For those looking fir a large house

People living in a two or three bedroom house, those with families with three, four or more children, and perhaps grandma or grandpa too, can't be blamed if they spend an inordinate amount of time wishing for something bigger, and generally a lot bigger,
5-bedrooms at least, six if they can afford it.

But one of the problems with a large house is they tend to get expensive. Do you wish for 5 bedrooms in a city like Austin, Texas. Better keep buying those Powerball lottery tickets unless you and your wife both are pulling down 6 figures, Most 5-bedroom homes start at $750,000 in a large city, And 6 bedrooms are only fir people buying mansions.

So what's the alternative? Buying a large house out in the country.

First of all, for those who shudder in fear at leaving the city, with its Starbucks coffee, fast food places and shopping malls, realize that what we are talking about, when we say country is not living out in the middle of the prairie in North Dakota.

No, we are talking about suburban communities that are an easy commute of 30 miles or so into the city. There are literally thousands of such communities, places of around 10,000 population or more that were truly country in the 40s and 50s and now are commuter bedroom communities that have most of the shopping facilities of the city.

One thing more that these communities have is large, 5 and 6 bedroom homes that were built in the 1940's or so.

And many of them have old fashioned amenities that modern homes don't have such as covered front porches, developed, lush back yards with mature shade trees, gardens, pantries and kitchen floors.

Before you buy

The first thing to do, of course, is to take a half dozen or more drives out to these towns. Some are less developed than others. Sine are a commuters dream. Be sure to check out the local schools as well for your kids.

Once you've located one or two communities that you can see yourself living in, find a really good real estate agent in each community. Having a good realtor is important because they are familiar with both the pros and the cons of an old house. You don't want to purchase an old house only to find out the furnace is about ti go out or the roof leaks,

Once you find a house you are seriously interested in, have it inspected by b professional before you make an offer.

If the professional found something wrong with the house such as a bad furnace, make a new furnace a contingency for purchase. Contingency offers are very important with older houses, and again a reason you want a really good realtor to represent you.

It does take work to find an older home you are interested in living in within a commuter bedroom community, but there are so many advantages. Not only will you and your family find the pace of living just a little bit slower, but often more neighborly and friendly.

And if you find the right larger house you can often save hundreds of thousands of dollars in the process.

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