House option #2...

AnnapolisLari

https://tinyurl.com/dcehrb

Pros: remodeled kitchen, hardwoods, good sized master suite, nice sunroom on back of house, foreclosure (so we could possibly get a better deal).

Cons: Bedrooms 2 & 3 on different floor, and they have sloping ceilings, good elementary school, not so good middle/hs, low fence and the neighbors have a pool, yard slopes a little (making a swingset hard to install). 

j-w

Bedrooms on different floors is a major deal breaker for me.

REOM

I didn't even click the link b/c bedrooms on different floors are a dealbreaker for me.  Although I know that many people manage this just fine.

You need to figure out what is a dealbreaker for you personally to narrow down your search.

KrisBriMcBunny

what option #1? I like the house...the bedrooms on different floors dont bother me ... in fact I prefer it that way.

AnnapolisLari

Oh, I hate BR on different floors, but this one is a favorite of DHs and I am trying to be gracious about it. LOL

AnnapolisLari

KrisBriMcBunny:

what option #1? I like the house...the bedrooms on different floors dont bother me ... in fact I prefer it that way.

The "help me with house hunting" post.

DesignerMama

I like #1 better.?

KrisBriMcBunny

I cant get the link to #1 to work

AnnapolisLari

https://3049perchdrive.com/

neesernicole

I'm liking #2 better...none of your cons would be deal breakers for me.  But oh lord your going to need buckets of paint.  They liked their colors didn't they?

KrisBriMcBunny

yeah totally loving that bright bubblegum pink bathroom.

paint is cheaper than carpets

not even seeing #1 (cant open the link) I still like #2

Amanda&Chris

I just got here and looked at both of your houses.  I don't know if this will help you, but I'm going to tell you anyway. ;P  We just bought our house last fall, so the whole experience is very fresh.  For us, we ONLY considered houses in the school district that we wanted, we didn't even have ones outside the district on our list.  Schools were our #1 priority.

For us our dealbreakers were: it had to have a basement, it had to have a backyard, all of the bedrooms had to be on the same floor, and it had to have a "usable" floor plan.  The last one is a little abstract, but our CA house had an open floor plan which is great for making the house seem bigger but not so great for being able to actually live in the whole house.

We were willing to deal with pretty much everything else as long as it had those things.  Our house now has a lot of things that we want to change over time.  A lot.  But it has an ideal floor plan for us, which is something that you can't really change.  We lucked out and it has a completely remodeled kitchen, but that was not something we set out to have.

Our floor plan has an office that is a separate room, not an "area", a playroom off of the kitchen, and a laundry room off of the kitchen, plus all 4 bedrooms are upstairs.

In your first house, the carpet would not be a deal breaker for me.  As long as you can live with it until you are able to change it then it will be okay.  For me, the kitchen is too small, but you said you have ideas.

For this house, the bedrooms on the separate floor would be a deal breaker for me.  It may not be a big deal when they are little, but as they get older...  I couldn't handle it.

Good luck!  House hunting is VERY stressful!

AnnapolisLari

A&C---

Regarding the tiny kitchen... there are a couple of ways to deal with it. The LR is actually kind of L shaped, and the dining table could go into the L, while what they have labelled as the DR becomes more kitchen space.

In the long term, the porch could be totally demolished, and in its place we could build a garage with a large kitchen above. Very long term, but it could be done quite easily.

I had a midget kitchen in my condo and quite liked it. I am a bit territorial, and when we had people over, there was no room to hang out there, so they didn't. LOL