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Location - non negotiable.
Anything cosmetic - ignore, can DIY later. Even broken kitchen faucet was okay, we changed it by ourselves a month in.
Must: location, backyard, and size (3 bd / 2 ba). We’re in LA and enjoy spending time outside, so outdoor space was a must / deal breaker. There was only one neighborhood we really wanted and it has low inventory so it took us a long time to find our house.
Things we were flexible on: Curb appeal, fixtures, floors, anything cosmetic. The bathrooms we ended up with are the ugliest bathrooms I’ve ever seen.
Things we really wanted (we ended up getting these, but we thought we’d have to compromise): pool, convenient access to a park with running trails. We ended up with a house where we can go through a gate in our backyard to a state park.
Must: location, size, big kitchen with a good sized pantry space, 4 bedrooms, no carpet (this you can work on later of course) .
find the 7 most important things to you and then depending on your budget pick 3 or 4 of them. There are homes that have all 7, and they are probably going to be 500K - 2M (depending on where you live). Here were mine:
1. Updated Kitchen - most of the other rooms in the house are just rooms. the Kitchen is important because it is functional and also tend to be a gathering place. Way easier to paint some walls and put new carpet in a bedroom than it is to reno a kitchen.
2. Garage - its cold where I Live. Garage was a must.
3. Bedroom count - I wanted 4 bedrooms. even if they were small I didn't care. I could turn one into an office and having 3+ bedrooms helps with resale in my opinion.
4. Location - I like to be close to the city but not IN the city. if you have kids this could be different and may be based on school districts. areas with good schools have higher priced homes though.
5. Yard - wanted a place to spend time at home but not inside. A smaller home with a nice yard feels a lot bigger than a big home with no yard. Especially if you're in a warm climate.
6. Nice bathrooms - Again, functional space. This was more of a want than a need. Didn't get this one though, my bathrooms sort of suck but I was ok to trade this for some of the more important items.
7. SQFT - I wanted at least 1700sqft. I can turn a bigger relatively outdated house into a nice home easier than I can add space to a small house. this also helps with resale value especially if you renovate.
If you want some help on the financing side and to have someone help you with the decisions let me know!
Unfortunately not ☹️. One of the 4 states that I’m not licensed in. Either way feel free to reach out. I might not be able to do the financing but I would still love to help any way that I can.
Location. Location. Location. You’ll know.
You also want a good buyers agent and what is their definition of full time agent. Sometimes it means closing on 1-3 homes a year versus several in 6 months. They need to know market and whether you’re getting a good deal.
Always think resale value. Ask yourself will someone want to buy this home if you had to sell it.
At least 3 bd and 2 ba. Has to have good layout when walking around house.
2 car garage in my area is a must.
For young families you need at least one bathroom with a tub and a fenced backyard.
Updated kitchen.
Don’t worry about things like shaggy carpet or 70s wallpaper or dried up weeds/grass. Those are easier fixes than adding extra bedroom or bathroom or a whole kitchen reno.
When you start house hunting you’ll look at a ton of places but then simmer down and know exactly what you’re looking for, so you’ll know from reading home listings which ones you do want to schedule a time to look.
You and your partner will both know when you find the right house!
Location, backyard, 2 car garage, good overall condition and potential.
Don’t care about anything you can change with a little money or elbow grease