"types" of homes..ex: colonial vs. victorian

were you openminded when searching or just have a set preference?

i definitely do not want a ranch, but my heart aches for a victorian.

i'm open to capes and colonials, but i feel if i end up with a colonial and months later if a victorian pops up on MLS, I will be kicking myself.

does this mean I should strictly look at victorians?

Re: "types" of homes..ex: colonial vs. victorian

i was open to every type, although i told myself i hate capes.....

ended up with my dream home an expanded cape

i think every house deserves a look
edit spelling

Message edited 3/12/2010 5:07:16 PM.

Re: "types" of homes..ex: colonial vs. victorian

After we started looking for a few weeks i realized i could only have a victorian, or a colonial with a porch. It took us two years, but we are now living in our victorian. I love and it was sooo worth the wait!!
I think you should still be open to looking at other things, cause you just never know, but focus more on the type house you want.

Re: "types" of homes..ex: colonial vs. victorian

I originally wanted a ranch or split. DH wanted a split, which is what he grew up in. After looking around at everything, I realized that I wanted a split too, and that's what we ended up with.

Re: "types" of homes..ex: colonial vs. victorian

I def. did not want a ranch and guess what kind of house we're in contract with??? A ranch! You have to keep an open mind IMHO. You never know what you'll fall in love with.

Re: "types" of homes..ex: colonial vs. victorian

Honestly, I wasn't very open-minded when I was house-hunting. I really only considered colonials, Victorians, and Tudors. I refused to consider ranches and splits, bi-levels and splanches are very uncommon in the areas in which we were looking...so problem solved there.

Got my colonial!

Re: "types" of homes..ex: colonial vs. victorian

I want a ranch but am open to a two floor home if it meets alot of other criteria we have. Splits are out for me.

Re: "types" of homes..ex: colonial vs. victorian

Re: "types" of homes..ex: colonial vs. victorian

I'm the same way. I want a tudor I'll have to see when I start looking.

Re: "types" of homes..ex: colonial vs. victorian

Keep an open mind! if you see a listing that you think you might like, even though it is not victorian check it out. there is no harm in looking! I have always LOVED victorians, but after looking, I realized that i like colonials better. and then fell in love with my ranch! I knew it was home when i walked through the door.

Re: "types" of homes..ex: colonial vs. victorian

I say keep an open mind. I too want a Victorian but I want a big old falling down one that I can bring it back to its glory and I need tons of time and money for that so I knew it wasn't in the cards this time....keep an open mind...never know what you will find and fall in love with.

Re: "types" of homes..ex: colonial vs. victorian

I am not open minded about houses at all. I only want a victorian, colonial or tudor also. I know it limits my options to some extent but I would not be happy at all if I settled for something I didn't really want.

Re: "types" of homes..ex: colonial vs. victorian

With our budget, we had to be open-minded. We looked at capes mostly, and wound up with a ranch. Location and layout were the most important things to us.

Re: "types" of homes..ex: colonial vs. victorian

I didn't know what a "splanch" was when we started looking and now i live in one! Keep an open mind!

even styles you love can be laid out poorly and homes you think you'd hate are laid out great....so look at EVERYTHING!

Re: "types" of homes..ex: colonial vs. victorian

We bothed ruled out ranches. I just did not like the layouts of the ones we saw. After tons of open houses, we liked the layout of a split so that is what we focused on.

Re: "types" of homes..ex: colonial vs. victorian

My dream home would be a victorian with a wrap around porch or a center hall colonial. We bought a Levitt cape and just recently turned it into a Colonial.

If you want a certain type of house and dont mind waiting till you find it then I say go for it....If you look at other types of homes, you may find something that both you and your husband like - so just know that can and probably will happen.

Scott

Re: "types" of homes..ex: colonial vs. victorian

In the beginning we looked at lots of different types (splits, colonials, high ranches, capes). In the end, we realized we loved colonials and liked splits. We would be willing to buy either. We ended up with a colonial :)

Re: "types" of homes..ex: colonial vs. victorian

We knew we 100% didn't want a ranch and splits were low on our list too. Otherwise, we looked at everything else. We ended up getting a wide line cape

Re: "types" of homes..ex: colonial vs. victorian

We looked at every possible layout. We ended up with an expanded ranch (2 stories). We knew that we'd be doing major renovation anyway
the layout is unusual but it actually works out great. The house has two master bedrooms w/ bathrooms-we use the one on the first floor as a guest suite, and the upstairs has another master suite and a bedroom that would be a perfect nursery because its so close to the master. We use it as a home gym. There is also a loft area that I use as a home office/craft room up there.
On the main level there are two other bedrooms and another full bath in addition to the junior master/guest suite.
Our kids were older when we bought this house & allowing them to have the rooms downstairs gave us total privacy upstairs. It would also be a perfect set-up for a family with a grandparent living with them.
Typically families with little kids want everyone on the same floor, that becomes much less appealing when the kids are old enough to have sleepovers & play music till the wee hours.
I think lifestyle & the way you want you family to live realistically is more important that architecture.

Re: "types" of homes..ex: colonial vs. victorian

I wanted a Craftsman or a Victorian.. but I was open. The only thing I did not really want was a high ranch. Just a personal preference really.. I wound up with a cape (something I had never even considered one way or the other) and we are very happy.

Re: "types" of homes..ex: colonial vs. victorian

i was anti-ranch at first, but you know what? that's what we bought! here's why:

you have to decide what is important to you on your "must have" list. We wanted 3br, 2ba min. Most of the capes and colonials we saw (and I think its just how they were built around here), if they had 2 ba, one was upstairs and the other was in the basement with NO bathroom on the main floor of the house. I think that its ridiculous to have to go up or downstairs to use the bathroom if you're on the main level, so that did that.

Keep an open mind and look at all homes that fit your requirements, regardless of house type. You might be surprised at what you find.

Re: "types" of homes..ex: colonial vs. victorian

I was open minded about it. I ended up with a split. While I LOVE the open layout, sometimes all the stairs gets alittle annoying.

Re: "types" of homes..ex: colonial vs. victorian

we were open minded because we couldn't spend a whole lot but we really wanted a colonial. We really didnt want a cape or a ranch but if the price was right and it had all of our needs, we would have settled. We looked in a specific area for awhile and only saw a few colonials so we expanded our area and found a lot more colonials in our price point. in the end we are buying a colonial

Re: "types" of homes..ex: colonial vs. victorian

we were pretty much open in the beginning but knew we wanted a colonial victoria or splt.

Re: "types" of homes..ex: colonial vs. victorian

We were flexible once the house had a lot of character. We wanted an older home and looked at capes and colonials. We almost bought a cape but ended up with exactly what I had hoped for - a colonial with a wrap-around porch.