I would say a not so good neighborhood is out of the question. But a location that isn't everything you were looking for might be ok.

Hubby and I bought a house 2 years ago, that needed (and still needs) work. We got the house very cheap, and are slowly fixing things as we can. But my husband can fix just about anything, so we save money there.

I could not live with my parents...no way. I would rather find something that was at least close to what I want, instead of doing that.

I don't know if I've helped you much. I hope you find what you are looking for.

You have just answered your own question, as you stated that you have wanted to live somewhere rural your entire life! So, if that is your dream, then make it work. Perhaps the house will be more modest than what you had hoped, but you can always fix up a house, never the location.

Have you considered taking a room mate, or rent out the basement? Not everyone is comfortable with that, but it would help with the mortgage.

Finally, don't overestimate what kind of property you could maintain on your own. But have fun and feel confident that you will find the perfect place!

Ditto above.
Honestly? if it ends up being a mobile home on a quiet acre? Hey, that's fine. *You* need to feel at home, and I'm with you. Cities, yuck! Quiet and trees are vital for my sanity.

We bought a great house in a great locatoin but we waited *two years* to find the right one, we had that luxury. ANd I still spent six months fixing it up and paying for renovations and so on. Yech.

But the location was more important thant he house itself to me, so if you find an imperfect building in a great location? Hey, worked out for me. Being "safe" in the neighborhood meant a lot more than if I had to repaint walls or eventually replace some faucets and sinks and all. If the building has no termites or mold and rot, that's a great start.

Big purrs!

I am definitely not considering anything in the neighborhoods where there's a legitimate concern of getting stabbed. My issue is that if I buy a house in the country that needs a lot of work, I can't afford to fix it right now and it could be years before I have the money...so I need one with functional plumbing, electric, etc-I have no problem painting walls, staining cabinets, or living with an ugly bathroom for a while. The few houses in the country I've seen online that I can afford either need a TON of work before I could even move in, or they're sold before I get a chance to go see them. I'm going to look at one in the city tonight, the house looks ok aside from some minor cosmetic things, and it's in a safe location but parts of that street are a bit congested. On the plus side it's affordable, has a decent size yard (I am looking for a dog as soon as my cats acclimate to the move), and the yard is lined with trees so other houses aren't so visible. It'll also take 20 minutes off my commute to work. If I like the house in person I guess I'll consider making an offer...maybe years down the line I can save up more money to buy a house in a better location. If I don't like it the search continues...it's only been a couple weeks, but I'm getting totally burnt out and very anxious about the prospect of living with my parents.

Agreed on functional aspects: wiring, plumbing, walls, roof. Beyond that, don't get too freaked out in advance, okay? You're not living with the parents *yet*, and you may not have to, so focus on finding places that meet your parameters. It's weird how they pop up when we least expect. We had hired a realtor who found us places she'd make good commissions off of, and we found our house ourselves. A tiny tiny ad in the newspaper. Just when I was ready to have a breakdown that I'd be stuck living in bug-infested rentals with gun-wielding neighbors... Poof!

Praying for you to get a miracle like mine:-)

So now my parents want me to break my lease and move in with them...wtf. I don't even know if my landlord will let me do that. I'd rather pay for 2 places for a couple months, it would be worth it not to live with people who criticize my every move and make me feel worthless. Already freaking out and I haven't even texted the landlord. Thankfully the house yesterday was another shithole, because my parents were getting pissy with me for complaining about the location. Why didn't I like it? From the yard you could see, hear and smell the highway. I would consider a quiet part of the city but I'll be damned if I'm gonna buy a place where I can't sit in my yard and read without hearing traffic. I'm going to look at one in my town tonight. Fingers crossed that this will be it. Good location, quiet road, a little less land than I'd like but enough. And looks really nice on the inside, they even painted it in some of my favorite colors lol...I really think I'm going to like this one.

My advice to you is don't settle, especially about the neighborhood. Little things about the house you can always improve over time, so that's peanuts. And if your landlord is a cool person, you can always talk to them and see if they will let you out of the lease early if you find a place. Otherwise, I agree, paying for 2 places is worth it if it's the right one for you. You can always sublet too, or find someone to replace your lease. Talk to your land lord about that as well. Maybe if you find a renter he / she will let you go.

So I loved the house last night... But it turns out it was back on the market because it failed inspection. There was also evidence that water gets in the basement fairly regularly. I am going to keep looking until my lease is up, but unfortunately it looks like the best(most logical) option would be to move in with my parents. Even if I buy a mobile home or condo, I'll be paying $400 or so in fees monthly so saving will be tough...with my parents I can probably put about $1500 in savings per month, maybe even a little more... As much as it scares me to do that I might have to and hope that I can handle it for long enough to find a place... But they may let me get a dog, so if that happens it could be more bearable. It just sucks because for 10 years I was depressed, suicidal during high school and college and they screamed at me for it, accused me of faking for attention, etc. The past 4 years since I moved out haven't been easy, but this is the happiest I've been since I was a little kid..

Leo, is absolutely right. I started renting this house, and bought it, thank G-d, when it went for sale. Been here 30 plus years. Bought it b/c, it's quiet, private, & close to where I do things. Little by little we had it fixed up. Now, it's looking old again. But this time, there's no $, so we just overlook it's faults as we do our own.

Love the cross-current breezes. The night sky. I see the moon from my bed. Private garden. Little things like that..makes me happy to live here.

Ok so now I found another one I might be able to afford...PLEASE keep your fingers crossed! Different town but quiet area, more land even. I'm getting so anxious at the prospect of moving in with my parents!!

from my experience of moving and buying and selling a couple of times, I would say. wait until you find the house that is right for you. you'll know it as soon as you step inside. it is worth the wait.

I am about to start the process of buying the house i am currently renting from the council here. it is a good opportunity and i don't know why i keep putting it off, they will provide the finance and everything so it is a really good deal.

your perfect house is just waiting for you to find it. good luck with it.

I lived alone in a house for 7 years just 2 years ago. When I bought it I was in good health, could mow my own lawn, but then several illnesses and accidents later there was a time, I needed caregivers.

I'm so glad I picked a house that was: one story only. I could use a cart to put my groceries in and cart them in. It was a perfect size/1400 square feet. Easy to clean. I had tile floors which I wanted because of the heat here in Texas. It had a nice cozy fireplace and a backyard so I could get a dog. When I got in my accidents, I couldn't mow the lawn anymore, so I had to hire a service. Fortunately here it is very cheap. Eventually my parents paid for that monthly as the hoa would fine you if you didn't keep it up. But then again, my parents decided to take me off the trust and kicked me out so they could save my brother financially.

The best advice I could give is: keep it in your name only, stay close to services. On my very worst days because I couldn't afford help, I could crawl into the car and drive a block to walgreens and do my grocery shopping there (that's when I had serious heart issues). My walgreens is my savior as I can drive thru to get meds when really sick and I moved close to my gp...only 15 minutes so I can pop in when I have new issues. That has been awesome. I absolutely love where I live now. The only downside I had was because I did live close to the freeway and could hear the morning traffic so I wore earplugs. I had yapper dogs next to me for a while at all hours but I was backed to a greenbelt so no back neighbors. The house was build in 1987 and turns out it had a leak from the roof and I tested very high for indoor mold which I believe led to my frequent sinus infections. I would make sure you do a very good inspection for any issues at all. I think buying a new house is the best option, for me at least because with new construction comes better insulation for noise and heating and air conditioning. Also better for allergies if they use good materials. I'm in a higher end condo spec apartment now and the noise is so much lower because they use, I think triple paned windows...we are right next to the freeway and I barely hear any noise. Also, the a/c rarely kicks on and it's already 90 here.

Take it or leave it, but YAY for you getting into a house!!!! Let us know what you find, so exciting!!

Just read your last comment about your parents and breaking the lease. Don't do it! My parents ruined my credit by not paying the last months utility bills and giving me some very bad advice about the titling on the house. My mom was a realtor and I "thought" she had my best interest at heart. Turns out, she was only using me as a piggy bank so that she could, "have an investment property" something she slipped out one time I spoke to her.

If the money is a gift from your parents, then tell them they get the added benefit of claiming up to $10,000 as a gift deduction on their income taxes and to leave the decisions to you. YOU are an adult, this is YOUR house and don't cave to their pressure. Have a broken lease on your credit would be a disaster. In Texas, you can't get another lease if you break one unless it's less than desirable place.

I do agree with the others about finding the right place. Funny, my parents gave me 3 weeks notice to find a place (again, their best interest), but I was lucky I did walk into the place and just "KNOW" it was the one for me. I made a list of my top 5 things I wanted and then I negotitated with myself. It was only a couple thousand over our price point, so it ended up fitting perfectly.

Realtor.com has great apps on the phone if you have tablet or smartphone. It will actually send you an urgent alert for a place that fits all your parameters. I relied on realtor.com and zillow.com but realtor.com updates fastest from realtors. I did my own house hunting and found it on my own. The one day I went out with realtor, we looked at things that were all yukky. The good ones go really fast, so if you can set up an alert and get to the listing agent within a couple hours to see it, it's first come first serve. It's hugely competetive here in Austin, Texas, so I got schooled, haha!

Wishing you house hunting blessings!!
Hugs,
JP