WWYD? hypothetical

theimpossibleastronaut

Imagine that you want to list your house, sell it, and move elsewhere.

Two options:

1) In-laws offer to give you the lot they own right next to their house so you can build a brand-new house on it. Down side: The land is out in the country, away from many amenities. It's also a longer commute to work. Plus side: Get to build and make the house just the way we want it. The school district out there is pretty good.

2) Search for a better house, hope it meets your expectations, hope you find one in the neighborhood you like. Plus side, you can stay in town, close to amenities and jobs. Down side, you again are dealing with an existing home and all it's issues.

This may be a possibility for us some day, and I was just wondering what Parenting thinks about the two options.

 Edited:

Also possible down side to building: right next door to in-laws...that may be TOO close. Forgot this somehow! 

kcisthebombdotcom

Option 2. I would hate living out in the country far away from Amenities. I also hate new construction. I also love living near family but next door is way too close.

acaudill75

That would depend on the ILs. I normally would opt for the first choice, because I like being out in the country. However, would I want my MIL knocking on my kitchen door all hours of the day??

Ultimately, if I didn't have to work, I would take the country house, and buy really good anti-MIL locks for the house.

Manateearmz

Option 2 all the way

LoveActually4

Would the inlaws help out? Or be a bother? If they'd make your life easier I would pick 1. If not, definitely 2!

shadypines

2

theimpossibleastronaut

krptcmschfmkr128:

I'm a country girl. I'd take option 1 in a heartbeat, and set up good boundaries. Plus, how much land are we talking? Even 23 acres can make a decent dent in distance, depending on where you place the house on the property.

It's literally right next door. Not a ton of land. A standard lot.

buggin+

If I had a great relationship with my ILs I would build next to them. I lived next to my grandparents growing up and loved it!! Bonus for me would be being able to leave my kids with grandma while I took a leisurely drive by myself into town to shop instead of having to take them with me.

SpaceGirlSpiff

I would probably pick option 2 personally... I am just more comfortable in the city, or at least a town...as long as there's stuff around me.  Personal preference. 

But if you have a good and comfortable relationship with your in-laws with no drama, and you dont mind the long commute (how long are we talking?)....then #1 isnt necessarily a bad option either

I would weigh the pros and cons in numbers as well (extra gas for commuting, costs for the house, both buying/building, plus repairs on an already built house....etc etc) ...... and also determine your honest comfort level with being that close to your in laws....maybe even literally write down an honest pros and cons list side by side and see where it weighs heaviest?

azzyberry

Option 2. I don't ever want to live somewhere where I have to use the phrase " I need to drive in to town".

LadyXaverian

Option 2, no question.

Maebb

That's really nice of the ILs, but my ILs live super far away from "town" in the middle of nowhere with barely even LTE or cell phone service, and you have to drive over an hour just to get to a shopping mall. I guess these all sound like FWP, but I like being close to amenities and to my job, and to be honest, a little distance between us is nice, and I couldn't live that far away from everything, so I would choose option 2.

MrsT0514

I'd go with option 2, no doubt. That's a wonderful gesture on your ILs part, but for me...right next door is way too close for comfort.

nanabanana06

Since there is no land involved I'd pick #2. I'd go nuts in the country with no land.

bumpuser1691848

Nana_Osaki06:

Since there is no land involved I'd pick #2. I'd go nuts in the country with no land.

 

I was going to go with option 1 if it were for me, because my IL's are never home, so that's a non-issue, until I saw that it's no land. That ruined it for me. I love living in the country and don't mind driving 10 minutes to get to "town", but why live in the middle of no where if you don't have land.

MrsCodeMonkey

Did you check out current listings? You should know what's out there before you consider a custom build. It might also take a long time to complete. How soon are you moving? On the up side, new construction can be nice if it's done well. No wallpaper and old carpet to remove.

74dragonfly

Option 2. IL next door is too close for me and I like being close to stuff.

Nechie122

kiraliz2:

New houses have issues as well.

I was going to say this too. You have to be careful that you're not choosing a builder that will cut corners. It's not all about high end fixtures and appliances.

My parents' 11 year old new construction house has had more major issues with it than my 40 year old house. And we did our own upgrades so we have all the GE stainless steel/granite countertop stuff that anyone could want.

So ... option 2.

theimpossibleastronaut

Nechie122:

kiraliz2:

New houses have issues as well.

I was going to say this too. You have to be careful that you're not choosing a builder that will cut corners. It's not all about high end fixtures and appliances.

My parents' 11 year old new construction house has had more major issues with it than my 40 year old house. And we did our own upgrades so we have all the GE stainless steel/granite countertop stuff that anyone could want.

So ... option 2.

All good points. ILs are great people, but it may be too close.

I personally want to stay in town, but after all the issues with our current house, DH is leaning toward new construction. This is the only way we could afford that.

It's not a possibility at the moment as we will need to do a bunch of work on our house before we can sell, but I'm happy to get other opinions on the situation.