When I bought my condo in 2009 it was totally my dream home. It was more than I really thought I’d ever be able to get, especially buying by myself. It’s a gorgeous loft in a gorgeous, historic building, bigger than I expected to be able to buy, sits on top of a global marketplace and has all kinds of amenities. My neighbors are all nice and friendly. The neighborhood itself isn’t my first choice in Minneapolis, but the benefits of everything else far outweighs that one little thing that’s not perfect. And I still love where I live. Every day when I get home and step off the bus I still look up at my building and think how lucky I am to live where I do.

BUT – I always knew I’d want to trade it in when I was able to afford something in the neighborhood of my choice. And now that I’m coupled up, though my place is huge, I may need something more suitable for 2 people. So if the bf and I ever decide to get married, we’ll need to figure out somewhere else to live. And then it will be time for my dream home in one of my favorite neighborhoods.

Shyra said:

SCNDLS said:

Okay, well look at the bright side, maybe he'll drop dead soon and his estate will sell the property at a bargain to unload it.

Well, there's a good chance of that happening if he's as hateful and spiteful as described. God don't like ugly...

God should strike him down soon enough. Orger just be patient, God's on the job.

All you lucky home owners I have hope for my own one day

SCNDLS said:

Orger..., God's on the job.

yeah

that's worked swimmingly

thus far

tinaz said:

Yes... lived in it for a year.. then had to move

Same here. ...well I was pretty sure it was our dream home for the first few weeks, I used to wake up being amazed that I was actually really living there.

Then we realised that all of the teenagers in the neighbourhood used to like hanging around pretty much right outside the house. We lived there for 2 1/2 years.

Sometimes I drive over to look at it.

orger said:

SCNDLS said:

Orger..., God's on the job.

yeah

that's worked swimmingly

thus far

Non-believer! That's why you'll never have shit.

i like all your interesting storys!

what do you think is more important, finding a good Area?....or the house itself?

sonic said:

i like all your interesting storys!

what do you think is more important, finding a good Area?....or the house itself?

Well from my experience, a nice house makes you miserable if you're not in the right area.

sonic said:

i like all your interesting storys!

what do you think is more important, finding a good Area?....or the house itself?

Location, location, LOCATION!

SCNDLS said:

sonic said:

i like all your interesting storys!

what do you think is more important, finding a good Area?....or the house itself?

Location, location, LOCATION!

Did she mention...........Location?

Financially and investment-wise, you’re always “supposed” to choose the cheapest house in the best neighborhood over the nicest house in a bad neighborhood. But ultimately it’s about what makes you the most happy.

In my situation, I kinda did both. My building itself is one of if not THE nicest in my neighborhood, but the neighborhood isn’t the nicest in the city. However, I got one of the smaller and cheapest condos in a gorgeous, high-end building. It all worked out to the right compromise, really.

I wouldn’t have moved here if I didn’t think I could learn to love my neighborhood and there are aspects I do love. It’s just not my #1 choice. There are definitely neighborhoods I would never consider, no matter how much of a place I could afford.

My husband and I have lived in our condo for 22 years. It's very small (one bedroom and den) but it's home and we love it. We also have no mortgage anymore, so that's a real bonus. We never wanted a large home and didn't want to be "house poor" so we've stayed in our modest condo all these years.

Empress said:

My husband and I have lived in our condo for 22 years. It's very small (one bedroom and den) but it's home and we love it. We also have no mortgage anymore, so that's a real bonus. We never wanted a large home and didn't want to be "house poor" so we've stayed in our modest condo all these years.

Smart move..........

We built our home 20 yrs ago ( "We" ! ~ not ... had it built for us by others ! )

It's beautiful and in a beautiful setting ~ 4 bedroom 2 bath ~ 2 story ~ full basement 12+ acres surrounded by another 12ish family farm acres ~

I own other property and once in a while dream of building another house ~ smaller

I love where I live ~ love our home ...love my man and my fam

I'm a happy camper

Graycap23 said:

Empress said:

My husband and I have lived in our condo for 22 years. It's very small (one bedroom and den) but it's home and we love it. We also have no mortgage anymore, so that's a real bonus. We never wanted a large home and didn't want to be "house poor" so we've stayed in our modest condo all these years.

Smart move..........

Thanks Gray. It's not as though we wouldn't like a bigger, fancier home, but we also like to travel and you can't do both with a big mortgage unless you are rich (we are not).

Empress said:

Graycap23 said:

Smart move..........

Thanks Gray. It's not as though we wouldn't like a bigger, fancier home, but we also like to travel and you can't do both with a big mortgage unless you are rich (we are not).

I feel u. U are better off doing your thing instead of being a slave 2 a house note.

Noooo. My dream home would be custom built on land near the coast in NorCal so big that I couldn't see any neighbors.

It's not that I haven't found my dream home, it's that the people in it wont move!!

How was your moving day determined? I mean did you have to move on the first of the month?...or could you pick "mid-month" this way you could move in gradually instead of doing everything on one hectic day.

my banker said we would probably get our New housekeys the same day we move, meaning we would have only ONE day to move EVERYTHING.

What if we bought a house & closing was June 1st, BUT the folks buying our house couldnt move in until july 1st. would we have to buy insurance for BOTH homes during the one month it is empty? & Is that gonna be alot?

Well I'm about to start looking for homes, hoping to move by the end of this year. Right now it truly is a buyer's market. So far I've seen some potential homes at some really affordable prices. So if the economy needs to be fucked up for 1 more year so be it Plus I would be a first time home buyer and I don't need to sell anything.

Biggest problem is having this big family I don't want to really live with. So I'm thinking duplex. Plus once kids are grown (that ain't even my kids) and if grandma is still here. So I need a 4-5 bedroom home, but it may be empty within 8 years and then I'll have too much house. If I can get a duplex though, I can rent since its a big college town....

Need wise I have a few things. 2 car garage, fenced backyard, jetted tub. Building would be a nice option but my family is kind of destructive so I don't really want to get something nice and new, and then they destroy it, and then they leave and I'm still in it. It would be nice if they knew how to take care of shit....

'nuff said...

the backyard...

dinner anyone?

the reading nook...

I could live on that!^^

connorhawke said:

Yup.

Something tells me I'll never be able to afford it though

[img:$uid]http://www.wright-house.com/frank-lloyd-wright/fallingwater-pictures/fallingwater-1.jpg[/img:$uid]

You know that house got all kind of problems right?

I'd love to get to see it some day tho. It's amazing.

I always dreamed of a little house on the water

johnart said:

connorhawke said:

Yup.

Something tells me I'll never be able to afford it though

[img:$uid]http://www.wright-house.com/frank-lloyd-wright/fallingwater-pictures/fallingwater-1.jpg[/img:$uid]

You know that house got all kind of problems right?

I'd love to get to see it some day tho. It's amazing.

Really?

What's wrong with it?

chocolate1 said:

It was my dream to own my own home.

It needs some work, but it's comfortable and I like it a lot. I live on a dead end street, and the neighbors are nice.

It's been 2 years as of this past Sunday!

Maybe one day I'll get something else, but I don't think so. I like it here.

This was taken shortly after I moved in- the old car is in the driveway....

[img:$uid]http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l256/Teacher_06/Home/SunnyDay.jpg[/img:$uid]

January 2010 Blizzard...

[img:$uid]http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l256/Teacher_06/Blizzard%202010/February1010.jpg[/img:$uid]

So, yeah, I think my dream has been fulfilled...

SCNDLS said:

I built mine and I'm LOVING it five years later.

I was in my previous house, my first, for 7 years and totally knew it was not my "dream" home. Great starter house but not a forever house for me. During that time, I spent hours and hours looking at neighborhoods and model homes to find the design elements and features I wanted. I had a laundry list of must haves and nice to haves.

When I was financially ready to start construction, I studied the floor plan for over a year and knew every change I wanted to make. During construction I was on site 3 times a week for 10 months cuz luckily my other house was only 3 miles aways. That was a great benefit because since I was so familiar with my changes I was able to spot several mistakes during framing and throughout the building process. The construction manager remarked several times, "I've never had a female be this familiar with the building process and specific about what she wants."

I'm obssessive about everything I do especially when my money is involved. I had been buying, selling, building houses for a few years, so I educated myself about construction. It's important to ask the right questions and have a good understanding about what they are doing. I caught LOTS of mistakes and attemped shortcuts that are standard but most buyers don't even notice.

The interior design was also planned for a year and I selected and bought everything while the house was being constructed. I didn't bring any furniture from my other house and chose most of the pieces online. So, everything I got for the new one was pretty much purchased sight unseen and I just prayed the shit would work together when I saw it in a room. Thank God it did.

Then there was changing out every lighting/plumbing fixture from the builder's crap and doing the designs for the concrete floors and having those done before anything could be installed. It was a lot of work and it took me a month after closing before I could move in. Luckily, I wasn't in a rush to put my house on the market so I could stay there until everything was done in the new one.

For me, it was a true labor of love. I had an excellent builder (one of the best in the country) who allowed me to customize my home without charging me up the wazzoo. I take great pride in the fact that every wall, window, fixture, piece of molding is where it is because that's where *I* wanted it. It wasn't so long ago that black people and other minorities couldn't live where we wanted and we're STILL excluded from certain areas regularly. So as a single, black woman surrounded by white folks trynna figure how I did it, I think it's a great accomplishment.

I say all this to say, that if at all possible take your time. Make a list of what you MUST have and what you'd like to have. Spend a lot of time looking at houses/builders to fully understand what's available and what your money can buy.

Good luck on your search.

Your home is beautiful. I remember you showing pictures of it when you were finishing up on it. And of course, the ones in the "your room" thread.

My house is not my dream home but I'm slowly fixing it up and making it as close to my dream home as I'm probably going to get. I still love it after 6 years of living here.

connorhawke said:

johnart said:

You know that house got all kind of problems right?

I'd love to get to see it some day tho. It's amazing.

Really?

What's wrong with it?

built over a river, old construction technology, poor quality building materials and more...

Wright was a BRILLIANT architect and designer (on paper) but some of his "real world" applications left a bit to be desired...

and don't get me wrong... I ADORE Frank Lloyd Wright and I have a picture of Falling Water over my desk but sadly, very sadly, that house has issues...

I'd live there in a heartbeat though...

This pic right here...

.

[Edited 1/23/11 12:58pm]

RenHoek said:

connorhawke said:

Really?

What's wrong with it?

built over a river, old construction technology, poor quality building materials and more...

Wright was a BRILLIANT architect and designer (on paper) but some of his "real world" applications left a bit to be desired...

and don't get me wrong... I ADORE Frank Lloyd Wright and I have a picture of Falling Water over my desk but sadly, very sadly, that house has issues...

I'd live there in a heartbeat though...