Quote:
Originally Posted by Walks44
To give some more information, the lot backs on to a space that is a baseball diamond and future rec. centre, the baseball diamond is already up, there are already trees planted about 15 feet off the chain-link fence providing privacy. AS for the architectual controls it includes extra windows, stone, roof designs, etc. They budgeted 15K for it. Right now this decision is just tearing me up. As for a deck they didn't mention anything, but I plan for a concrete patio with a built in firepit. That came up in a discussion with the sales rep. The house price is right, and the lot is great, but about 10k is putting me on the fence, and we really do need to upgrade from 1500sq/ft to something bigger. This new house would be 2069 sq/ft and has all things we said we would want in a next house....... so frustrating........
|
Just curious, what development is this? Sounds upscale if they want stone on the back. Extra windows are absolutely worth it.
If you go for the non-greenspace home, you will have very little privacy in your back yard. It's not just that you can see everyone else on their deck on the whole block of homes that back behind you. It's also that everyone's bedroom or bonus room windows look down on your backyard from behind, so it always feels like someone is watching you. Take it from me as someone who is in that situation. OK, for some people this is not a big deal as there are many in my neighbourhood who seem to go out in their backyard no more than a dozen times a summer. We, on the other hand, are out there every day.
When we were building, we had the choice of picking the neighbourhood we really wanted and compromising on finishings, or go for a cheaper neighbourhood in order to get a larger home with better finishings. We decided to go for the neighbourhood we really wanted and made big sacrifices on finishing (no granite and limited hardwood, etc.). We could always add these things later but we could never move the home to a different neighbourhood. (I don't buy into the "property ladder" theory either, it just means you end up spending way more money on real estate commissions over the long term.)
One last thing: don't be afraid to try to make a reduced offer on the contract. There was a time when salespeople wouldn't even take these offers back to head office, but these days they are fairly common.