[raptorduck]

SDRealtor. I don’t know that I can help. My wife started pushing to upgrade homes 2 years after we bought our current one and we have been in it now for 8 years give or take. Her view is that we should live in the most house we can afford. My view is that we should live in the house we “need.”

Because of changed family circumstances, we now need 3 times the house we have, but I don’t want to spend the max I can afford if I can spend much less and get what we need. If I can get that for $2M great, that is what I will do. If I must pay $5M to get what we want, then I will, but no more (could not anyway with a conventional mortgage). I suspect I will find what we want in my sweet range of $3-$4M, preferably on the lower end of that range.

Although I have seen my equity in my current house drop dramatically this past year, I still have well over 55% equity in my current house and I like that feeling. In this market, 20% down won’t buy me much equity after a year or two so I prefer something closer to 25%-35% to buffer further market depreciation in case of emergency (the better buffer is to not overpay to begin with of course). After I buy, I will follow my philosophy of agressively paying down principal above the min payment until I have at least 70%-80% equity, depending on my starting point.

[raptorduck]

Navydoc. As many people here know, my range is $2-$5 million purchase price, but my sweet spot is really between $3-$4 million because I prefer not to only put down 20%. But, I need a certain size house with certain things for particular reasons in certain areas for other reasons, hence the broad range.

BTW, if you are a Navy doctor, my hat is off to you. I am a Navy veteran and was stationed in SD, when I first fell in love with it. I got sick once and spent 10 days in Balboa Naval Hospital and my doc was great.

OCrenter, I probably could hold off blinking for another years. My wife, however, may grab me by the hair, sweep her hand around over my eyelids, and make me blink by about this time next year.

Alas, blinking does not mean I have to overpay, however, I can blink on a reasonable opportunity.

I am not looking for an investment. I am looking for a home.

[raptorduck]

Navydoc. As many people here know, my range is $2-$5 million purchase price, but my sweet spot is really between $3-$4 million because I prefer not to only put down 20%. But, I need a certain size house with certain things for particular reasons in certain areas for other reasons, hence the broad range.

BTW, if you are a Navy doctor, my hat is off to you. I am a Navy veteran and was stationed in SD, when I first fell in love with it. I got sick once and spent 10 days in Balboa Naval Hospital and my doc was great.

OCrenter, I probably could hold off blinking for another years. My wife, however, may grab me by the hair, sweep her hand around over my eyelids, and make me blink by about this time next year.

Alas, blinking does not mean I have to overpay, however, I can blink on a reasonable opportunity.

I am not looking for an investment. I am looking for a home.

[raptorduck]

Navydoc. As many people here know, my range is $2-$5 million purchase price, but my sweet spot is really between $3-$4 million because I prefer not to only put down 20%. But, I need a certain size house with certain things for particular reasons in certain areas for other reasons, hence the broad range.

BTW, if you are a Navy doctor, my hat is off to you. I am a Navy veteran and was stationed in SD, when I first fell in love with it. I got sick once and spent 10 days in Balboa Naval Hospital and my doc was great.

OCrenter, I probably could hold off blinking for another years. My wife, however, may grab me by the hair, sweep her hand around over my eyelids, and make me blink by about this time next year.

Alas, blinking does not mean I have to overpay, however, I can blink on a reasonable opportunity.

I am not looking for an investment. I am looking for a home.

[raptorduck]

Navydoc. As many people here know, my range is $2-$5 million purchase price, but my sweet spot is really between $3-$4 million because I prefer not to only put down 20%. But, I need a certain size house with certain things for particular reasons in certain areas for other reasons, hence the broad range.

BTW, if you are a Navy doctor, my hat is off to you. I am a Navy veteran and was stationed in SD, when I first fell in love with it. I got sick once and spent 10 days in Balboa Naval Hospital and my doc was great.

OCrenter, I probably could hold off blinking for another years. My wife, however, may grab me by the hair, sweep her hand around over my eyelids, and make me blink by about this time next year.

Alas, blinking does not mean I have to overpay, however, I can blink on a reasonable opportunity.

I am not looking for an investment. I am looking for a home.

[raptorduck]

Navydoc. As many people here know, my range is $2-$5 million purchase price, but my sweet spot is really between $3-$4 million because I prefer not to only put down 20%. But, I need a certain size house with certain things for particular reasons in certain areas for other reasons, hence the broad range.

BTW, if you are a Navy doctor, my hat is off to you. I am a Navy veteran and was stationed in SD, when I first fell in love with it. I got sick once and spent 10 days in Balboa Naval Hospital and my doc was great.

OCrenter, I probably could hold off blinking for another years. My wife, however, may grab me by the hair, sweep her hand around over my eyelids, and make me blink by about this time next year.

Alas, blinking does not mean I have to overpay, however, I can blink on a reasonable opportunity.

I am not looking for an investment. I am looking for a home.

[raptorduck]

Potroast! I love potroast. If I was not happily married, I would . . .

[raptorduck]

Potroast! I love potroast. If I was not happily married, I would . . .

[raptorduck]

Potroast! I love potroast. If I was not happily married, I would . . .

[raptorduck]

Potroast! I love potroast. If I was not happily married, I would . . .

[raptorduck]

Potroast! I love potroast. If I was not happily married, I would . . .

[raptorduck]

I swear I posted a response earlier, but it did not show. Thank you both for your comments. As always, very helpful.

I do indeed plan on writing some offers in March or later on one or more of 3-4 houses we are tracking closely (includling this one if I like it after I see it) that follow my buying rules. On 2 of those, the sellers are sticking to their asking prices like glue. On another seller is flexible but there is something fishy about the listing and the seller’s agent is the most unmotivated seller’s agent I have see yet.

As for a casita/guest house, every home we have looked at without one we have thought about putting one in and looked where. But after all the stuff I did earlier this year on building a home up here, I am not as enthusiastic about building. But a casista is not like building a main house of course.

[raptorduck]

I swear I posted a response earlier, but it did not show. Thank you both for your comments. As always, very helpful.

I do indeed plan on writing some offers in March or later on one or more of 3-4 houses we are tracking closely (includling this one if I like it after I see it) that follow my buying rules. On 2 of those, the sellers are sticking to their asking prices like glue. On another seller is flexible but there is something fishy about the listing and the seller’s agent is the most unmotivated seller’s agent I have see yet.

As for a casita/guest house, every home we have looked at without one we have thought about putting one in and looked where. But after all the stuff I did earlier this year on building a home up here, I am not as enthusiastic about building. But a casista is not like building a main house of course.

[raptorduck]

I swear I posted a response earlier, but it did not show. Thank you both for your comments. As always, very helpful.

I do indeed plan on writing some offers in March or later on one or more of 3-4 houses we are tracking closely (includling this one if I like it after I see it) that follow my buying rules. On 2 of those, the sellers are sticking to their asking prices like glue. On another seller is flexible but there is something fishy about the listing and the seller’s agent is the most unmotivated seller’s agent I have see yet.

As for a casita/guest house, every home we have looked at without one we have thought about putting one in and looked where. But after all the stuff I did earlier this year on building a home up here, I am not as enthusiastic about building. But a casista is not like building a main house of course.

[raptorduck]

I swear I posted a response earlier, but it did not show. Thank you both for your comments. As always, very helpful.

I do indeed plan on writing some offers in March or later on one or more of 3-4 houses we are tracking closely (includling this one if I like it after I see it) that follow my buying rules. On 2 of those, the sellers are sticking to their asking prices like glue. On another seller is flexible but there is something fishy about the listing and the seller’s agent is the most unmotivated seller’s agent I have see yet.

As for a casita/guest house, every home we have looked at without one we have thought about putting one in and looked where. But after all the stuff I did earlier this year on building a home up here, I am not as enthusiastic about building. But a casista is not like building a main house of course.

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