EDIT: Zipcode is 99352, Richland, WA. This is eastern Washington State and basically an oversized suburb without a city center. We're surrounded by rural farmland.
About us:
- Expecting our first child in May
- Renting a four bedroom plus bonus room house with a beautiful backyard for $2,600/mo
- ~$350k combined gross income, $90k stashed for down payment/closing costs, $40k emergency fund, $17k left on car loan
We require:
- Location in our current zipcode that is walking distance from a park
- Backyard that gets sun and is large enough for playing catch, trampoline, and playsets
- Open floor plan with a good view of the backyard
- Master suite on the same floor as kid's bedrooms
- Space for: two kid bedrooms, playroom, rec room, home office
- Non sloped driveway and limited steps from front door to sidewalk
We want:
- Walking distance from elementary school
- One story home or one story with a bonus room over garage
- Large main living space that is good for hosting
- Junior suite that is separated from kid's bedrooms
We've been searching for homes since October 2025 and upped our initial price range from $550-600k to $650-700k after we couldn't find anything we liked.
Are we being too picky with our requirements and wants? With a baby on the way, should we compromise and put in an offer on a home that meets some but not all of our requirements? Or should we keep waiting in the hopes that a great listing falls in our lap even if that means moving with a baby?
We're very happy with our rental and are in no rush to leave, but obviously we'd love to start building equity and feel settled in our home. If anything, our rental has set too a high a standard for a home.
Are we being too picky buying our first home?
byu/filthy_kasual inRealEstate
Posted by filthy_kasual
14 Comments
This is so impossible to answer not knowing what market you’re in.
Location is very relevant. If you are in Texas, id say it isnt too much to ask. If you are in NYC, id say you are a troll.
Yes
All sounds reasonable except the one level. In most areas that’s a two story house.
There will be more properties on market this spring. You’ve been looking during the slowest time.
If you get 80% of what you are looking for you’re in good shape.
Good luck!
Location? The current zip code you’re in doesn’t tell us anything. Also those things are not things that are important to me except the kids bedroom thing.
At 350k HHI I’d just increase the budget. You can afford so much more, and you’ll get something so much nicer.
Not being in a rush makes anything possible. Time + consistency = success. For a home, zero compromises, you want to do this once. You’ll irritate your agent, that’s about the only negative.
What market and neighborhood are you looking in?
First time home buyers often have a long requirements list. Meeting the full list is often impossible. You just won’t find a home the checks every box.
I see at least 15 requirements you listed. Gonna be hard to meet all of them.
My suggestion is to slim down and/or rearrange the list. What are the handful of MUST haves? Everything else are nice to haves and you must be willing to buy a home that doesn’t meet a good number of them.
My first time buying a home, I had a similar long list. My real estate agent was frank and forward about too many requirements. I expected 6+ months to find a home. He successfully nudged me towards one in 3 weeks. Was a great home, despite not having everything I originally sought.
For what it’s worth, I’m also due early May and we just got our offer accepted/finalized on a house available in early June (new build)! Moving with a baby will be annoying, but my husband and I will both have 12 weeks of leave we can use to get settled in the new space. Young babies sleep a lot and can be carried at least.
It may depend on your leave time though. Since my husband also has a lot of time off, I’m comfortable with us sharing the load of new baby and new house. If my husband only had a week, it’d be a lot more difficult for me postpartum to do both. Don’t forget babies can come early, too. So you may have things perfectly planned out that go amiss.
The part that feels too picky to me is the requirement for playroom + rec room + office. I don’t know what you have/imagine, but it seems like you could get by with 2 spare rooms and not need 3.
I’d also be flexible on the open floor plan. That may be nice, but it doesn’t feel like a hard requirement.
Why are you so invested in the current zip code?
Make an offer on your rental house
You’ll find something in the spring. October-February are just generally slow months in terms of new inventory.
Look at homes sold over the last year. Do any of them meet your requirements and budget? If so, keep looking, if not, re evaluate based on what’s actually available at what price.
If you haven’t found what you are looking for in your price range for almost half a year it likely doesn’t exist. It’s important to focus on what’s most important or be willing to pay more. You might consider going to open houses in higher price ranges to see if they are what you are looking for.