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by **TheViolinSkirt** on 06 Mar 2005, 16:48

Any pearls of wisdom for a young'n such as me? My husband and I are now looking for a home of our own. The increasing rent and shabby maintainence is driving us out. It's time to invest in our future. We're actually looking at some open houses today. Should be fun/interesting/scary.

by **Rémi** on 06 Mar 2005, 17:30

When you will have found, I hope we are invited for the housewarming!

I can bring CDs, make cocktails and I can even play guitar! :mrgreen:

by **Coda** on 06 Mar 2005, 18:34

Some real estate agents show you lousy homes first so that the property they really targeted for you seems good in comparison.

It's always better to have more bedrooms than fewer.

If there's a basement, ask if the radon level has been checked.

I'm sure you'll have a building inspector of your choice look over the house and you approve of the report as a condition of the purchase.

Ask the home owners to see utility bills from the past year so you get an idea of your future expenses.

by **jazzanddianafan** on 06 Mar 2005, 19:34

now that i think of it, buying a house in California seems soo much eaiser than buying in more seasonal parts of the country..... we very seldm have basements to consider, heating bills and the like are not usually an issue... in CA, the main issues are LOCATION, LOCATION and LOCATION !!!!

Good luck, Lindsay...... keeps us 'posted' !!

by **Bud** on 06 Mar 2005, 21:21

- Buy in the best school district you can. Not only does it benefit any kids you might have someday, but it helps keep home prices up, and selling is easier too.

- Natural gas is better than a heat pump.

- Basements are a double-edged sword. They are great for extra storage and as a place to find shelter from severe weather, but personally I've never had one that didn't flood to some degree.

- Try to see the house you're looking at as objectively as possible. Don't get influenced too much by how the current owners have furnished or decorated it.

Good luck!

by **TheViolinSkirt** on 07 Mar 2005, 18:10

Well, we saw 8 or so houses yesterday. What we learned is that we think we're overshooting our financial means. We simply cannot afford the best school district, even when buying the smallest house. We need an area that's more house for our $$. That unfortunately, means a longer commute to work. But if we can get a house WITH a yard, we're better off.

Most homes in the Buffalo area are finished basements, HIGH heating bills and/or wood burning stoves/fireplaces. They're all double edged swords. We're looking for a small-average size house with 3 bedrooms and cosmetic updates needed. We're not looking to reroof the house or tear up and install a new concrete/black top driveway. We don't want to have to replace windows as soon as we move in and we don't want to cut down massive pine trees that may damage the house in any upcoming ice storm.

I don't think we're asking for much. :lol:

by **TheViolinSkirt** on 22 Mar 2005, 16:27

We bought a house! Well it's 99% official anyway. :lol:

All of this signing your life away takes it's toll on a person. We got a very lovely 4 brm 2 bath ranch in a nearby suburb of Buffalo. It is affordable and in a decent school zone. Not to mention adorable! Should be a lot of fun for us to put our decor touches into it. The only bad thing, no basement. That's ok though. We're willing to look past this. Ok so next on the list are the lawyer and inspector. Wish us luck!

by **imnoangel1975** on 22 Mar 2005, 17:48

Best of luck to you and Mr. Violin Skirt. :alcohol:

Enjoy the new house!

by **jazzanddianafan** on 23 Mar 2005, 06:35

i wish you many happy years in your new home..... keep us up to date on the happenings !!!...... congrats, Lindsay....

by **harpfingers** on 23 Mar 2005, 22:48

congratulations on becoming a home owner. Escrow is a pain in the butt isn't it? With all the papers you have to sign, you could have your own tree! You will have to post pics, when you move in!

by **TheViolinSkirt** on 24 Mar 2005, 03:26

Thanks everyone! I'll keep the process documented every step of the way. I already have the "before" pics. I'll post when I've got them on my yahoo site.

PS. If you're every looking for me in the near future, try Home Depot, Lowe's or curled up on the couch with my sketch book watching HGTV. :cool:

by **jazzfan422** on 24 Mar 2005, 14:46

Congrats on your nesting adventure!!!....." You Can Do It, They Can Help!!! "

by **Coda** on 24 Mar 2005, 15:55

Congrats, Lindsay, to you and your hubby. It's exciting to get a house of your own. It's taken us years to paint every room in our house, but we're just a little slow sometimes. Lots of other things to do, and it's easy to put painting on the back burner. Enjoy!

by **TheViolinSkirt** on 12 May 2005, 04:54

My name is Lindsay and I own a house.

It's official. We closed on Monday. 1st thing we did was tear up all the wall to wall carpeting. Phew, are my arms tired! Beautiful hard wood floors underneath. THANK GOD. My allergies can't handle the carpeting. Previous owners had a few cats. Now if we can just find the time to sand the floors and poly them before we move in...

Never enough hours in the day? I think I've heard that somewhere.
:thud:

by **Coda** on 12 May 2005, 15:27

We have hardwood floors, too, Lindsay! One of the perks of getting an older home. We've exposed the hardwood in our foyer and plan to pull more off, at least in the hallways. Good luck. It's beautiful when it's finished.

by **verena** on 13 May 2005, 23:57

You lucky girls ! :lol:

Makes me laugh, because I went through the same when I bought the Paris apartment. But it's well worth taking care of the hard wood (or pay to have someone else do it), and then you can through nice n' soft rugs on it.

Very, very happy for you Skirt. And perhaps you should let DK know about the news, you are such a good fan, plus mighty involved in this site, she could be interested. Wha da ya think guys?

V

by **Eric in Long Beach** on 17 May 2005, 08:18

TheViolinSkirt wrote:My name is Lindsay and I own a house.

Correction: You own a mortgage. Some bank owns the house.

by **char44256** on 17 May 2005, 16:51

Congratulations on buying a new home for yourselves. Being an architect's wife, you will find it's a challenge to satisfy the architectural spirit. Architects certainly know structure and what they like, but it usually doesn't keep pace with their salary. Your husband and you will have many fun times and improvement ideas galore.

Char

by **harpfingers** on 18 May 2005, 02:21

char44256 wrote:Congratulations on buying a new home for yourselves. Being an architect's wife, you will find it's a challenge to satisfy the architectural spirit. Architects certainly know structure and what they like, but it usually doesn't keep pace with their salary. Your husband and you will have many fun times and improvement ideas galore.

Char

LOL- that is so true Char! My dad is an architect and My parent's house is in a CONSTANT state of remodel.

by **TheViolinSkirt** on 19 May 2005, 04:04

...as long as I can get him to complete a project from start to finish I'll be ok. I'll have to post a photo or two of the current project once it's finished. We sanded another layer today. We've been at this for a week already, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel now. Well, for the living room and dining area anyway. The rest of the house is another story. :cry:

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