house hunting - chapter 1
Apr. 14th, 2006 05:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
swingchickietoday was my first day of house-hunting. i didn't walk away madly in love with any particular place, but it gave me a great idea of what's out there for my budget. and when i told my realtor about the cost of the mortgage payments plus breaking my lease, she agreed that we should stick to the lower end of my range, not be in a rush to buy a place immediately, and try to get my closing closer to november in the hopes that i won't have to pay that stupid $2300 fee to the apartment complex.
so, the places i saw:
#1 - asking price is about $75,000 more than it should be. bright blue astroturf (that fake plastic outdoor carpeting stuff) going up the exterior stairs. broken fence. closets coming off their tracks. and the best part: the lovely overwhelming smell of dog AND cat pee. oh, and cigarette smoke too. no lie, this place will have to have all the carpets ripped out, and the whole place repainted, just to try to get the smell out. big fat NO.
#2 and 3 - townhouses in the same development. very cute, good amount of space, gorgeous decks out back. awkward living room layout: the living and dining rooms are one big room together, but the living room side has no wall space to put a sofa or entertainment center, because the 3 walls are taken up by 1. a fireplace, 2. the stairs to the 2nd floor, 3. a big window. so, no way to put my furniture in there logically.
#4 - townhouse designed by the same builder as #2 and 3, in a different complex. so same awful layout. fixtures not as nice (cheap metal closet doors, etc.). previous owner moved out, and decided to leave their "lovely" hot pink satin curtains in the living room.
#5 - ADORABLE rancher right down the street from me. bought 2 years ago by a young couple with good taste who completely renovated it: new siding, new kitchen everything, new hardwood floors throughout, great patio, and 3 of the biggest bedrooms i have ever seen in my life. looked teeny from the street, but was actually 1500 s.f. LOVED it... except 1. there's no basement (which would make it hard to resell), and 2. the backyard was directly backed up to the raised highway, with a hill that sloped up that was covered with trash and branches and crap. would not be easy to resell. but if it were in a different area, and had even a tiny basement, i would have wrestled my own mother for it.
#6 - brand-new townhouse in a far suburb. current owners have only been there a year. very modern, beautiful place... but way too big for me. the place was just big and sterile and i didn't feel comfortable in it as i was walking around.
#7 - smaller townhouse in the same suburb. much better size for me... but the owners had so much crap up everywhere, i just couldn't envision my own stuff there. every wall was completely covered with family photos, every surface had dolls or tchotchkes all over it. the furniture was overstuffed and too big for the rooms, the paint was too bright (pink in the living room... woo). my brain was on overload, and i just couldn't get past it to see the place as mine. so, nope.
so, no big victory today, but i'm not in a rush so i'm not devastated. going to look at 2 places on monday night that look really cool... we'll see!
so, the places i saw:
#1 - asking price is about $75,000 more than it should be. bright blue astroturf (that fake plastic outdoor carpeting stuff) going up the exterior stairs. broken fence. closets coming off their tracks. and the best part: the lovely overwhelming smell of dog AND cat pee. oh, and cigarette smoke too. no lie, this place will have to have all the carpets ripped out, and the whole place repainted, just to try to get the smell out. big fat NO.
#2 and 3 - townhouses in the same development. very cute, good amount of space, gorgeous decks out back. awkward living room layout: the living and dining rooms are one big room together, but the living room side has no wall space to put a sofa or entertainment center, because the 3 walls are taken up by 1. a fireplace, 2. the stairs to the 2nd floor, 3. a big window. so, no way to put my furniture in there logically.
#4 - townhouse designed by the same builder as #2 and 3, in a different complex. so same awful layout. fixtures not as nice (cheap metal closet doors, etc.). previous owner moved out, and decided to leave their "lovely" hot pink satin curtains in the living room.
#5 - ADORABLE rancher right down the street from me. bought 2 years ago by a young couple with good taste who completely renovated it: new siding, new kitchen everything, new hardwood floors throughout, great patio, and 3 of the biggest bedrooms i have ever seen in my life. looked teeny from the street, but was actually 1500 s.f. LOVED it... except 1. there's no basement (which would make it hard to resell), and 2. the backyard was directly backed up to the raised highway, with a hill that sloped up that was covered with trash and branches and crap. would not be easy to resell. but if it were in a different area, and had even a tiny basement, i would have wrestled my own mother for it.
#6 - brand-new townhouse in a far suburb. current owners have only been there a year. very modern, beautiful place... but way too big for me. the place was just big and sterile and i didn't feel comfortable in it as i was walking around.
#7 - smaller townhouse in the same suburb. much better size for me... but the owners had so much crap up everywhere, i just couldn't envision my own stuff there. every wall was completely covered with family photos, every surface had dolls or tchotchkes all over it. the furniture was overstuffed and too big for the rooms, the paint was too bright (pink in the living room... woo). my brain was on overload, and i just couldn't get past it to see the place as mine. so, nope.
so, no big victory today, but i'm not in a rush so i'm not devastated. going to look at 2 places on monday night that look really cool... we'll see!
