Sari, I would make sure that a inspection was done, floors that have/do move scare me. It sounds like windows will be needed for all of them. If there is any knob-and-tube wireing, walk away. It is job security for the fire department.
35K in repairs? RUN away!
Your job is to get away for the HFH, not star in the remake of The Money Pit.
Sahirrnee, truthfully, they all sound like potential money pits. Are you absolutely sure you want one of these homes?
Is this your “forever” home, or are you looking at re-sale down the road? If that the case, the first one is probably your best option, as it’s pretty unlikely the congested neighborhoods will become less congested. Those always seem like the neighborhoods that go downhill first.
Floor tiles coming up is NOT news - it is what cheap and/or improperly installed tiles do.
If a sub-floor was installed but not properly nailed down and/or not properly sealed, you will get a crap floor after a few years.
These are among the reasons I tell everyone to STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM BIG BOX STORES, especially when doing a floor.
If it is only in wet areas that the tiles are failing, and it is only the tiles that are failing (no sag, no sponginess, no tilt), it is quite likely to be simply cosmetic.
As to buying fixers: if you are going to be there 20 years, you will re-paint, re-cover the floors, and maybe tear out a bath or two.
Location
Lot size
(these outweigh all below)
Foundation
Roof *
Windows (as long as water tight for now)
Siding
Kitchen
Bath(s)
Windows (type/style)
As long as the floors are structurally solid, the covering can be changed.
Hope we didn’t all pour too much cold water on your plans - house buying is like that unfortunately, there are so many potential pitfalls (literally, if the house is built on a mineshaft :)). Any update?
No, not at all.
I had decided to go with house number 2 -nicer house but less nice neighborhood. Then another house came on the market and I liked it but (long story, realtor on vacation) and somebody else made an offer and it got accepted before i could make an offer.
This has been a problem, the area I’m looking in is an hour and a half away, the market is picking up out there and the good houses are selling quick.
I’m a bit bummed and pissed right now.
I feel like I am taking forever to choose a house but it’s a big deal and I don’t want to get something that will have me wanting to move again in a few years. I hope this is my last move.
Find a really, really good agent - one that goes on the pre-listing tours. My first house was sold before it came up on MLS (back when MLS was a book published weekly).
I still have a MLS book from 1982 - for San Francisco. You want to see prices and cry?
Anyway, a that time, as soon as a contract was signed, the listing agent would have an “open house” - but entry (and even knowledge of it) was limited to agents. This is where the good ones get sold (unless it was bought by someone in the listing office). If your agent waits for a week before looking at a house, all you will see are the relative dogs.
Believe me, I know the process can be frustrating. It is SO worth the wait though to find the right one. Several times during our search, we found “the one” only for our plans to fall through for one reason or another. The house we have actually ended up with is better than all of them overall, in my opinion. So have faith that it will come right in the end!
I settled for my current house and have spent the last four years wishing I lived somewhere else.
Don’t settle.
I’ve seen the price changes just between last year and this year and it makes me want to cry.
This search has been extremely frustrating, I’m getting tired of looking, and looking and looking.
Last year there were dozens of houses in my price range, this year the investors are buying them up faster than they can hit the market.
I’m hoping to go out looking today, waiting to hear from the realtor.