Why is it so hard to buy a home?

[mommy111]

So this is partly for commiseration but partly also looking to see if I’m being in reasonable. We’re in the Boston area looking for a house. It’s so hard! Partly I think because we need space and a yard. Partly because we’re stuck in our area because DD is in high school and we don’t want to move her. Partly because things are just so darned expensive!! I’ve looked for this entire year......we were outbid twice, one House we got looked like the owners did not have a clean title and one we got that the kids loved has high radon levels so we are probably just going to walk. So I guess the choice is between living in a crappy unrenovated old building with no air conditioning, or a tiny house where all of us will be on one another or a house where I have to constantly worry about kids not going into the basement because there is radioactive material there. Am I being unreasonable? I kept asking myself this with the radon especially, but this is not a high radon area and to choose to live in a place like that and potentially expose young kids to radon seems insane to me.....am I crazy? Anyone else out there like me? What would you do?

[SnuggleBuggles]

As many of us said in your radon thread, it’s not a deal breaker for us. Buy the house, mitigate, monitor. Or pick a different part of the country (and they’re unique challenges!). Fingers crosses for a new, great choice though!


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[JBaxter]

When we lived in Maryland they checked for radon and if it tested above a certain level you put the mitigation system in and it was fine. Lots of people move when kids are in high school Its not great but it happens.

[dogmom]

So this is partly for commiseration but partly also looking to see if I’m being in reasonable. We’re in the Boston area looking for a house. It’s so hard! Partly I think because we need space and a yard. Partly because we’re stuck in our area because DD is in high school and we don’t want to move her. Partly because things are just so darned expensive!! I’ve looked for this entire year......we were outbid twice, one House we got looked like the owners did not have a clean title and one we got that the kids loved has high radon levels so we are probably just going to walk. So I guess the choice is between living in a crappy unrenovated old building with no air conditioning, or a tiny house where all of us will be on one another or a house where I have to constantly worry about kids not going into the basement because there is radioactive material there. Am I being unreasonable? I kept asking myself this with the radon especially, but this is not a high radon area and to choose to live in a place like that and potentially expose young kids to radon seems insane to me.....am I crazy? Anyone else out there like me? What would you do?

It’s $1000-2000 depending on your house to fix the radon issue. And all of New England is high radon. It’s a VERY easy fix. I live in the area, I had it done a few years ago when we finished off the basement. The kids can go down to the basement without the fix, they just shouldn’t be spending large chunks of time there. It needs a consistent exposure. Also, although it increases your risk of lung cancer, it’s not like everyone that slept in a basement with hours of exposure everyday will get lung cancers. We had central air put in this summer. It was pricy and we chose to take a loan out from my 401k instead of home equity to do so. My 80 yo MIL is moving in, she needs it. When we first bought our house 18 years ago there were only a few weeks a year I thought “AC would be nice” and I worked nights and slept during the day. Now it feels like 2/3 of May-Sept AC would be useful. It will make a big difference when we sell, it’s not getting cooler.

I’m not sure how old your kids are, mine are 12 & 15. This last year I realized that I have lived over half my time in this house since we plan to move out after the kids finish college, so 10-12 years. I have not interest in changing houses now. I’d rather figure out what would really have benefit to the house for US, not for resale. Just the moving expense and realtor fee would equal central AC and radon mitigation. This IS a hard market. You have to decide how long you actually need the things you desire (a big yard, for example). As in a few years that won’t matter as much for kids. Sit down with your DH, and the kids, and have discussion about what you want. Maybe you don’t get as big of a house, but you get to go on a fantastic vacation every year. Lots of people are making their homes more what they want because the inventory is low. Which makes the inventory even lower. It’s different than before the housing bubble burst and people were mostly thinking of resale value. For example, I did need a decked out bathroom, although that’s supposed to a wise investment. I do want a room in my basement that my husband can play his VR and my sons friends can come over for day and night long D&D games. I out a fish pond because I always wanted one. Figure out what you want. A new house will come with a new set of problems and wants. Maybe selling is the choice for you, but their are other choices.

Look, for all I know the Zombie apocalypse will come before I move out of this house. So I’m going to have it be the house I want when I live in it, but not spend too much money changing it so I can eventually retire.

[NCGrandma]

When I replied to your radon thread, I didn’t know what area you live in, but I mentioned that my impression (based on family house hunting experience) is that New England has pretty widespread radon. Not sure if your immediate area really is not a high radon area (guess it depends on definitions), but your questions prompted me to look for more info. Massachusetts definitely has radon in all counties (which may be a plus if it means that it’s easier to find reputable installers of mitigation devices).

The EPA website has a lot of info about this, with maps, etc (https://www.epa.gov/radon) but perhaps the most reassuring is their statement "radon is a health hazard with a simple solution." As snugglebuggles said, mitigate and monitor!



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[nfceagles]

I do think you’re being unreasonable about the radon if you otherwise want the house. I’d much rather have a house with a mitigation system (a very simple fix) and a plug in detector to catch the system if it breaks down than a house that I think doesn’t have radon because it tested low enough during that one 48hr period we checked. My basement’s radon levels are lower than many houses that pass the radon test BECAUSE I have a mitigation system. And I got it free because the sellers put it in!


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[khm]

Radon is so common where I am. But it is an easy easy fix. Easy and inexpensive. No, I wouldn't let radon deter a sale. Additionally, is the basement finished? Will the kids even be hanging out there?

I think in a market like Boston, you have to make some serious compromises that people in other areas don't have to worry about. Asking on a board like this probably isn't helpful because many of us live in radically different real estate realities.

[magnoliaparadise]

Two thoughts:

I would be ok with a house with high radon and just fix it, as others have said.

But YES, I do empathize with your plight of trying to find a home. It's exhausting!!

[westwoodmom04]

You actually need near constant exposure to radon over decades to have serious cancer risk. Most of us who grew up in a house in the Northeast with a basement have been exposed to radon our whole life. Radon mitigation is new, radon is not. It is a cancer risk that can be controlled, but even without mitigation, it is a very small risk—the amount of people who die from lung cancer caused by radon each year is .007% of the U.S. population. Even this minuscule number does not reflect risk from radon in the home, lung cancer from radon exposure is much more commonly caused by having an occupation that puts you in regular contact with radon, like mining or working in a fertilizer factory.

[Twoboos]

Our current house (and previous house) has a radon mitigation systems. This is something the seller should take care of, it might be required in MA if the house has tested high. I wouldn't blink an eye at that, we have a fam room down there, kids do sleepovers there, etc.. We check the monitoring system occasionally and DH is uber-paranoid so we have a secondary alarm in a different section of the basement, which has never gone off or read too high in the 7 years we've been here.

MA is a tough housing market for sure. My bro and SIL live closer to Boston than we do and they have lost multiple houses over the past year or so - a couple just by thinking for a day or not seeing it the first day on the market! And the amount of money they are looking to spend is mind-blowing, and I don't live in a low priced town!

Definitely reconsider the radon house, especially if you really like it, it can really be dealt with pretty easily.