We're moving from FL back to NH so we can raise our son near family. Our budget is around $200k and we're kind of torn about what we should do....what would you choose?
House 1:
$120,000, $3,500 in taxes
4 bedroom, 1 bath, 1803 square feet, cape style 0.9 acres, 2 car garage
Same town as parents. On a dead end road. Decent area. Would need work, new kitchen, maybe a bathroom added, new roof, maybe windows. All doable with out budget, but a little smaller than we were hoping for. Decent school system.
House 2:
$179,900, $3,000 in taxes
4 bedroom 1.5 bathroom, 1967 square feet, victorian, 0.21 acres, 1 car garage
Same town as parents. Busier street than the first house, but not too bad. Smaller yard. Updated and would not need much work at all. In town location and we could ride bikes to my parents house, the small downtown, the park, the beach. (this appeals to us) A little better neighborhood than the first house.
House 3:
$189,900, $7,200 in taxes
3 bedroom, 4 bathroom, 3232 square feet, ranch 1.5 acres
In the town next to my parents, the town we used to live in, (9 minutes vs 5 minutes for the first house and 2 minutes for the second house). On a busier road, I think the speed limit is 45 mph. Updated and doesn't need anything for a while. On a golf course. Partially finished basement. A house that we can truly see us growing into and owning for life. (the house, not the exact location). Gorgeous lake and mountain views from the HUGE back deck. Beautiful back yard, but being on the golf course it offers limited privacy in the back. Kids can only ride bikes in driveway. Road is a HUGE hill so no walking down it either.
House 4:
$112,900, $6,300 in taxes
3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1488 square foot ranch with 1488 square foot basement, log cabin style, 3.28 acres
In the same town as house 3. (12 minutes from my parents) On a busier road, but with a huge yard so lots of room for fun. Needs work, including a new kitchen. Not 100% sure how I feel about a log cabin. Kind of in the boonies surrounded by woods. No garage but has a big pad has already been poured and is ready to build on. I hear the school system is a bit better than the town my parents live in, but I think they are pretty comparable.
These are 4 very different homes and I like pieces of each one. If I could take the dead end street from house #1 with the location of house #2 with the actual house from house #3 and the land from house #4 I would have my dream home.
I have an emotional attachement to the town that house 1 and 2 are in because I grew up there. I always pictured my kids playing home town little league, going to the school I went to, etc.
We are looking to find a house we can live in for a long time, perhaps forever.
So what would you do? What are the pros and cons that you see?