[Robert Adams]

house hunting is way more stressful & totally a negative, and more even more negative experience than it was 18 years ago, which was the last time I bought a house and moved from the previous home of 15 years.
Between the non-permitted renovations, inept contractors work and a significant number of upside down mortgages, soon to be short sales so no room to negotiate,
we were almost ready to buy the condo/townhouse and give up on the dream of living in a cottage in the woods on water. After 3 months of looking and another 5 months - (3) contracts & (2) attorney reviews on the same house; we bought a 1920s shingle style cottage on a river in the woods from the owner who was 101 and is now 102. We had to gut it to the studs, install new electric, plumbing, windows, AC, a completely new heating system including pipes & fix the fireplace/heating flues, new insulation (never had any), and put in a new septic not to mention a new kitchen and bathrooms, but at least in the end we know it was all done right and will last for the next decade/s.
My daughter & her husband recently went home shopping this past fall. Unbelievable experiences; I joined them on a number of open houses because of our experience renovating 3 homes. Every hack with a hammer & saw has been OD'ing on to much HGTV.
After a couple months looking it was apparent, this wasn't going to be easy or inexpensive. The last batch of houses we all went to look at, we ended up taking a home inspector with us to 4 houses. Fortunately he was a friend of my son-in-law and was a former building inspector so his expense was a case of beer. The one home that sort of past muster went into a bidding war and settled at $60k over asking. WTF is that all about? $60K?? Oh, and don't get me started on real-estate sales people. Find one you trust and like and let them advocate for you, it's worth it!
I thought maybe all this crap was just what it takes to stay in NJ, but I guess not.

VASH, I WISH YOU LUCK!
I also have a rental story after renting out our last house, but probably should start my own thread on that subject and not get off topic here. I'll just say it was a fairly positive experience, but like anything else, garbage in, garbage out, so interview well!
Rob