“I would love to have a post about how you find such great houses. You always seem to get such great neighborhoods, lots, “raw material” even when you’re moving across states. Do you have a method? I’d love to hear about it. Thank you.”

I thought this question was interesting because I feel like most people are a little baffled by the houses we buy! With our last two home purchases, I received lots of questioning comments, but I think readers eventually saw my vision for the house as it was brought to life.

We bought our PA house before sharing anything online, but it wasn’t love at first sight.  It was the best we could afford.  It was quirky and needed work, but it wasn’t falling apart or reeking of smoke, unlike a couple of other homes we looked at with our realtor.  Half of it was a relatively untouched 1940s Cape Cod, and the original home features appealed to me.  The other half was an early 2000s addition that made no attempt to communicate architecturally with the old part of the house.  There was enough charm and potential, though, that I felt like we could make it into a lovely home.  We worked on it for 11 years, transforming it into a lovely home that was even featured in magazines.

You can see more of our PA home HERE.

When our move to Minnesota was planned and we started the house hunt, I imagined buying a quintessential Minnesota farmhouse, white clad and framed by corn fields.  Well, I quickly learned those tend to come with 100+ acres of land and were way outside of our budget.  What Rochester, Minnesota, has in abundance, though, is 1980s split-levels and a liberal use of brown.  After sifting through numerous real estate listings, I came across a 13-year-old suburban home that, although not ideal, had a traditional floor plan and several attractive architectural features, including transome windows, high ceilings, and a split staircase.  It was thoroughly beige and cream, but we could fix that.  And we did.  We worked for five years to customize that home and make it ours.

You can see more of our Minnesota house HERE.

Both of those homes had been on the market for over a year when we made our offer.  I can’t tell you why other buyers overlooked these two homes, and I saw potential that they did not.  The PA house was in a very small town, so it’s more likely that the location was the drawback of that house more than the house itself.  I’m not sure why the MN house was still available in a bustling city, a great neighborhood, and a hot housing market, but we are thankful it was!

That brings us to our current home in Maryland. Like the previous homes, it wasn’t what I was looking for, but I felt it was a little gem in a good neighborhood, and bringing it back to life would be rewarding.  We also liked that it was towards the bottom end of our price range, so we would have a healthy renovation budget for updates and customizations.

Now that you have a little refresher on our real estate journey, let me share my thought process when house hunting.

You can see more of our current Maryland house HERE.

Number one – budget, location, and family come first.  

Of course, the budget is the first thing most people look at when buying a home, and that was the same for us.  We never wanted to buy at the top of our price range, and we never wanted to be house poor.  We prefer buying houses that need some work so we can get more bang for our buck.  We also want to live where we live.  We have had hour-plus commutes to work and school before, so we would only look at homes that are within about 15 minutes from where Jeff works and where the boys go to school.  As the boys got older, we also looked at the neighborhood environment.  Was there a park nearby?  Could they ride their bikes around? Did the neighborhood feel safe?

Even though we all live in the house, my vote probably carries the most weight since our home is a part of my business and hobbies.  I care more about it than my guys do!  If I were to make the decision just for myself, though, I would undoubtedly pick an old house that was completely impractical for everyone else in the family.  But, as much as I love homes, I love them more, and want to select a home that’s not just about what I want.  For that reason, I not only picture what changes I would make to the house, but also how our family would live in it. All three of our homes have been great for the season of life we were in while living there.

Look beyond what others see.

When the search is narrowed down by budget, location, and practicality, then I can start imagining what I would do with the house.  I have learned that most people get stuck on things that are relatively easy to change, like scary paint colors, dated interiors, odd decorating choices, and even the current homeowner’s clutter.  I don’t look at any of that.  I look at the bones of the house – the floorplan, the flow, how the rooms relate to one another, the light, and how it’s situated on the lot.  I look for the elements that feel traditional, classic, and timeless.

And I’m realistic about what I can live with and what I can’t.  A wide open floor plan would never work for me.  Unless they could be easily changed, I would be completely at odds with architectural elements that are too modern.

know your limitations

Jeff and I have looked at homes that had me starry-eyed, but when we took a step back and looked at the reality of the work that needed to be done, we knew it was more than we wanted to take on.  There was one house I was over the moon about, but we’re pretty sure new siding was the only thing holding it upright.  We were nowhere near ready for the level of work that house needed.  We’ve also looked at homes that were so beautiful, but would’ve been at the tippy-top end of what we could afford.  That would’ve been stressful and would’ve left us without any money to make the house our own.

We had to be realistic about the renovations we could afford and live through.  I had to acknowledge that I’m more passionate about renovating homes than Jeff is, so the work needs to be manageable for me to do with some of his help, not for us to work on together in all of his free time.   Our current house has required more work than any of our previous homes, and it’s definitely stretched me!  I’ve learned a lot, though, and wouldn’t change a thing.

Whether you’re about to start a house hunt, considering a move, or just trying to make the most of your current home, I hope this post gets your wheels turning…