For those Homeowners......

How long did it take you to find the one??

My husband and I are looking now and I feel like its taking us FOREVER...and we have a baby on the way.

Im sooo stressed!!

Re: For those Homeowners......

We didn't find "The ONE"... we found one that had most of the "must haves" on our list, and we always intended on moving to a bigger/better house or upgrading the one we have.

We are currently having an architect draw up plans to upgrade the house we are in, so our plan worked.

I would say to either look to buy a house you can sell easily, and move up to your "dream house", or buy a house with upgrade potential.

My "dream house" changed after I owned my own house, and figured out what was really important, and what wasn't. If you spend too much time looking for "the one", and you move in, you might realize that "the one" was perfect in your mind, but not the ideal you thought it was now that you live there.

Re: For those Homeowners......

we looked for two months before we were married.. got married and then looked for about 5 more months and then found our house!

Re: For those Homeowners......

We looked for a year.

Re: For those Homeowners......

After looking at over 180 houses in the course of 16-18 months with 7 offers either where we were outbid or we walked away from...we decided to take a much needed break from the hunt.

It was actually within that week - I'd say 2-3 days later - that we found our house. It wound up that after all that, the house we would wind up buying was right next to the house we had been living in for the previous 6 years. The woman had passed and the house went up on the market...we snatched it up quickly b/c we loved the block and area and knew the potential it (the house) had.

Keep your chin up...it's daunting and frustrating at times but it really educates you on the whole process. Good luck!

Re: For those Homeowners......

Have to admit, we only looked for about 2-months and at 25 homes before we found ours.

It's weird, but remember when you were looking for a reception hall or your dress and "you just knew"? It's kind of the same feeling. You might not find everything you want in that home, but when you walk in and can see yourself living there, you just know.

Hang in there, you will find it.

Re: For those Homeowners......

We started looking early september, found our house the weekend before thanksgiving and signed contracts the first weekend in December. We closed late January

Re: For those Homeowners......

We started at the end of Oct, bid on 2 houses in November where the seller's refused to negotiate and then finally found our house in mid-December and was in contract by the holidays!

I've had friends who took longer - you'll know when you find your dream home!! It may be a long process and a painful one at that, but it's all worth it in the end!

Re: For those Homeowners......

Fast approaching a year.

I think it depends on a lot of variables. If you are open to a variety of towns or houses (capes, ranches, splits, etc.) then it may be faster as your "want" list will be shorter.

But, if you are anything like my DH and me - it'll take longer. We need a particular town, open floor living, not tons of stairs, good property, and oh let's not forget.. a "man's room"

I truly believe you will know it when you see it. It may not be love at first site but after you crunch the numbers and figure out what you want...you'll know. Just don't settle.

Re: For those Homeowners......

Message edited 1/30/2009 10:20:43 PM.

Re: For those Homeowners......

"serious" looking - maybe 6 months.

Re: For those Homeowners......

it took us 3 weeks, 3 weekends in a row

Re: For those Homeowners......

It took us 7 months of looking to find the right one.

Re: For those Homeowners......

Re: For those Homeowners......

Re: For those Homeowners......

In total we looked about a year, but that was ten years ago. Once we decided on a neighborhood we looked for about six months. But, we were looking to buy just one time.

Re: For those Homeowners......

It took us 2 years to find EXACTLY what we wanted. We started to look when we started discussing marriage. There were a couple of houses that would have done but when we look back now, we are glad we held out.

The home we got was everything we truly wanted & more. We were fortunate enough to find a newly rennovated home from a contractor that was looking to get rid of the house. He had it on the market for 1.5 years but priced it WAY too high. By the time we saw it, he was at his ends & just wanted to dump it. He still made a killing on us, but for what we paid, it was worth it. We were able to move right in & only had to do the outside grounds work.

All in all, it was very stressful, but I would not trade it. Don't settle for something if you don't have to. I can honestly say I see myself in our house 30 years from now. It was not a starter home, so we can grow into it with our family

Re: For those Homeowners......

It took us about 6 months. The house kind of fell into our laps. We were going to step back from the hunt when the house came back on the market because of a dead deal.

Re: For those Homeowners......

We looked for about 4 months, and we probably looked at 60 houses.
Scott

Re: For those Homeowners......

We casually looked for about 2 mos before the wedding and seriously looked for 4 mos before finding our home. I don't know if it is "the one". We bought with a 5-7 year plan assumming that we will probably move out NYC by that point. However with rents the way they are, it is sooo worth it!!

Re: For those Homeowners......

hey Maryann!!! Happy House Hunting.
It took us about 6 months. We worked with a great REA. We loved her!

You guys know the area you are looking for so I would just go to open houses on the weekends and make appts. to see whats in the area and is affordable.

Re: For those Homeowners......

We started looking at the end of August. We found the house we are in at the end of November and moved in at the end of January. Along the way we found several houses that we thought were the "one" but lost them because the buyers for our condo were jerking us around. It all worked out for the best though because I love my house!

Re: For those Homeowners......