So, I'm currently in an apartment, but my lease is up at the end of July. We have been looking at houses and I'm really close to pulling the trigger on one. Or actually I already have, I have one under contract as of yesterday and I'm considering backing out (im in a 10 day option period) for one that just came on the market. I just cant seem to decide which one I want.
House #1 - The house we put a contract on yesterday
year built 2006
Purchase Price $223,000
1 Story
Living Sq. Footage 1,961
Yearly Property Tax Rate 2.13%
2016 Appraisal Value $213,740
2016 Tax Amount $4,562.92
20% Downpayment $44,800 + repairs needed to move in $0
distance to work: 6.5 miles
15,000 sq. Ft. Lot,
Monthly PIT = $1,215
This is a really feel good house, its really well built, has a brand new roof, its slightly fancy, 10 foot ceilings, granite, under-mount sink, maple cabinets, oversized garage, nice back patio. The Cons for this house are its about 30 Minute drive away from one set of friends that my wife and I visit fairly frequently(20 minutes for house #2), once or twice a week. And its 50 minutes away (40 minutes for house #2) from the church that we go to. The house is big enough for my family of 4, and even if another family comes over its fine, however if we wanted to have several families over, a party or something, it would get a little small.
House #2
year built 2005
The asking price for this house is 200k, Im assuming I could get it for 190k
2 Story
Living Sq. Footage 2,800
Yearly Property Tax Rate 3.18%
2016 Appraisal Value $185,920
2016 Tax Amount $5,913
20% Downpayment $38,000 + Repairs needed to move in $10,000= $48,000
Monthly PIT= $1,200
distance to work: 4.5 miles
7,500 sq. Ft. Lot, This house is huge, plenty of extra room, is closer to work, its a typical low end builder grade house on a small subdivision lot. It needs new carpet and interior paint, and probably a new A/C unit. The house has 2 small A/C units. The roof will probably need to be replaced in a couple years.
Summary of thoughts: House #1 would not need any major repairs for the foreseeable future, but in my calculation would cause our cars to be on the road about an hour more per week. It's a much smaller house which I see as a good and bad thing. Lower utility bills, less overall maintenance, but less room to have crazy birthday parties for my kid(my wife loves to entertain) House#2 would be less overall driving, but its a typicall wal-mart house, huge(again good and bad) would need new carpet, paint and highly likely 1 of 2 A/C's replaced. I dont like the idea of having 2 A/C units, or 2 story, it has a smaller yard, houses are crammed in the subdivision. House #2 seems like the better value, in the long run, unless the utilities eat up the savings. House #1 is probably the more enjoyable home, but would result in more driving..I'm torn and worried my emotions are clouding my judgement and yes I've read the MMM article on how to buy a house. If you have any thoughts I would appreciate it.