House Hunting in Connecticut
November 5, 2009 · Posted in abc dragoo, life, house hunting by abc dragoo
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Last weekend Mr. D and I ventured off to “the country” in search of a house. It’s our intention to purchase something to live in full time until he finds work in New York City. I thought I’d share a sampling of the houses we toured over Halloween weekend.
The landscape is so serene. You’d never imagine that the hustle and bustle of New York City was only 90 minutes away.
The house above was complete country cottage perfection. You’d die if you saw how really, truly delightful it was. It had amazing 200 year old beams in the ceiling. There were beautiful grounds surrounding the property. It even had a guesthouse! The downside is that Mr. D had to bend over to fit through the doorways. When walking from the master into the living room he cracked his head on the door jam. As wonderful as it is, we can’t live like this - can we?
This Italiante style house was so gracious in proportion. A real handsome jem of a property. It’s location was too far north of the City, we’d have to drive for 20 minutes to hop on train.
Mr. D loved this barn house because of it’s super-low taxes. I didn’t like it because when you enter the bedroom, there was no good place for the bed. Not to mention, it was 30 minutes from the nearest grocery store. Um, no thanks!
The house above was a real charmer -except- it needed to be gutted right down to the studs in the walls. Unfortunately, if we pick a house that needs work we will need to live in it while renovating. A project of this scale would call for renting a home while we renovate = not in the budget!
We searched and searched and finally came across a house we could both be excited about. It’s got a lot going for it - so much potential. Mr. D and I put in an offer and are amidst a set of negotiations. We are both on totally on edge. It’s really difficult to buy real estate without getting “emotional.” I have already envisioned myself making my chicken cacciatore on the stove top! If this deal does not go through, I don’t know what I will do.
When it comes to negotiations, how do you handle the tension between buyer and seller? When you raise your offering price by thousands, the dollar amount on your monthly mortgage nut goes up by something like $30 a month. Your choice is to lose the property or pay $30 extra a month for the next 30 years. I know ideally one wants to buy at the right price but it’s oh so easy to say “I can’t lose this property, it’s only $30!”
Have you jumped onto the real estate ladder? What would you do?
Ooh! Yay! Another future country dweller! :)
Best of luck on negotiations- they can be really awkward. When we bought our current house, we just sort of set a price that we weren’t willing to go over because the house wasn’t worth any more than that (based on comps and other things we’d seen). We offered over 20K below asking price, but the house needed new HVAC, had a carpenter bee infestation, was on the empty and market for a year, and was hideously decorated… We ended up getting it for the price we initially offered, but I know it was tough for the sellers. It was their childhood home and they were really emotionally attached to it - we also got kind of attached to it - but we wanted to make sure that we would get a good return on our investment, and that we’d have the finances to replace some of the damaged things (HVAC was a huge cost) after putting 20% down on our mortgage.
Good luck - can’t wait to hear more about it! :)
Jen’s most recent blog post: the downstairs hallway
We offered 10% below asking. Fact is, the place is listed at HALF of what it was on the market for 1.5 years ago - so any price we buy it at now is a “deal.”
It’s sitting empty and I really wished they’d have jumped on the offer. Instead, they only came down a couple thousand dollars. We’re still quite far apart in our numbers…
OYE! Thanks for your input. Upgrades are something to keep in mind when negotiating the price.
ABCD
ABCDragoo’s most recent blog post: Kitchen Tacciatore {OopSla!} Chicken Cacciatore
Every one of these houses is so Martha Stewart! Love love love it! Can’t wait to hear more about your life in the country.
Rebekah’s most recent blog post: DIY Terra Cotta Lamp
Rebekah,
You’re right - they’re all VERY Martha. So many of them had sooooo much potential. In my dreams I’d love to buy each one, FIX the issues and decorate to the nines.
However, the one we picked - has the most potential of all… Fingers are crossed that it becomes ours. : )
Thanks for chiming in!
xxABCD
ABCDragoo’s most recent blog post: Kitchen Tacciatore {OopSla!} Chicken Cacciatore
love all of these houses!!! it doesn’t seem like you can go wrong with any of them. i have my fingers crossed for you guys!
Lyndsey’s most recent blog post: Missing the boat…
Thanks for the link to this post. I can’t believe we are going through the exact same thing at the same time!!! We are putting in an offer on our house today. Fingers crossed all around!
FROM THE RIGHT BANK’s most recent blog post: Traveling Thursday: The Crosby Hotel, New York
We just went through this last week. We finally came to a price that both of us were okay with, though we gave more than she did. Oh well, we know we got a good deal, and the house is amazing. There are a few pics posted today on my blog if you are interested!!
I can’t wait to hear what happens and see more!! It’ll be nice to have another virtual person renovating at the same time we are!! We dont’ have a ton to do, but there is plenty that will keep us busy for awhile!!!
RT @abcddesigns: The stress of negotiating the house deal is absolutely DRAINING me!!! http://bit.ly/2N4EMB {I hate that feeling..TBS}
