What Do I Do? I don't know what to do. As many of you know my wife and I have been searching for a house for some time now. Well...this is crunch time. Seriously, what I am telling you is that in a week's time Kelly and I will have a new house.

It's down to two...and OH MAN it's a dead even heat. I need as much input from every possible source as possible to help with the decision. Kelly and I REALLY don't know what to do. The decision is between building a new colonial house in Brunswick Hills using Ryan Homes (hereafter called the Ryan Home or "Ryan") and buying a 1987 built ranch style house in Strongsville on Jonathan Road (near Jake and Pam, hereafter called Strongville Home or "SH").

The pros and cons list is so perfectly, intricatly balanced that we have no idea how to procede.

SH (remember, that means the Strongsville Home"), assuming we bargain for 5% off of the asking price, it is 94% of the Ryan price, which is not negotiable past what we have bullied them into already. But, Ryan is a new house so maybe that is a justified expense. The argument really comes down to "New" versus "Established".

• SH:Established lawn and landscaping, Ryan: Must plant your own lawn and landscaping (I've done landscaping work before, though)
• Ryan: Brand new everything exactly as we want it, SH: Must update some ugly areas of the home and must replace counter tops and backsplashes...an added expense
• SH: Needs a new furnace and possibly (we need help here) a new roof if it's still the 1987 original. Oh, and we have to see if there is lead sodder in the pipes and whatnot. Ryan: Obviously these things are new and not an issue.
• Ryan: Must buy most of the appliances, SH: Most appliances stay (although the stove is an original and seriously needs to get replaced)
• The square footage of the Ryan home is defintely more than SH, although the SH has a larger basement (not included in square footage)
• Ryan: 4 bedrooms, SH: 3 bedrooms
• SH: Has a partially finished basement with room to finish more (including adding an office), Ryan: Unfinished basement, not a good space for an office...probably meaning making one of the bedrooms the office
• SH: .51 acres, Ryan: .25 acres (SH is double the lot size)
• Ryan: Very fun and young community, SH: Somewhat older community, but still on the young side compared to greater Cleveland.
• Ryan: Probably need to install some basic things like drapes/mini-blinds, some fan-lights, some towel racks, etc, SH: Already exists
• School districts aren't really an issue because Brunswick is getting MUCH better and Stronsville is getting a little worse
• Taxes aren't an issue because Brunswick tripled their taxes last year to make them comparable.
• All insurance (car, home, life, etc) is cheaper in Medina Country (Ryan) than Cuyahoga (SH)
• Work travel is not an issue because these houses are actually fairly close to each other AND as a contractor I move all over the city anyway.
• Ryan: Move in April, but get to save up money until then, SH: Can move in as soon as some inspections clear and paperwork is filled out, but can't save any more than we already have.

Believe it or not that was just what I quickly wrote off of the top of my head. We have a lot more to consider...yet in a few hours Ryan Homes expects us to inspect the housing site(s) and start the ball rolling. I plan on telling them they have to wait a few more days while we consider a few more things. The deals we have going with Ryan are definitely temporary, making this decision very sensitive to time.

What do we do?  ¶ 10:04 AM