House Poll
We're in the process of house hunting and have come across a few things that I have got me thinking.....here's my poll.
1. If you have a "sitting room", what do you use it for? In some houses we've been in, it's totally different from the dining room or living room and often times it's disconnected, but doesn't have a door if that makes sense. What's the purpose of your sitting room? Or can you think of a purpose (if any) beside "sitting"? (haha)
2. Backsplash. Does anyone have any clue how much this could cost. I've seen kitchens with great countertops but no backsplash. I have no idea where to start on picking one out or how much it'd cost to have it installed.
3. Does anyone live on a cul-de-sac street? Or at the end of a cul-de-sac? Pros/cons?
4. Living in a neighborhood that has a public membership pool? Means that anyone can use it as long as they pay the membership (not just the neighborhood). Any thoughts on this?
5. Location. How important is location to you? If you found 'the one" and it wasn't in as ideal a location of "an okay" house you just liked (but didn't feel it was necessarily the one), would you still want to purchase?
6. Would you rather move into a house that already had all the work done (move in ready) and was more expensive? Or a house that needed a little TLC (some work here and there, nothing too extensive? and was cheaper?
7. With LOs in the house, how do you feel about raised decks? Very high off the ground and have more than 10 steps to get to the backyard from the deck? Would that be an issue?
8. How about the age of a house? What is too old for you to purchase?
These are all factors that have been running through my head for the past weeks. Just curious what the majority says. If you made it this far through the poll, TIA!
Re: House Poll
1. If you have a "sitting room", what do you use it for? In some houses we've been in, it's totally different from the dining room or living room and often times it's disconnected, but doesn't have a door if that makes sense. What's the purpose of your sitting room? Or can you think of a purpose (if any) beside "sitting"? (haha) We have a living room at the front of the house, and a family room, where we watch TV, etc. The living room is basically Holly's play area. I don't know if that'd be considered a sitting room.
2. Backsplash. Does anyone have any clue how much this could cost. I've seen kitchens with great countertops but no backsplash. I have no idea where to start on picking one out or how much it'd cost to have it installed. No clue, but I don't think tiling, especially for a relatively small area, is terribly expensive.
3. Does anyone live on a cul-de-sac street? Or at the end of a cul-de-sac? Pros/cons? I live in the middle of a street, but would love a cul-de-sac--less traffic, and quieter.
4. Living in a neighborhood that has a public membership pool? Means that anyone can use it as long as they pay the membership (not just the neighborhood). Any thoughts on this? Don't have this, but wouldn't mind it.
5. Location. How important is location to you? If you found 'the one" and it wasn't in as ideal a location of "an okay" house you just liked (but didn't feel it was necessarily the one), would you still want to purchase? Location was probably #1 for us. We could have gotten a much bigger house for the money if we moved a couple of towns over, but proximity to DH's work, shopping, etc, was the most important to us.
6. Would you rather move into a house that already had all the work done (move in ready) and was more expensive? Or a house that needed a little TLC (some work here and there, nothing too extensive? and was cheaper? I'd rather have the work done already and spend a little more.
7. With LOs in the house, how do you feel about raised decks? Very high off the ground and have more than 10 steps to get to the backyard from the deck? Would that be an issue? We have this--not an issue IMO. We do have a gate (built in, by the previous owner) that blocks her from going down the (very steep) steps. We have no back yard though, and are rarely on the deck unless we're grilling or watering plants.
8. How about the age of a house? What is too old for you to purchase? I probably wouldn't consider a house that was more than 20 years old unless it had already been completely remodeled. I think that's personal preference though.
1. If you have a "sitting room", what do you use it for? In some houses we've been in, it's totally different from the dining room or living room and often times it's disconnected, but doesn't have a door if that makes sense. What's the purpose of your sitting room? Or can you think of a purpose (if any) beside "sitting"? (haha) We don't have one now, but I had one growing up that was just a formal living room for entertaining and holidays only. My brother has one that is the kids playroom
2. Backsplash. Does anyone have any clue how much this could cost. I've seen kitchens with great countertops but no backsplash. I have no idea where to start on picking one out or how much it'd cost to have it installed. I am not sure
3. Does anyone live on a cul-de-sac street? Or at the end of a cul-de-sac? Pros/cons? We live in a cul de sac and love it. Our driveway is steep and the backyard isn't really made for playing so we can take the Cozy Coupe or his bike in the cul de sac and there is no traffic and no worries.
4. Living in a neighborhood that has a public membership pool? Means that anyone can use it as long as they pay the membership (not just the neighborhood). Any thoughts on this? We grew up going to a public membership pool at the next neighborhood over and my mom's best friends lives there. I think the only issue that they had was a little more traffic in the summer on the weekends, but it depends on the size of the neighborhood and where you are in it to really be affected.
5. Location. How important is location to you? If you found 'the one" and it wasn't in as ideal a location of "an okay" house you just liked (but didn't feel it was necessarily the one), would you still want to purchase? We lived in a house we LOVED in a not convenient location, and now our location is great and we hate our house. I would rather drive a bit and be somewhere I love and enjoy, then to just have some convenience.
6. Would you rather move into a house that already had all the work done (move in ready) and was more expensive? Or a house that needed a little TLC (some work here and there, nothing too extensive? and was cheaper? I think it would depend on the extent of the work and where. I would rather just move in and not have to do anything, but if it's little things like painting or removing wallpaper and we could save a ton, it might be worth it.
7. With LOs in the house, how do you feel about raised decks? Very high off the ground and have more than 10 steps to get to the backyard from the deck? Would that be an issue? I don't think it's an issue. Our deck now has 3 steps but we gated them off so that Owen wouldn't run around while we are out there. Gate them and in a couple years the kids can go up and down no problem.
8. How about the age of a house? What is too old for you to purchase? I know this will sound ridiculous, but I am never not buying new construction or a house less than 5 years old again. I really love older homes and their charm, but our house now is 20 years old and been nothing but a headache and full of issues. (Like our plumbing breaking this weekend, or the toilets not flushing correctly, the roof needing to be replaced in the next couple years, the deck needing reinforcement, etc..).
1. If you have a "sitting room", what do you use it for? In some houses we've been in, it's totally different from the dining room or living room and often times it's disconnected, but doesn't have a door if that makes sense. What's the purpose of your sitting room? Or can you think of a purpose (if any) beside "sitting"? We don't have a sitting room or a living room. If is is on the first floor somewhat near the kitchen, maybe I would use it as a playroom (so all of the toys are in the family room).
2. Backsplash. Does anyone have any clue how much this could cost. I have no idea about this, we don't have one.
3. Does anyone live on a cul-de-sac street? Or at the end of a cul-de-sac? Pros/cons? We live on a cul-de-sac street and I love it. I don't think I would ever live on a non cul de sac street again. We get very little traffic and we let our dog in the front yard without a leash. My DD and DS also play in the front yard. I can't think of any cons.
4. Living in a neighborhood that has a public membership pool? Means that anyone can use it as long as they pay the membership (not just the neighborhood). Any thoughts on this? I guess I would find out if they limit how many people would join. I know a lot of neighborhoods do that to increase membership, but I would just want to make sure it would not be too crowded.
5. Location. How important is location to you? If you found 'the one" and it wasn't in as ideal a location of "an okay" house you just liked (but didn't feel it was necessarily the one), would you still want to purchase? Location is really important to me, I love being close to things. But I would also want to love my house (or be able to make changes so would love it). If I had to chose, I probably would pick location over absolutely loving it.
6. Would you rather move into a house that already had all the work done (move in ready) and was more expensive? Or a house that needed a little TLC (some work here and there, nothing too extensive? and was cheaper? Probably one that needed a little work and was cheaper, my DH is very handy and good at doing things around the house.
7. With LOs in the house, how do you feel about raised decks? Very high off the ground and have more than 10 steps to get to the backyard from the deck? Would that be an issue? Our deck is actually on the second floor because we have a walk out basement. We don't have stairs to the backyard, so on one hand it is nice because if we are on the deck, I don't have to worry about them getting hurt or falling down the stairs, but on the other hand, we don't use our backyard as much as if we had stairs. What we plan on doing when we get stairs for the deck is also getting one of those heavy gate things so they cannot go down the steps.
8. How about the age of a house? What is too old for you to purchase? I don't know, we have only owned one home and it was only 6 months old when we bought it. I probably wouldn't buy anything older than 20 years, but I think it would really depend on the house.
Good luck!!
1. If you have a "sitting room", what do you use it for? In some houses we've been in, it's totally different from the dining room or living room and often times it's disconnected, but doesn't have a door if that makes sense. What's the purpose of your sitting room? Or can you think of a purpose (if any) beside "sitting"? (haha) We don't have a sitting room but we looked at houses that had one and put an offer on one that did. We saw a lot of people using them as play room.
2. Backsplash. Does anyone have any clue how much this could cost. I've seen kitchens with great countertops but no backsplash. I have no idea where to start on picking one out or how much it'd cost to have it installed. We really need a backsplash put in, our neighbor just had it done for $200, he was quoted more as well, but that was the lowest he found.
3. Does anyone live on a cul-de-sac street? Or at the end of a cul-de-sac? Pros/cons? We live on a cul de sac at the end (third house from dead center of the middle of the circle) and I love it. No cars really come down here unless it is our neighbors pulling in and they go slow.
4. Living in a neighborhood that has a public membership pool? Means that anyone can use it as long as they pay the membership (not just the neighborhood). Any thoughts on this? I would not like that. We have a community pool that is part of our HOA dues and only for residents.
5. Location. How important is location to you? If you found 'the one" and it wasn't in as ideal a location of "an okay" house you just liked (but didn't feel it was necessarily the one), would you still want to purchase? We live a little far out from my DH work and where I worked, but it was worth it for the house we got at the price, we still have easy access to everything though. I wouldn't live in the boonies. I need to be close to a Target!
6. Would you rather move into a house that already had all the work done (move in ready) and was more expensive? Or a house that needed a little TLC (some work here and there, nothing too extensive? and was cheaper? Our house all though newer (built in 2004) needed some TLC. It was a rental before us and we have put a lot of money into it, the yard, painting the whole house, light fixtures, we changed out some flooring. It was all cosmetic, I would not get a house with structural issues.
7. With LOs in the house, how do you feel about raised decks? Very high off the ground and have more than 10 steps to get to the backyard from the deck? Would that be an issue? That wouldn't bother me.
8. How about the age of a house? What is too old for you to purchase? 20 years and that would be if they had put a new roof in.
***Baby #3: BFP Mother
1. If you have a "sitting room", what do you use it for? In some houses we've been in, it's totally different from the dining room or living room and often times it's disconnected, but doesn't have a door if that makes sense. What's the purpose of your sitting room? Or can you think of a purpose (if any) beside "sitting"? (haha) We don't have one. My parents do though, and it is where the baby grand piano is. It's also a great room to go to to read a book or talk on the phone when I'm visiting.
2. Backsplash. Does anyone have any clue how much this could cost. I've seen kitchens with great countertops but no backsplash. I have no idea where to start on picking one out or how much it'd cost to have it installed. I'm in love with DIY Network and they've shown some easy ways to do a backsplash and how much it costs. I'd say head there and take a look.
3. Does anyone live on a cul-de-sac street? Or at the end of a cul-de-sac? Pros/cons? Neither. Although, I grew up on one. The traffic is less due to it not being a cut through and you usually know everyone who should be driving on the road and can spot strangers PDQ. I've got a cut through street right now and I can pretty much guarantee that we'll be spending a lot more time in our backyard now.
4. Living in a neighborhood that has a public membership pool? Means that anyone can use it as long as they pay the membership (not just the neighborhood). Any thoughts on this? Our neighborhood has one, and it isn't that big a deal from what I've seen. The membership is pricy though and it looks to be fairly crowded all the time.
5. Location. How important is location to you? If you found 'the one" and it wasn't in as ideal a location of "an okay" house you just liked (but didn't feel it was necessarily the one), would you still want to purchase? Given my commute, location was the most important factor. DH picked the city, so I put strict rules on where within the city we could live so as not to make my commute worse. There was a great house we saw but there was no way we could live there because it was off the route.
6. Would you rather move into a house that already had all the work done (move in ready) and was more expensive? Or a house that needed a little TLC (some work here and there, nothing too extensive? and was cheaper? We went with a little TLC. Some of it was cosmetic (painting rooms) and some was the landscaping. The carpets, however, were completely replaced before we moved in and most of the house was painted as well (except two rooms that we immediately repainted anyway). I hate berber carpeting and that's what they put in - and I've been hating it ever since. They went cheap on padding, didn't do proper floor prep and picked out oatmeal...which shows every stain imaginable. But, we couldn't plan to replace it because it was so new.
7. With LOs in the house, how do you feel about raised decks? Very high off the ground and have more than 10 steps to get to the backyard from the deck? Would that be an issue? If the railings were spaced correctly, no. We even looked at a house like that. All we'd do would be to put a gate at the top of the stairs.
8. How about the age of a house? What is too old for you to purchase? We flat out refused to buy anything newer than the mid-80s due to the whole pop-up nature that started happening about that time. I don't think anything is too old as long as it's been kept in good condition. I'd say anything before the advent of AC as a standard should be looked at by an HVAC specialist (if not verified in the paperwork) to make sure the installation and upkeep have been done well.
What are your thoughts on the questions you posted? Can't wait to see what you guys decide. Happy House Hunting!
There is a house that we like that has a sitting room and it's at the very front of the house so DH doesn't really want to use it as an office. If we do end up with a house with that sort of layout, I'd probably go with a playroom for that space at least for a while anyways and I like the idea of a plant room too. As for a backsplash and DIY projects, neither of us are very handy. We can definitely take down wallpaper and paint (and have done this in other houses b/f), but when we move into this house, we'll have a 2YO and NB/infant so we won't have much time (or any) to tackle that and we'd like for the house to be move in ready (if possible).
So we're actually willing to pay for the work to be done (if it's worth it). As for all my other questions, I was just curious what the overall consensus was. I can see why a public pool would be a turn off. I was surprised that was offered actually, but then again the HOA for those neighborhoods is extremely cheap b/c it doesn't have to support a pool. It's interesting how different a lot of the homes and neighborhoods are where we're looking compared to where we are now. Not in a bad way at all, but just different.
Thanks for all the input, everyone! : )
1. If you have a "sitting room", what do you use it for? In some houses we've been in, it's totally different from the dining room or living room and often times it's disconnected, but doesn't have a door if that makes sense. What's the purpose of your sitting room? Or can you think of a purpose (if any) beside "sitting"? (haha)
In our room like this, we put floor to ceiling bookcases on one wall, a large desk - for work and crafts, and an arm chair for reading/laptoping. We actually use the room a lot and plan to use the desk for kid projects and homework as DD and future LOs grow.
2. Backsplash. Does anyone have any clue how much this could cost. I've seen kitchens with great countertops but no backsplash. I have no idea where to start on picking one out or how much it'd cost to have it installed.
It cost $500 to put in a simple white subway tile back splash - we have 2 loooong walls of it. We hired someone to install it; I imagine it would be SUPER cheap to do it yourself.
3. Does anyone live on a cul-de-sac street? Or at the end of a cul-de-sac? Pros/cons?
We love living on a cul-de-sac. I can not think of any cons.
4. Living in a neighborhood that has a public membership pool? Means that anyone can use it as long as they pay the membership (not just the neighborhood). Any thoughts on this?
Sorry, no pool in my neighborhood.
5. Location. How important is location to you? If you found 'the one" and it wasn't in as ideal a location of "an okay" house you just liked (but didn't feel it was necessarily the one), would you still want to purchase?
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.
6. Would you rather move into a house that already had all the work done (move in ready) and was more expensive? Or a house that needed a little TLC (some work here and there, nothing too extensive? and was cheaper?
We bought a house that needed work, but we went into it knowing that and planned for some of the more major renovations. I like having our house be all things we chose along the way. Of course, it is still not all perfect, but I'm pretty patient.
7. With LOs in the house, how do you feel about raised decks? Very high off the ground and have more than 10 steps to get to the backyard from the deck? Would that be an issue?
It is definitely something to consider, but would not stop me from buying "the" house.
8. How about the age of a house? What is too old for you to purchase?
Our house is 25 years old and I don't think that is old. I'd buy a 100 year old house and would enjoy fixing it up/restoring it -- if I had the money
1. If you have a "sitting room", what do you use it for? We have ours set up with my husband's piano, a bar and two chairs. So, we use it for having cocktails and letting my kid bang on the keys. We also display our christmas tree there and extend our dining room table into that room when we have large gatherings.
2. Backsplash. It's not a high ticket item and is supposedly an easy DIY project.
3. Does anyone live on a cul-de-sac street? Or at the end of a cul-de-sac? Pros/cons? We live in the middle/center of a cul de sac and love it. Extra play space for the kids, it's the "center" of neighborhood gatherings and extra parking for my neighbors and I. I guess a con could be that the older kids play basketball there at night, but that doesn't bother us.
4. Living in a neighborhood that has a public membership pool? Means that anyone can use it as long as they pay the membership (not just the neighborhood). Any thoughts on this? N/a
5. Location. How important is location to you? Location was key for us. We loved that our house backed up to the lake and the park. We spend a lot of time outside and wanted to enjoy the neighborhood as much as the inside of the house. Location is also key for resale value. We nixed one of our "dream homes" because the yard backed up to a major street. Even with the fence and pine trees for screening, it wasn't as desirable as a more private yard.
6. Would you rather move into a house that already had all the work done (move in ready) and was more expensive? We are DIYers so we'd take the TLC house
7. With LOs in the house, how do you feel about raised decks? We have a second story deck and it's not an issue. We put a screen door with a high latch that remains latched to keep her protected.
8. How about the age of a house? What is too old for you to purchase? Nothing as long as it's in good condition. We were living in a 1929 craftsman before we moved here.