Would you buy your dream house if...?

Not without knowing. The house could be everything I’m looking for, but if I have to commute more than an hour to school or work, it wouldn’t be worth it.

No way absolutely not. That would be insane to not be sure of every little detail and I would never leave one thing to chance on buying that dream house because not everything can be fixed that easily by just throwing more money at it. That would be a nightmare!

The problem is without knowing what will be missing, I really don’t know if I’m paying a “fair” price at all. If the house is structurally unsound, for instance – it’s worthless.

No. Buying a house is investing…and although there’s an element of risk in most investments, this is really simply gambling on black.

Having lived in a fixer-upper for 16 years, my answer is a firm “hell no”. The next time I throw money into a house I’m going to make sure I spend my money wisely.

No. I wouldn’t want to risk having a homeowner’s association. Those fuckers are crazy.

Nope. I wouldn’t buy any house, let alone my dream house, without knowing what I’m getting.

The risks definately make it less than a dream house. Pass.

If I can’t get the house inspected with my inspector, there will be no deal.

Why would you be in the situation where you couldn’t verify everything?

No. We are actually going to be in that situation soon (shopping for a house) and I have a long laundry list of what I will and will not accept. Full disclosure/inspection is a big part of the house-buying process.

I’m not in that situation. It isn’t a real question, just a hypothetical “what would you do?” It was something I thought of earlier when I was daydreaming about everything I would need for a home to truly be my dream home – that there are so many things involved. Disliking the house I am in now so much made me wonder just how much of a risk I would be willing to take to get out of it.

@iamthemob Paying fair market value is accepted as a given.

I’m not trying to over-analyze. Just thought it was an interesting question. There are more than two things in this house that were something of a surprise after we had been here for a while. You never know everything about what you are getting no matter how much homework you do.

You mean I can risk not having my own back yard circus or my own landing strip for my personal plain?...No deal..I guess I can put aside being Hugh Hefner’s next door neighbor or extra parking for my expensive cars, but that’s as far as I’ll go.

No. If it didn’t meet ALL my criteria it would not be my dream house. Some of those flaws could potentially cost or waste a lot of money, or be actually dangerous.

Thus the importance of having criteria, and knowing what’s acceptable and what isn’t. In our case, we’ll be looking for a bungalow in Portland, OR that will probably be anywhere from 60–100 years old, so there almost certainly will be some issues. I’m cataloging what those issues might be, and which are OK (they painted all the woodwork, the floors need refinishing, the yard is a jungle), which are OK if the price is low enough and our income is what it should be (the kitchen needs to be redone, the windows need to be replaced) and which are non-starters (neighborhood is bad, foundation needs to be replaced, all period charm has been remodeled out of existence.)

No, not without knowing about the condition of the house for certain. If the house turns out to be structurally un-sound, then you may not be able to afford to make it so.

You should never buy a house until you have had it inspected.

I watch a lot of those house hunting shows on HGTV and often times the couple will finally (after looking at a bunch of other houses) find one that seems to fit their ideal. But then they get a house inspection and it turns out that there were expensive and unforseen problems that will jack up the ultimate price considerably.

Half of the things on your list can be figured out pretty easily by going to see the property and going online to check about the schools. Everything else will be figured out by a house inspection.

So, just don’t put structurally sound, big yard, or not flooding on your list.

How could it be my dream house if I couldn’t have a full service house and land inspection?

Absolutely not- too much money to invest without full knowledge.

No. This is a big investment. You need all the information to make a sound decision. Remember, if something seems to good to be true, it probably is.

Let’s see. Would like it to be structurally sound in a good neighborhood. I don’t use the school system and convenient to work is awfully subjective. I could fix electrical/flooding/plumbing problems and don’t like central air. Size of the yard is not so important and I could easily build my own fence and I have no idea what HOA is. Sure, worth it to me. The two that I’d prefer are not likely to be both excluded from the list, and one could change through time, anyway. Where’s the buyer? Am ready to negotiate a deal with him, hypothetically, of course.

@12Oaks

“I have no idea what HOA is”

“Home owners association.” Otherwise known as a bunch of busybodies who tell you you cannot build a fence, install an air conditioner, or grow a garden in your front yard. :>)

@crisw Oh, thanks. Heard of Home Owners Associations, just didn’t recognize the acronym. Actually, that would be the one thing I’d insist on NOT having. I never like having to pay for someone to speak for me or negotiate deals or workers compensation packages or tell me how to spend my vacation or whatever.