paperboyNC said:
My advice differs from other posters. When you look at long-term appreciation, land is the key. Get yourself a large lot in a good school district:
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Yorba-Linda/4522-Mimosa-Dr-92886/home/4170048
This is a great example - this home is $40k over what was our max budget (700k). The kitchen is in good shape (maybe needs one or two appliances) but ideally the bathrooms could use some updates, and I'm always in favor of replacing carpet. Plus, this home would be about a 40 minute drive to work for me.
So, if this were us last year we would have to get re approved for a higher loan amount, stretch our budget, would want to do some renos, and we would have to spend more time commuting. But, as paperboy points out, maybe it would have been worth it for longer term appreciation. It's all about the trade offs.