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Independent perspective. Same price on 2 different houses.
Would you buy the smallest house in the best/nicest school district?
(essentially being the poorest kid on the block but with the "best investment")
House needs updates in bathrooms, kitchen fully updated, basement redone.
Or, very nice house in middle-of-the-road neighborhood, with middle-of-the-road schools. Nice house, no updates really needed except maintenance/style changes.
Independent perspective. Same price on 2 different houses.
Would you buy the smallest house in the best/nicest school district?
(essentially being the poorest kid on the block but with the "best investment")
House needs updates in bathrooms, kitchen fully updated, basement redone.
Or, very nice house in middle-of-the-road neighborhood, with middle-of-the-road schools. Nice house, no updates really needed except maintenance/style changes.
Just curious what others would choose.
Depends on the school districts. If you're talking the difference in Suffolk between Cold Spring Harbor and Connetquot, I'd be fine with Connetquot. If you're talking Connetquot vs. Brentwood, I'd stay with Connetquot. It depends on what "Middle of the Road" is.
Personally, I'd go for the house that doesn't need any more work in the middle-of-the-road school district, assuming we're talking about Long Island and a house I plan on living in. The difference between "best" and "middle-of-the-road" school districts is more of a personal thing here, so I'd be content with not having to deal with any more work on the house and still have a decent neighborhood to live in.
If we're talking about a house as an investment vehicle, then I'd go with the smallest house in the best neighborhood, but I wouldn't want to live there and deal with all the headaches of getting the house caught up to speed with the rest of the block.
Just my personal opinion, of course, YMMV. That said, I went through this exact scenario last year. I could have bought a house in Northport Village that needed all kinds of work, but I could go around saying "but it's in THE VILLAGE!" or gone with a bigger, newer, updated house outside of the village. In my case, I'm still in the same school district, so it doesn't have the same impact as your situation, but the factors involved in the decision were similar enough.
Given your specs, for me, given my situation, I would choose the middle of the road house/school one.
Now to take it a step further, you did state a small house in a nice neighborhood. I'm not going for one of those toss it over your shoulder and carry it with you homes.
If it was the same exact house and had everything in it that we're looking for, I would still choose middle/middle. Reason being is that yes I want a good school and a great neighborhood, but I have to go with what I can afford. If money were no object then I'd go for the great school and area.
I believe this question has been asked in the past -- deja vu all over again?
My answer is what I did do -- bought a house in major disrepair, on a tired looking street in a well-regarded school district. It was the worst house on the street. The yard was a jungle and the house required a complete gut. Within 5 years of moving here and repairing and adding to the house, every other house on the street had undergone (or was in the midst of) improvements. We are now situated on a quiet side street of lovely homes in a well-regarded school district.
You have to be honest with yourself -- can your budget handle major renovations, and will you be able to live through them in the house while they are underway on the first house? Would you be happy in the nice home in the middle-of-the road community? You have to look past today and into the next 5 or more years. Do you intend to stay there long, or is this a stepping stone?
You can improve on a small house. It isn't as easy to improve a school district.
Are you capable of making quality updates to the smaller house on your own? Otherwise it could become a money pit if you plan on hiring others to do the work. If you can make the repairs and get some decent sweat equity, I think you'd be best buying that one. Otherwise, take the already done one so you can start enjoying the house right now. I've done both. Living through construction is a pain in the arse, but that was the way I was able to gain equity in my current house. My first was allready done, and was good living from day one. Wanting the bigger house and better area, I bought and redid the second.
You can improve on a small house. It isn't as easy to improve a school district.
This is really what it comes down to, in the end. That being the case, unless school district in question is something like Cold Spring Harbor, I would say that all other "middle-of-the-road" school districts on Long Island are in the same boat, and trade rankings year over year.
I like the language you use...The house needs UPDATES, so many people I hear say this or that house needs a kitchen, bath, etc. when there is a perfectly functional but dated one existing.
Wait long enough and most styles come back into popularity sooner or later.
The updated features of the middle of the road home will be out of date in five to ten years given the attention span of the populace at large these days...
You can always change or modify the improvement (house), you cannot change the location...
I like the language you use...The house needs UPDATES, so many people I hear say this or that house needs a kitchen, bath, etc. when there is a perfectly functional but dated one existing.
Wait long enough and most styles come back into popularity sooner or later.
The updated features of the middle of the road home will be out of date in five to ten years given the attention span of the populace at large these days...
You can always change or modify the improvement (house), you cannot change the location...
Go with the best location.....
So you're telling me that Avacado stove, fridge, and yellow linoleum should stay as they will be back in style soon? I'll call the contractors to cancel.
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Go With The Best Location
