What would you change about your home purchase?

[TexasT]

We made an offer a few days ago and pretty much had a verbal agreement until two hours later, another offer came in and now they want a bidding war. .

I have to say , i think it is a tactic. Make your offer and be prepared to walk away, unles you have to have it. Plenty of stuff for sale. Dont get bit by the texas rat snake.

I looked for a house where the laundry room was NOT on the way to the garage. I hated it every where that had one.

Garage behind the house. Very important.
This last one needed a pool. Sacrificed back yard to have it. Worth it as is has a hot tub/spa too. All our children are old enough and we have gotten $ worth so far.
Split bedrooms. Very important to wife. Gee mom what were you and dad doing last night is the last question you want from a nine year old.

I looked for one with out a sunken living area. Cool in the seventies, not so much now.
Wife wanted a kitchen with plenty of counter space and storage. I think this one suites those needs.
I like trees though this place we bought has only one big oak though i do have several started to plant.

[talisman]

^ That was mstng86 that said that, not me. Why don't you want a W/D on the way to the garage? Haven't heard that complaint before.

[CWO]

Much harder to run a/v in two story homes too.

[Bad Religion]

Area.. It used to be nice but it is becoming a little ghetto.

[brandon01rt]

Neighbors

Yea but your neighbor is awesome. Say gurl

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

[Cooter]

my next house is going to be built inside at least a 6,000sqft steel building

[lowthreeohz]

RV parking, or a parking pad with access to the back yard

[Kimmypie]

The last thing I need is room to park 6 or 7 cars. don't want my house to look like a chop shop like Danny or Whiteboy!

What no Christian in here? Lol

Seriously, I love that we aren't sitting right on top of the neighbors, quiet street with lots of retired people to keep an eye on our shit while we are working, side drive with rear garage with enough parking for all the vehicles we do have (boat included). Also great neighbors.

[2165 Turbo Rail]

I'd get a single story.

More parking ( right now you can really only park one car in the garage and one car in the driveway because the fence is right next to the driveway)

[Rreemo]

I'm on my third house and I built this one based on a lot of mistakes and dislikes in the first two.

Everyone's priorities are different, so some stuff may or may not apply to everyone. This is stuff related to my car hobby.....

#1 biggest thing....I can't stand a front entry garage. Being a car guy this means that all my shit...cars, parts, mess, etc (including a huge toolbox) would be on display for anyone driving by...in my first house I finally put AC in the garage so that I could work with the door down...b/c I also got so sick of neighbors stopping in every time I was out there working on something with the door open.

#2 Garage space - I will tell you you'll never have enough....I currently have an oversized 4-car (28x45), and I'm currently getting bids to put up a 2000 sq ft shop b/c I'm out of space. (My own self-control in never passing up a good deal plays a role here too, though! )

#3 Enough space to park a car trailer but also without it being out in clear view.

#4 Garage Sink - I'm so glad I put this in...no more clean up mess in my bathroom and/or kitchen after wallering around in grease all day.

#5 Attic storage space over garage (and accessible from garage).

#6 Garage doors that face any other direction than west.

#7 Some form of ventilation in the garage....be it a walk-through door somewhere opposite of rollup, windows, etc.


Other things not necessarily car hobby related....

#1 Utility room with a door to the backyard. For our dogs, this is huge in the rainy season...when they go out we let them back in there to dry off a bit so they don't go tromping their dirty assed feet all over the house.

#2 Enough room in utility room for "garage" fridge. In my old house it ran it's ass off in the hot garage, and a few times froze drinks in the winter...but now it's inside in the climate control, and these things aren't an issue....not to mention it isn't taking up space in the garage.

#3 Large Sink in the utility room....good for soaking stained clothes, giving dog baths, and everything you generally don't want in your kitchen sink (garage sink would serve same purpose....I just chose both on this one).

#4 Tile in high traffic areas.

#5 Outside water valves....my first house had 1 in the front and 1 in the back...that sucked! My current house has 6 spread out all around the house....my wife is big on flowers and crap, so always hand watering, and no more dragging hoses everywhere.

#6 Sprinkler system...if you like to have a nice yard, this is a must.

#7 Avoid living on a busy street....my last house was terrible with inconsiderate drivers speeding by all the time, and dangerous for the dogs and my daughter. I currently live in the back of a cul-de-sac.

#8 Water heaters....in the garage is best in-case you have one spring a leak, but in a closet inside the house is also good b/c you get the benefit of it being in the heat in the winter. Either way...just avoid having it on the 2nd floor or in the attic.

#9 AC units - Obviously the newer and higher Seer rating the better, but also just be aware of the potential high utility cost associated with an older unit (especially here in TX), but also the high cost of replacment/upgrade. You really want something with Puron too....according to a friend of mine who owns an HVAC company, the cost of R22 is drastically on the rise. Also make sure that the AC units aren't in a dumb place...like right up against your driveway, your patio, or your bedroom window.

#10 Trees - Don't take for granted how nice it is to have some nice big full mature trees (strategically placed of course), and also how long it takes them to grow if you are thinking you'll just plant some (living that right now ).

Some things that may be taken for granted but real nice to have...

- Rain Gutters
- Solar Screens
- Big gates (and of course fencing)
- Storm doors
- Good windows (double pane, etc).
- Patio/Porch space

[TexasT]

^ That was mstng86 that said that, not me. Why don't you want a W/D on the way to the garage? Haven't heard that complaint before.

I had trouble with the quote thing so I cutnpasted just too lazy to figure out who said it.

I grew up in a house with a laundry between the house n garage. Seemed like there was never enough room to get through there with hanging garments n such. My wife, also seems to hang things in there. Just a life long whip for me so I decided to look for a place where the laundry room wasn't a walkway to the garage. I must say it is better than i imagined.

[Sleeper]

It all depends on who you are. I have Alot of shit but I could live happily in a 1100 sq foot house with atleast a 2 car. Out of the city limits is even better.

[mstng86]

Our deal fell through. They went with the other deal. But fuck em.I think they got less for their home but they didn't have to pay part of the closing cost in the other bid.

[Cooter]

Our deal fell through. They went with the other deal. But fuck em.I think they got less for their home but they didn't have to pay part of the closing cost in the other bid.

niggas is broke these days

I've been trying to buy a lien-free truck and they're damn near extinct

[propellerhead]

^ That was mstng86 that said that, not me. Why don't you want a W/D on the way to the garage? Haven't heard that complaint before.

Because many people use the garage entry way as their front door. Whenever people come over, the garage door opens and guests walk in through the garage and laundry area. I really liked my last house and that's probably the only thing I would change. I wanted the door from the garage going into the house take you into the kitchen or hallway directly, and not pass through the laundry area. I wanted the laundry area to be like a utility room or walk in closet. Not a high traffic area.

Here are a few other things about my last house. Being aware of these might help you choose.

Cul de sac. You get very little vehicle and pedestrian traffic, if any. The only ones that drive by your house are your immediate neighbors and a few lost people. This also means what you have in your garage isn't for 3/4ths of the neighborhood to see. The corner lots near the entrance to subdivisions might as well put up a 7-11 store in their garage. Also, in a cul de sac, you are almost free of rug rats at Halloween.

A house that doesn't look like a garage with a small house attached behind it. All three of my houses had the garage almost flush with the front of the house. The garage wasn't the focal point when you're looking at it from the street. This design also lends itself to actually using the front door as a front door.

Upgrades. I didn't think of them much, dismissing them as non-essentials but my last house was loaded. The original owner spent a lot on it and I got the depreciated price. It's not a big thing for many but when you walk into other peoples houses and you see how plain and basic they are, you appreciate what you bought a lot more. My last house had 11 ft ceilings, rounded corners, brushed nickel door and light fixtures (not the ugly brass ones), real tile in the kitchen, bathrooms, entry ways and laundry room (not vinyl), real tile in the showers (not a big drop in piece of plastic), raised panels on all the doors including interior ones (not plain flat doors), sprinkler system, alarm system, finished garage, etc.

Finished garage. I never understood why many builders leave the garage unfinished. It's not like it will cost that much more to paint it when they are painting the interior of the house already. Most of my officemates that had unfinished garages still plan on painting their garages 10+ years later. It becomes a project you never get around to doing.

Master bedroom separate from the other bedrooms. This is good when your mother comes over to visit for a few days, and for resale value to people with kids.

Tile in the high traffic areas only. This is much better than watching wear patterns grow into your carpet. I actually had a couple of orange road cones near my bedroom door to alter my path. I've also seen it overdone. One house I looked at had wood and tile everywhere. Everywhere. You couldn't carry a normal conversation when someone was walking. It was so loud since the noise just bounced around.

Proximity to railroads. The trains keep going all night. If you're within a mile of a railroad, you'll hear a low rumble at 10 pm. Fort Worth has a lot of railroads in and out of the city.

What's on the southwest facing walls makes a difference to your electric bill. My last house had only one bedroom, the front entry way and the garage on the west wall. I did my car stuff in the morning. On the south wall was the side of the garage, kitchen, master bath and master bedroom closet. The rooms I used the most (master bedroom, living room and computer room) were not the hotspots and did not require extra cooling. My first two houses had the master bedroom facing west.

Formal living and dinning rooms are pretty worthless. They are a chick thing.

Curved driveways look artistic but they suck. It took me a month or so to get used to it. Before that, I kept backing into the lawn, pushing sprinkler heads deeper into the ground.

Having your own mailbox means you don't have to stop at the community mailbox to get your mail. The downside is your mail is less secure. Credit card bills sitting in your mailbox all afternoon is an opening for identity theft. I did all my bills electronically so I hardly had any important stuff in the mailbox.

Drainage during sudden downpours. We weren't in a flood prone area but the house two down from me got water up his driveway and in his garage one time we had a sudden downpour. The storm drain in front of his house wasn't enough for all the rainwater of an entire street. If the street is fairly level, you might not be able to tell.

Good luck searching. The more houses you look at, the more you learn what to look for. On this last house, I started viewing six months before I was willing to buy.