Finding the perfect house to buy sounds like something that should be possible, even simple.
I just want a relatively updated home, in a nice neighborhood with a good school district, within a 30-minute commute from work. Easy. Right?
Why is it then that the actual finding of this home is such a challenge?!!!
- The curb appeal is a-MAZ-ing and the interior needs a complete overhaul.
- The house is wonderful, and it backs up to a main highway.
- An old and charming Victorian – whose plumbing and electrical are also old and tens of thousands of dollars less charming.
- The school district is where we must have our kids, and the only homes available are far too small for our family.
House-hunting conversations sound like this:
Photo by Stephen Crowley on Unsplash
If we could just take the interior of this house with the exterior of that one.
Or, if we could just buy this house, but put it in that neighborhood.
Perhaps we could just take the master bedroom from that one, the kitchen of the other and put them both on this perfect lot!
One of our favorite and most unforgettable experiences was in Chicago.
We were looking to purchase a home after our first big relocation. Since the company only gave us 3-months to move and I had to fly out from New York to house hunt, we didn’t have time to spend multiple weekends searching.
Our family was already complete by then – my husband, myself and three children. After exhausting dozens of options (and ourselves) we had a few houses that were in neighborhoods that would work for our family. The houses themselves though had their issues and we were half-heartedly trying to decide. It was then that one house, a house we had seen early on and had already ruled out, came to my mind.
I brought it up and my husband was skeptical at best. It had been owned by an elderly woman who had previously sold her antique store, moving the remainder of unsold goods into her home. It. Was. Packed. Not only that, but this was almost the millennium and the decor was from the early 70’s. Orange patchwork quilt wallpaper in the den, dark brown paint in the bathroom and red (no joke) shag carpet……..in the kitchen! The kitchen. Really.
What had stood out to me was the neighborhood. This house seemed to be in our price range even though the neighborhood did not. I also told my husband that the things that were horrible about this house were only skin deep and, clearing it out in my mind, it was actually perfect. A great size, layout, property, in a cul-de-sac and around the block from the elementary school!
We did buy that house and lived their very happily until the next relocation rolled around. Twenty years later, we are still exchanging holiday cards with those neighbors.
My husband and I have bought and sold homes throughout the years of various moves around the country prior to settling down in Greater Philadelphia.
Homes in all different price ranges. Whether looking in a range between $150-$225K or between $650-$800K, the experience always seems the same. This one would be perfect only if…
The thing that will make a house YOUR perfect home is You. Your family, your pets, your stuff, your love. Trust me, even red shag carpet can transform into perfection.
