Plath,
Do they have the virtual home tours out where you are, if so you can really narrow down your list of possibilites before getting in the car and I know what you mean, my ex-wife and I went round and round about when we looked at houses it made us both nuts, we ended up buying a crappy fixer upper that probably contributed to our divorce because something was always broken.
I can also see your husbands point about having a garage or shop, if you are a putterer or a mister fix-it, then it is a huge deal to not have that space.
My current (the non-psycho) wife and I have agreed we will always have one down-time day on the weekend so we can rest and recharge, that go-go-go all weekend long makes us nuts for the rest of the week.
It's all about listening to each other and compromise.
In my first marriage we both wanted our way all the time, we let little things make us crazy, we could not listen, and we could not compromise, so ultimately we failed.
Please don't let that happen, try to remember why you got married, complement each other every day, even if it is only one thing, and lots of hugs.
I have always made it a promise to myself that I will not leave the house without telling my wife and my children that I love them because I never knew if that would be the last time I would see them. Well on 5/21/2007 I came within about 5 minutes of that happening, I was bleeding to death, that is some scary stuff, what do you do, I was really glad that I hugged and kissed everyone and told them that I loved them, it gave me a tremendous amount of peace when I was sure I was going to die.
God what atangent that was, anyway my advice is to love each other, forgive each others occasional stupidity, talk, and compromise.
Big hugs,
Bill