Which house is the best deal? (Lots of details to follow)

Question

I am a first time home buyer about to make a choice between two houses. I like both houses a lot, but my opinion aside, which one makes more sense financially? I am only looking to live in the house for about 5-7 years. Also I have no kids and I am not planning on having any. It would just be me and my boyfriend and our dog.

Here is the house information, both houses are the SAME price. Both sellers would pay my closing costs. House A is 7 years old, in a new build neighborhood that is done with construction, it has 2 full baths and 3 bedrooms (including a master suite), Square footage is around 1250. It has only a tiny yard, maybe .1 of an acre. Inside needs some work (painting, carpet ripped up, cleaning), it also has a 2 car attached garage.

House B was built in 1946, in an established older neighborhood, 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, 900 sq. feet, 1/2 an acre yard, all new carpet, new paint, move in ready, it has a one car detached garage, and a large deck/patio area.

House B is about 2-3 minutes driving distance from where I work, House A is about 10-15. I don't know if this matters, but house B is across from a large upscale apartment complex. House A is in a neighborhood that has walking/nature trails and a community pool. Since I feel the same about each one, I am looking for advice on which one is the best deal for my money. Also, the best house for future resale. My realtor is on vacation this week, so I have to have an answer by Friday. Thanks for any advice! Please don't waste your time or mine with "I don't know answers" or "Whichever one you like better". I feel the same about them, I would love living in either one. Thanks again.

Answer 1

In my opinion I would pick house A.  House A has more sq. ft. and a smaller yard which appeals to some people that do not like lawn maintenance. House B has only 1 bathroom, which will make it harder to sell later on, because most people want a 2 bath house.  

Answer 2

Neither you, nor your boyfriend, will be happy sharing one bathroom.   That alone is reason enough to go with A.

More reasons: House B is 50 years old.  Even though it has new paint and carpet, you will nonetheless be making repairs regularly.  In fact, those repairs, and the repairs necessary to make house A habitable, will probably even out over the long run.

You will also appreciate the attached garage, particularly if you live in a rainy or snowy climate.

Answer 3

well if you are looking to only live there 5-7 yrs , the first thing to consider is the re-sle value of the house in 5-7 years, and you definately dont want to loose money!!

House A would be a better buy. The reason i say this is because - first off it is newer and well newer houses are usually worth more money with minimal repairs, newer houses depreciate much less then a older house  .....basicly in a few years when you go to sell the house you will have to put more money into a older house to bring it up to par with other houses for sale. Also its a better thing that it is a newer neighborhood because you have to think - in a few years when you go to sell- the neighborhood will look better overall, in return the older house in older neighborhood will be surrounded by older homes that may not be kept up as well as you would hope , and even though you may have the money to make a few updates to a old house- your neighbors may have let their homes go a bit- and the neighborhood will suffer because of that. And please keep in mind- the main thing that determines the value of your home is the homes surrounding it.

Besides that - ALL appraisals and values of houses are based on square footage -so the more the sq ftg = the higher value. And even though I know i would prefer a bigger yard (because i have dogs) well most people(much like yourself) do not care about the size of the lot ,

especially if its only a quater compared to a half acre. And for the few that are looking for the larger lot- - well value of land is VERY minimal -

and in most cases only holds a value of a few thousand dollars , and even at that - with a larger yard it may make the house quicker to sell but it still will not make it worth any more. On the other hand a newer bathroom - even newer half bathroom - is worth more than a few thousand dollars.

p.s. - did you check the values of these houses? of course a appraisal is best- but if you go to zillow - you can get a good idea of how the neighborhoods stack up.  ..  because you are undecided about the houses.... i would definately recommend making the decision based on the best value because that will allow you to make the most money off your purchase in the future. The real estate marklet now is at a point where yu either make a good informed decision and stay above the water or else a bad decision can easily make ya drown.

Answer 4

Please don't waist my time with rude comments at the end of your question after I spent all the time reading it!

A