My wife & I spent all weekend house-shopping near my new job. Although we put an offer on a house today, we are more fearful than excited. That's because the market is more depressed where we live now than where we are moving to. So the net result is that we'll be financing about $75K more to get a house that's only about 100 square feet bigger than our current one. I realize we are very blessed to be able to get a new home (well, one that's 9 years old), but it would be more exciting to be "moving on up" than just moving over and deeper into debt.

Making matters worse is that the garage will be significantly smaller in the new house (dropping from 24' x 20' to about 20' x 20'). One of the homes we looked at had my dream garage: a 1-1/2 car garage added onto a 2-car attached garage home for a total of 3-1/2 bays! Best of all, the added part had a friggin' lift!! However, the rest of the house wasn't very palatable. Believe me, it's a whole different thing shopping for a house AFTER you have school-age kids (and a friggin' big rambunctious chocolate lab) than before. So many more considerations......:paranoid:

location, location, location... :yes: i'm surrounded by cities that have bigger houses for less money, but the beach area is where i feel at home, so unfortunately i pay my dues... the raise in property value makes it all work out in the end...

location, location, location... :yes: i'm surrounded by cities that have bigger houses for less money, but the beach area is where i feel at home, so unfortunately i pay my dues... the raise in property value makes it all work out in the end...
Ahh yes, there's a lot of truth to that one. In our case, we don't particularly like the new location any more - we have better schools, a better environment, and better shopping/schools right where we currently are. So yes, the market will dictate pricing, but we feel it's not as good a deal for the dollar in the new location as it is right here.

And no, neither place is near the beach, unfortunately....

The market is in a weird place right now. I've been looking at homes recently, too, but fortunately I'm in a better position - only for the reason that I don't have a house to sell. Since the market is depressed, I can buy more house for my money than I could have a year ago.

But, I am feeling the sting in other places such as the loan financing. Even tho I have a great credit history and my score is over 800, banks are leary about lending to anyone. One back wanted me to put down *40%* or I'd be paying nearly $400/month in PMI. wtf? Luckily other financing offers haven't been that ridiculous. It certainly is a different process and feeling this time around than it was when I bought my first house 6 years ago. :thumbsdow

I kow what u mean about the garage situation. In NC, many houses have car ports - not even an enclosed garage. And the ones that have a garage are more like a 1.5 / compact car garage. I did find a really cool townhome that has a "double SUV garage" thats nearly 35'x30' :) That's the one I have my eye on. :yes:

Eric!! Congrats on moving up! Where abouts are you moving to? All I remember from Richmond is unreachable home prices. I remember looking at a townhome at Virginia Center and it was $212k for a 1300 sq ft. without a garage. The home I bought here in Clemmons (outside of Winston-Salem, NC) was $125k for 1300 sq ft. WITH a garage. My mortgage is actually cheaper than what I was paying for rent in Richmond. But then again, cost of living is higher there as well. But I love moving back to NC!!

My townhome's garage is strictly a compact car space. Once my car is in, there isn't much wiggle room. Heh...I tried parking my parents' '05 Odyssey and it just barely with only a couple of inches of space from the garage door and maybe half a foot of space in front of the van.

Here's a pic of my garage:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v490/bchung4457/P1010314.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v490/bchung4457/P1010313.jpg

Wolfpack - Are u still with Nabisco? I remember you saying u made the move to Richmond to be at corporate. Did I miss the thread about u moving back to NC?

Yup! Still am. I stepped down to a lower position so I can go back to school. I moved back last July and loving it!!! :banana: