Monday, June 12, 2006

Pick a house

It's Monday yet again, but again, I don't mind too much. It makes a huge difference to have exciting and interesting things to think about. It keeps life from getting too boring and the same day after day. I went to five more open houses, so the total of houses I've seen is nine. Three of them are houses that I like.

There's no substitute for actually seeing a house. The last open house I went to yesterday sounded promising. It's nearby the area of our apartment (considered a fairly "good" area, even though we get quite a few police calls for streets not far from here.) The house had a porch, a deck, and a fenced yard, all things that I'm looking for in a house, but no garage. But the layout was puzzling. There were locked doors and doors that didn't open, so you had to go around. The attic was accessed through the tiny little bathroom! How would you store stuff up there?

The real estate agent was not dressed in a suit and talked on the phone the entire time I was there. Well, he stopped for a minute when I went up to him to shake his hand, but then resumed talking. Not wearing a suit wasn't a big deal, although every other agent I had met was dressed up, but not even bothering to talk with me was pretty rude. I wouldn't want to work with him, and he has the exclusive selling rights to the house. Good thing it was a weird, rather crummy house that I wasn't interested in anyway!

I've quickly noticed, in looking at house in my new state, that there is a line of price/quality in houses. At the top of my budgeted amount are the three houses that I like; at the bottom of that span are the houses (like the house above) that I wouldn't want to own. In the middle are the "maybes" houses that fit my budget but are missing several things that I want in a house. Actually, ANY house in my price range is missing a couple of things that I'd like because my range is rather low!

Anyway, I know you haven't actually seen the houses, and that's the best way to determine if you like them or not. But here's my "possibles" line-up:

House Number One: In a "bad" section of town, traditionally, but they've been doing clean up so there are many remodeled and even some brand new houses in the area. This house is all on one level, has special built-ins for pets! It has a nice, very large yard with apples trees and a garage. It has new carpeting, is clean and neat, and has an open layout. One of the two bedrooms is rather small. In fact the entire house is on the smallish side (not necessarily a bad thing, with heating costs.)

House Number Two: Also in the "bad" section of town. This is my favorite one, but like all the houses in my price range, it has some issues. There's no garage, and it sure would be nice to not have to scrape ice and snow off the car every morning for the six or more months of winter we have! But the house is gorgeous, open, airy, has lots of rooms and even a loft in the living room! It has a small yard, and a neighbor dog barked most of the time I was there. There were plenty of kitchen cabinets but they seemed rather small. Outside the landscaping was grown over and it'd be a lot of work to get it decent again (but I like that kind of work.) The agent is also the owner of the house--which is a bad thing, because he has emotions invested into the house as well as work and money. It's the first house where he and his wife lived when first married. Needless to say, it's the most expensive of the three houses, and actually a bit over what I'd be comfortable in paying for it.

House Number Three: Only a few blocks away from our apartment. It's beautifully kept up, nice paneling, a deck, nice yard, three car garage. I know it's a sales pitch, but this house even smelled good! The downside? It's small. It's a two bedroom house but tiny. The master bedroom is actually a sort of attic with sloped ceiling and tiny windows, but it's fixed up to be really cute. The entire house is cute and the type that I would be proud to show friends and family--not like my house in the country! It has a beautiful, nicely planted with flowers and shrubs, yard, and a nice deck, too. This is the more normal "nice" house and will be snapped up by a buyer quickly.

So, what's your verdict; which house do you think I should pick?

I'm going to keep looking, of course. I'm not in a big hurry to buy something. It sure is fun to think about! Happy Monday to you!

8 Comments:

Blogger Stacy The Peanut Queen said...

but not even bothering to talk with me was pretty rude

Very rude!!! I would've been ticked off!

And I couldn't tell you which house to pick...but I will tell you that I live in a bad neighborhood AND I HATE IT! I worry from the time I leave Palace Peanut until I (or The PK) return....is someone going to break in? Are they going to vandalize The PK's truck tonight (yet again!!!)

I know that kind of stuff can happen anywhere but still...bad neighborhoods are just plain BAD.

8:06 AM  
Blogger gal artist said...

I don't think a small house is a bad thing, I like my little house.

Of course, I wish we had a garage and a deck, but we figure we can always do that stuff later.

Without seeing the houses, it's hard to say, but I like the sound of the second one too.

Alot of realtors have their own websites now, why don't you browse the internet? And their is Realtor.com, you can put in your location and your price range and it will show you all kinds of places from all realtors.

a really good realtor will work with you, that one sounds like an idiot.

Ours was great, even helped us get a mortgage, took us out to dinner, and even bought us a house warming present.

8:17 AM  
Blogger Fizzy said...

I would not do business with a guy who was not dressed appropriately or was as rude as the guy on the phone was.
Little is good.
Houses you can do something about if it is just a case of tidying /decorating it. BUT, you can not choose your neighbours. I would think seriously about the areas you were living in. Especially if you are on your own a lot

11:33 AM  
Blogger Grant said...

You probably should keep looking. I second PQ's comment about living in a bad neighborhood.

I once saw a 2 bedroom house that had been converted into three bedrooms by removing the wall between the two bedrooms and adding a pair of new walls. Bedroom #3 was only accessible from the other two bedrooms, and all three rooms were so small you could barely fit a double bed inside them.

1:24 PM  
Blogger ...just-rambling... said...

I would keep looking until you found the perfect house in a perfect neighborhood.

3:13 PM  
Blogger Lorna said...

David always says that you should buy the cheapest house in the best neighbourhood---I thought he said you should buy the best house in the worst neighbourhood. It took a while for us to get that one straightened out. Then we did what he suggested. Although it's not built yet, we bought a small "green" condo in a reclaimed neighbourhood that is going to be a great location. We hung in until we found exactly what we wanted both times we bought. And it was scary but worth it.

9:43 PM  
Blogger Katya Coldheart said...

how rude, if he's trying to sell the house shouldn't he be attentive...i would hate that and it would make me determined to not want the house...

i think no.3 sounds fab...our house is small too, but theres only the two of us and the hoard of bears...lol

:0)

2:11 AM  
Blogger Weary Hag said...

How exciting to be house shopping! I would definitely wait till you find something in a nicer neighborhood, and I would also deal with anyone but that rude person! Sheesh.

I know I'm late with this comment and you've already responded to the others with your more current post, but I'm trying hard to read at least two posts on everyone's blogs. I'll never catch up totally, but the desire is there.

:) And thank you tons for your nice thoughts and good wishes in my recent issues!

2:54 PM  

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