apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I just bought my parents home last month! It has been a very strange transition, I haven't lived here for 15 years! But, the one BIG plus is that I already know where all the light switches are in the dark. :)

The one BIG negative - I've had to put my furniture in the most unnatural place just to misplace the feeling that this place isn't mine... also sleeping in my parents bedroom has given me the worse nostalgia for my old bed/room!

*my parents OLD bedroom.

My parents currently have a McMansion so far away that it would make commuting a huge hassle. Nope, not for me.

i don't think i would buy my parents house. It's very unique since my dad designed it, but not for me at all. Growing up there over the years, and visiting all the time now, i have grown to dislike so many things about it.

The way the bathrooms are set up, all the creaky spots in the floor. The fact that i can hear some one on the 2nd floor from the basement.

Just not for me.

My parents built on to their farm house several times as they kept having babies....so it's such a mish-mash layout now that I couldn't imagine how it could possibly be modernized.

My brother and his wife purchased her parents' home in Houston about 10 years ago. The house itself is dump, but it's located in the swanky West University area, so it should pay off handsomely if they ever sell.

Personally, I would never do it though.

I hate my parents' home with a deep and fiery passion. It's one of those cookie-cutter center-hall Colonials in the worse sort of bland, sprawl-y development. I couldn't begin to tell you what the worse part of the place is - the fireplace that's shoved into the corner as you walk into the living room, in a location which makes it absolutely clear the thing is never to be used? The complete lack of any type of architectural interest? The electric heat and stove? The yard, which was entirely stripped of its topsoil when the place was built, so nothing will grow there? The surburan small-city-that's-still-technically-a-town, with its miles of strip malls? I can't imagine anything place more unappealing.

But that's just me.

In a heartbeat. My parents bought their property in the 1970's and haven't stopped with the home improvement projects.... a tradition I'm happy to continue if that means updating those ugly sliding doors in the living room! Would definately have to remove all of the god-awful furniture that Dad dragged home last year though.

I'm nostalgic for the area where I grew up sometimes, but not at all interested in living on that street. The house could be ok. I unfortunately would have to wait until my mom was never going to see it again (uh, y'know) because she's put a lot of fugly renovations together in hopes of selling it eventually, and I just hate it. It would be better all around if I found another house and could tear out whatever I wanted without someone sobbing about all the money down the drain. And the bathroom's too small and terrible water pressure in the shower.

Wow! It seems like I have to say I'm feeling a bit better about purchasing my parents home and it being a good idea for me, personally. I love this Georgian Colonial style built in the 70's. My parents did very minor improvements while owning and I plan to do very little until the time to sell as to not date the home improvements (like so many others have stated negatively about their parents home).

I LOVE my parents house! I would be tempted to buy it, I've always dreamed of the things I would do with its unique layout (walk right into the living room with vaulted ceilings and strange but perfect angles all abound). I'm not sure how I would feel about the useless city or the revolving neighbors though...

I would never have any of the houses that my parents lived in and/or owned when I was growing up. Many were in weird locations (USAF Base housing across the country and in the Azores) and the ones that they owned either were awful to begin with (shoddy townhouse construction) or are now awful because the current occupants ripped out many of the improvements we made to the landscaping over the years.

Perhaps this is why I have a terrible aversion to suburbia....

I'm also not too keen on their current home - a 40' Diesel Motorcoach that they travel the country in. While it's great for them - it's just not my style.

I would never buy the house that my parents have now, but I would definitely want to buy the house that they first bought when moving here from out east.
It's a cute 3 bedroom bungalow with a big back yard garded, an apple tree, and just a really great layout. Big kitchen, nice open living and dining room... I dream about that house a lot.

When we sold it, I was only 6, and I've driven past it many times since. The current owners have done a lot of improvements, including adding a bay window to the living room AND dining room.

I wish I could live there again. It would be the perfect house to start a family.

My husband jokes he married me for the chance to inherit my Dad's current house. The house is a Victorian folly, but the location is what counts -- walking distance to public transportation, yet with barely any neighbors.

The house I grew up in was a Brooklyn brownstone that isn't affordable for any of us, but damn I miss the original wood shutters, and the parlor pocket doors.

yes I'd buy my mother's craftsman bungalow, then I'd update the bathroom

This crowd would love it...a MCM dream model home from 1956 with few updates.

It's the reason I abhor MCM style and live in a 1929 Tudor/French style house.....Couldn't get far enough away from those acres of terazzo and formica.

I would buy my parent's house for location only, but it's way out of my price range.

My parent's house will always be home. While I love my own house, I won't be sad when the day comes when I sell it.

My parents house is the perfect size with a great layout. It's at the end of a cul de sac in a grovy neighborhod and most importantly, I have the best memories of growing up there.

hey kids what about the taxes?

i bought my childhood home. i think its great having my own family grow up in the same home i did. one of the neatest things is being able to make it a totally different home than the one my parents put together. its all my own.

I'd buy the house I spent my first 12 years in, but not the house my parents built during my teens. Way too many bad memories there.

My father died seven years ago as my brother was graduating high school. He ended up staying around and going to college nearby so he could be with my mom and take care of the property. It's a large farm with a huge 100 year old farm house. When my brother got married this summer, they decided it would make more sense for he and his new wife to stay in the house and for my mom to find a smaller more manageable place. It's really strange for me when I go back now. I always stay at my mom's new place, but we always go "home" and just kind of wander around marveling at how it's the same but different. It's an extremely odd feeling. He and his wife don't really seem to notice. The weirdest part is to see their bedroom furniture in my parents bedroom. At the same time, his toy room is still upstairs and setup exactly as it was the last time he played there. It's a strange juxtaposition.