong.

[CremeFraicheBro]

I prefer the first one except for the back looking like hot garbage, but other guy was right that there’s going to be more homes on the vacant land. Any way you could get bigger/more windows put in? No bathroom window and lack of them sucks.

Maybe try to see if you can work in a view easement so future homes can’t block mountains?

[jdforsy]

Both already have offers so your going to have to go in over asking. I personally like the first one.

[gbullock32]

Check the crime rate and types of crime in the area? We had a discussion about this in the MFC thread. Always check crime stats in the area...

But going off the post, I'd go with the first one assuming it would not put the mortgage too high for you to still be happy with disposable income. Floors are nice, more rooms/bathrooms is nice, means no need to worry about space.

[Vhagar]

Hopefully you already bought one because both of those are under contract

[JIA]

I've toured hundreds of houses and put in dozens of offers by now.

House 1. Location(convenience, accessibility, safety, etc) is most important along with school districts.

House 2 only has the high ceilings in the main living area going for it.

One thing that most buyers don't consider are your neighbors, who can severely affect your quality of life. I'd spend a few hours in the afternoon/evening by both homes to gauge the noise levels and watch for red flags(aggressive barking, trashy neighbors, frequent randoms coming and going, etc.). But I understand with such a hot market sometimes it's not possible.

Congrats OP for taking this step!

[OffwhiteBrah]

while you're here typing essays there's buyers bidding 70k+ over asking price lol, with that said i like #2

[SuperHercules]

Where I'm from, people are allowed to modify their own homes

What kind of cucked society do Americans live in? lol

[SouthDakotaBrah]

Hopefully you already bought one because both of those are under contract

this, OP just got cucked by the housing market while we watched

[Lb54TG]

I prefer the first one except for the back looking like hot garbage, but other guy was right that there’s going to be more homes on the vacant land. Any way you could get bigger/more windows put in? No bathroom window and lack of them sucks.

Maybe try to see if you can work in a view easement so future homes can’t block mountains?

haha likely not, it looks like all the open land will be turned into development considering thats what's happening around of a lot of Colorado. just expanding basically.

I agree, thats the only thing about this house is the lack of alot of windows. my dream home would be in the woods or mountains where a whole wall is just glass lol.
Idk how much it costs to put in windows, but I would if its not too unreasonable. I like having windows in the bathroom. but my current house right now doesnt have windows in any bathrooms.

[Lb54TG]

Hopefully you already bought one because both of those are under contract

the first one is under contract with me, I signed the purchase agreement already last monday. since then the same models are listed for 517k 522k and 527k in the same community... and being there's no options to upgrade anything thats basically what mines floats at now. A lot of the homes in that community have gone up 4-10k since I even started looking there a week and a half ago. So I'd be technically losing money going with another option.

Shouldve took a heloc and purchased back in Jan or Dec lol.

[donblaximus]

Two things I needed looking for a house:
Main floor bedroom with full bath (in the future I may have my parents come live with me or buy them a ranch, mom is 68 and dad is 70+ so they won’t be able to do stairs)

A nice bath tub because I take epsom salt baths prettt frequently

Both houses offer this. I’m single, live by myself with my pupper. Was planning on setting up a room for Airbnb cause I’ll be pretty close to Estes park.

I wanted something that will have a lot of good resale value in the future as well, and that’s why I leaned heavily into the first one with its lot location.


What y’all think? I’m planning on buying an investment property in another state too so going with the cheaper house would help my DTI.

You are looking at the wrong things my friend. The advice I was given which has always worked well for me is "buy the chittiest house in the best neighborhood you can afford"

No way would I buy a spec home in the burbs as my first home. Homes appreciate due to location of lot first. Then people are worried about whats on the lot. Forget about your epsom salt baths and all that BS.