Why the big deal about carpet? Don’t understand. (We have hardwood floors, no carpet.)
Allergens, grime, and you have no idea how they were handled before you got there. I don't have budget to make modifications, so buying new flooring is entirely out of the question.
Someone mentioned a metal roof (too lazy to look who). That’s gotta be noisy as heck in the rain surely?
Probably me. I want a metal roof because they last longer, and sound awesome AF when it rains. Raindrops on a metal roof is like a white noise machine for me. I'm out like a light.
Our maximum electric heating bill in the winter can be $400+. Compared to about $70 in the summer.
I plan on suffering in extreme cold and heat to keep my bills down. I was even looking at a house that had zero A/C.
Nobody has mentioned a security system. I don’t care where you live, you will need it. Even a country home we had in the woods in NY state was burglarized.
I have a very vocal 80 lb dog. That's all the security I need. And a .308 if all else fails
Agree on the 1.5 bathrooms. A necessity.
I can only crap in one toilet at a time, so one bathroom is perfectly fine.
Don’t buy a corner house if you’re not prepared to maintain both the sidewalks.
What are sidewalks?
Carpet has its pros and cons. Preferences vary. I just think carpeting doesn't have to be a deal-breaker since it's more easily dealt with than, say, trying to add a bathroom or make a kitchen bigger.
I also heard that, although metal roofs are currently all the rage, if something gets in to let some of it rust or deteriorate, it can go downhill fast from there.
Our bills look like yours... but our budget costs year-round amount to about $250 for natural gas and about $300 for electric. (We have central air. Our house is huge with 12-foot ceilings. We have two large furnace units and two large A/C units.) Those stable amounts monthly (which are revisited about twice a year to be sure they're in the right range) help us budget.
We switched from a Vector security system to a Ring security system. Way cheaper and we have good control over it, even from afar.
Corner lots are typically worth more, but yes on the sidewalk maintenance. We have two sets of sidewalks because our yard spans the width of two streets. So, 100+ feet in the front and 100+ feet in the back. O joy!
At this point I have a lot of unknowns budget wise. But, thank God, I have a car that is worth more than my current loan and I can sell it in less than a week and net enough profit to buy a used one. So...if I get settled and see I ****ed up my math I will be selling the FRS and crying myself to sleep at night. But at least it'll be in my own home.
I know I'll probably get flak for this, but I am raiding my retirement account for the 3.5% down payment. I'm a Millennial and I have no delusions of grandeur: I will be working til I drop dead at my desk.