Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Pick-a-Neighborhood Game

On Monday I wrote an email to my brother (who's been living in China since last year, in case you don't remember) explaining the reasons why we decided to buy this house in spite of the fact that it is being sold "as-is" and it has many major renovation projects that need to be done. Like my parents he had expressed concern that this was not the best house to be had and he hoped we could find another one.* It occurred to me that I might get my point across more effectively if I compared it to the previous house we were going to buy since they cost almost the same. I thought that visual cues were even better, so I proceeded to send him links to Google Map images of the two neighborhoods. I cannot possibly do the same for you or you'd know our future address, but I took snapshots of the images with this nifty free program called Screen Hunter.

So, which neighborhood would you have chosen? The houses in question are the green arrows:
Cookie-cutter look alike homes ?
(they do look identical in this whole development!)

OR

Established old neighborhood with large yards.

Interestingly enough, my friend Aliki just posted about this decision on Monday, at the end of her post. Our houses are exactly the same age -- 42 years old.

Which neighborhood would you choose/ have you chosen and why?

* Actually, my parents' biggest concern was with the sheer size of the yard and the time it will take to maintain it.

P.S. The inspection this afternoon went OK. It was a lovely day and I took many many photos of the house. Will post some of them later. We're trying to remedy the awful situation, but it looks like the closing will have to be postponed at least a week. BUT... we'll try to work out a pre-settlement "occupation" of the house (I cannot for the life of me remember the correct term) in which the owners "rent" the house to us until the closing. I'm hoping and praying that this can be done!!
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8 comments:

  1. UnknownAugust 29, 2007 7:49 AM

    I'd definitely pick the older house. Where did you end up? Are we close to you?

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  2. Aliki2006August 29, 2007 10:51 AM

    It's amazing what a difference the two neighborhoods show in those views--I can see the larger yards and the woods!

    I'm excited to see more pics...and I'm glad the inspection went well.

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  3. Dr. PetersAugust 29, 2007 11:36 AM

    We have chosen a brand new cookie-cutter home because we plan to move again in a couple of years and sell it, and we weren't interested in putting a lot of money and work into a house. Because we don't really have money or time to spend. Even though we are buying for the first time instead of renting, I still consider it a temporary place--not even really mine. When I think of a home that I will live in for years and years, I like the idea of one that I can personalize and even do a lot of work on. In the cookie-cutter neighborhood, the kind of personalization you can do is limited by the home owner's association, which annoys me. So I guess I have chosen the cookie-cutter house now but in different circumstances, I would have chosen the older house.

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  4. AnonymousAugust 29, 2007 3:31 PM

    Older homes tend to be built better. If it passes inspection, then you're fine. Newer homes tend to not be built as well anyway.

    And I agree, I would have picked the older home.

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  5. Andromeda JazmonAugust 29, 2007 5:51 PM

    I picked an older home in an older neighborhood. It's a duplex so it is not big and the yard is small, but I like the character and the diversity of the neighborhood. Older and a big yard is definitely more work. I still like it more.

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  6. jo(e)August 29, 2007 8:40 PM

    I would definitely have gone for the older house with the nicer yard and neighborhood.

    It's cool to see the overhead view!

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  7. PriscaAugust 30, 2007 5:58 PM

    I'm definitely an older home person. We had the same experience you've had in looking at both types (cookie cutter vs. 'mature' homes) and absolutely chose the older home. It felt so much more solid and REAL. I think the cookie cutter places felt like apartments in decor and layout only bigger. I missed the charm of a place more like what I grew up in. The new construction homes were also teeny tiny for the money and had postage stamp sized lots. I'm all about trees and character so it was a no brainer-- despite what everyone else we know has chosen!

    I'm excited for you!!

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  8. AnonymousAugust 31, 2007 12:04 PM

    i'm all about older homes, they ahve so much more character. but you can defilitely go overboard on that. my house is civil war era, and it's not in bad shape, but there are always, always problems. i don't know if i'd buy a house this old again.

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