First off picking a house in the Kansas City area is harder than I thought it would be simply because there are too many houses and too many places to pick from. Boston, live were you can afford to. Lincoln, small so pick a nice neighborhood with a good school. Kansas, overload.
In my mind we have narrowed it down to three houses. Our real estate agent says we should see a few more houses on Wednesday. Jim agrees with her, but I'm all set. If you like something why would you keep looking it just makes the final choice even harder.
So here are our current top three, in no particular order.
1. Cape Cod style home in lovely Prairie Village. Prairie Village has good schools and is close to the Plaza area of Kansas City. It's an older neighborhood with huge trees and tons of character. The people that live in this area rave about how wonderful it is. We couldn't find anyone who would say anything negative. It's a nice house, but may have some basement issues. 3 bedroom 2 bath
2. This house is also located in Prairie Village. I love love the kitchen. Jim does not like the outside but I think paint, new shutters, and some plants could help. We both like the two car garage. 3 bedroom 2 bath and an extra room upstairs that could be an office.
3. This is a much newer house located in a newer development in Shawnee. Feels very suburban (like Lincoln) and that always scares me. I think it's too big but Jim is smitten. It has a nice kitchen and a gas stove. Cooking with fire is the best! Also, there is a small pond off to the side which kind of guarantees no other houses being built next to it. 4 bedroom and too many bathrooms
Comments welcome! We'll take all the help we can get.
you said pond... i thought mosquitos... I don't know about you but I'd hate to have a back yard that I couldn't use you might want to ask about that.
ReplyDeletePond area is not in the yard it's off a bit and to the side. The yard is fenced, which does not keep bugs out but keeps the kid in. There are a couple trees and a vegetable garden in the back yard.
ReplyDeleteAs a constant complainer of my current home (hehe, you know me Trisha) I would say that their are many options to look at. First of, is this your "FOREVER" home. Never will be selling and buying again? That comes into play with purchasing your next house. If it is, your all set. If not, you want to make sure its in an area that will sell without worries. Does it have enough bedrooms. Now, mind you...you might say that you don't need 4 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms. But look at the big picture. Do you have lots of company on a regular basis? How many kiddos do you think you will have? Will you need space for an office, home-schooling if that is a possibility? Do you plan on having someone live with you for awhile? Do you have a lot of gatherings for church, parties, or socially for work? Do you want a big yard or a fixer upper? Make sure it has PLENTY and I do mean PLENTY of sockets to plug things into. Is it bright during the day? Visit the home at night. Does it look dreary? How are the schools? Are their lots of kiddos in the area. That's important because right now, we live in an older area with NO CHILDREN at all. I would say the third home. Its newer and you know nothing will go wrong for some time. You are guaranteed no one will move in next to you. Sometimes places like those make the best neighborhoods. Making friends, knowing the neighbors, the kids, everyone watches out for everyone type of deal. I love the idea of getting more and downsizing when you retire. We didn't have a choice with our current home. We purchased it based on income. But man, if I could move, I would move into the third home.
ReplyDeleteI hope this helps without being mean. I just know how stressful house hunting is. Especially when you still live in a home and can't really buy.
Good luck hun.
Kiley
Btw, we have a huge pond I made in my backyard and the bugs are really not their. We also spray our yard, more for ticks. I would say, unless your area is swampy, then I think bugs will be the least of your worries. Think of Maine. That place has bugs!
ReplyDeleteAs with the 3 little pigs... brick all the way baby.
ReplyDeleteThe third one is way too showey showey. Not enough trees. That sucker is going to get HOT in the summer heat. How many toilets do you want to scrub? Too big for 3 people, or even 4. Wasted space and too much wasted energy to heat and cool the entire sucker.
ReplyDeleteMy vote is cape cod. Cute with better resale potential for when you move back to be with your long lost sisters Amy and Nancy. Duh!
I'm sure the 3rd one is nice and you could be happy there, but it really has no character. And I'm pretty sure the first and third houses have the same lighting unit over the table only different colors.
I think they are all very nice. However, if I were to pick one, I'd take the third. That one looks like it has room for all three of my rug rats. However, you aren't in my shoes with a 13 yr old, 10 yr. old and 3 yr. old.
ReplyDeleteI'd maybe consider how long each house is on the market and think re-sale value since this probably won't be your "forever" house. Correct?
Oh, I love that show! I would say, based on description, knock number 1 off right away. Yes, it's cuter on the outside than number 2, but I'm with you- paint and new landscaping can fix that. And it has a bonus room upstairs, which means bedrooms can be bedrooms (and not offices, guest rooms, etc). Then there's number 3, which is gorgeous, has more room for expanding family, more warrenty (since it's newer) and likely sits in an area with a higher percentage of families in the same boat that you are in (as in, not too many retirees- nothing against them, but when my kids want to go out and play, they won't be knocking at their door unless the grandkids are visiting). And if the thought of too many bathrooms scares you off, down the road, when your entire household comes down with some stomach bug or food poisoning, you'll each have your own thrown! hehe
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, it's really hard to compare number 3 with the other 2. We almost bought a #1/2 when we first were married- we now live in #3. I can't say I'm gald we didn't buy the bungalow, but we would definitely have needed to sell by now for space issues. We built this house in a boom with the expectation of only being here 3-5 years. We're now on year 8 with no end in site ('cause our market took a total nose-dive), but we're good because we have ample square footage, with a technical 5/3 (1/1 is the upstairs bonus room).
My 2 cents, for what it's worth. Good luck with your decision! Can't wait to see what you pick.
-JennStar
I just found your blog through another friends blog.
ReplyDeletePersonally I would choose the 3rd one. It is newer which means less work to fix it up, less repairs that will need to be done in the near future, also has plenty of room to let your family grow. Right now you might be content with a small family but who knows this time next year you might have other ideas.
Also I would bet the resale is better with number 3, and as someone else wrote, most likely will not have retiree's who do not like for kids to play outside.
Carol
Hi Trisha, I know this house hunting process all too well! It's exciting, but it's draining, isn't it? Here's what I've learned. Whatever house you choose, there will things that you will love about it and things that you will dislike. Things you'll want to change. And the truth is, it'll be your home and you can change whatever you want. But you can't change husbands. So forget about what each house looks like. And turn to each other, and choose the house that represents who you are together, the things that you value. I wanted to buy a farmhouse. I loved it. I had already mentally redone the whole place. But Rich didn't love it. He said it felt cold. So I had to let it go (even though I was turned around in the back seat the whole time we drove down the driveway...) We finally did find a place that fit us. I mean, we knew after stepping out of the car. And there's a great peace when you both have that sense of knowing. So, if you both don't have it, then keep looking. It'll be worth it. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteIf there are plenty of houses in KC to choose from, here's my thought: there is kind of a large leap between #1/#2 and #3. Find something somewhere in between that you can both love. I know, you want to decide already, but house hunting is fun! And can't agree more with everyone about one point: find a neighborhood with other kids. It's so worth it. I live in a fixer-upper, and I can tell you, fixing up is fun, but there's not so much time for it with kids. So I would go for something that needs less fixing up, but still has "character" if possible. My two cents! :)
ReplyDeletePick the home that you feel at peace about! Personally I like neighborhoods with mature landscaping, which the Prarie Village houses would be perfect for, but I know they are also small, and I definately wanted a house that we won't grow out of. Have you done a pros and cons list??
ReplyDeleteI love the 3rd. Honestly, my opinion means zero, but either way.... I think though, that i should introduce you to our friends b/c they did the househunting stuff and landed in Lawrence I think. I think i mentioned that. Anyway, would you like to be connected? They are only slightly more clued in about the area.
ReplyDeleteoh and what about the schools? you like the ones you'd be zoned for in each area?
ReplyDeleteWell i like the big house with too many bathrms u can have kids and not worry about the use of the bathrm and then there's me to come and visit. Then there is Jims dad and his wife to come and see u, and what if we all come to visit at once? Then there is 6 adults and how many kids all together woooo weeee something to think about....and the pond thing u can put mosquito tablets in there to reduce that and get some koi or gold fish to reduce that as well.
ReplyDelete