We're looking at a house that is significantly below our budget. As a mustachian, I got all worked up about the potential cost savings, as it's about $80k below our max budget (house price is 120k, our max budget is 200k. Average house price for the area is probably somewhere in the 130k-140k area). But my wife has serious concerns about the area being "uninspiring" and the quality of the people living nearby, and our kid going to school with their kids, etc. Now, this is a central midwest town and is more of a country setting than urban, so the people she's talking about are mostly unskilled workers. They drive older cars (so do we...because mustache) and likely keep to themselves but aren't spending thousands of dollars on landscaping and extensive renovations to their homes. The house in question is on 2 acres but is on a street with neighbors around. The houses in this area are all a little ugly and built in the 80s (lots of brown brick). My wife is from the city and we have mostly looked at newer/remodeled homes in the city thus far. A home like we're now looking at in a trendier part of town would be probably $50k-$60k more but is basically unheard of on that amount of land. I grew up near this area and I can attest that the local economy is depressed. Houses don't appreciate in value at an extremely rapid pace, however ones that are taken care of on acreage will appreciate over time. For reference, the sellers of this home bought it 5 years ago for $9k less than their current asking price.
I'm just wanting to ask for other opinions, as I feel like I'm stranded on mustachian island right now. Here's a quick pros/cons rundown:
Pros:
-Price
-2 acres, wooded private backyard
-Brand new deck
-New Water heater
-House appears to have been maintained, though of course an inspection could show otherwise (might need a new roof)
-Not more space than we need but just enough for our family
-2 car attached garage
Cons:
-Slightly further from my work than other homes that we have looked at (will add about 5-7 extra minutes of highway driving). Wife is a SAHM so no drive time for her either way.
-Real Estate market is not as hot as other areas, though our realtor advised this house may be underpriced for the market and will sell fast
-Town amenities (parks, library, stores) are not as good as in the larger city where we have been looking, but is 10 mins to basic places like target, walmart, etc. Wife and baby's daily lives would take place in a smaller town with less things to do. My daily life would be the same, as I would still commute to the same place.
-Area does not have a "good vibe" according to my wife. People seem to just be going to their factory/retail/lower paying jobs and coming home to their families. That doesn't really bother me, but my wife is very highly educated and likes to surround herself with people who are the same. This could be a challenge without having to drive into the city.
I'm not trying to convince her either way, however I think she feels like we would not belong in this area, as we would be considered a relatively high income family compared to most other people in the immediate area.