We looked at building new, but there were no reasonably priced lots in the school zones that we wanted. We weren't look at foreclosed houses at first, but sellers wanted way more than their houses would appraise for, so when we saw the current one that we are buying come up, we jumped on it that day and made our offer.

We kept looking at the neighborhood across the street from this house, as it was all that I could afford - this house's neighborhood was a lot more expensive, but when this house came up cheaper (due to foreclosure) than the others, it was pretty clear what I needed to do.