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 Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 7:22 pm
Dr. Fomite There's also the issue of neighborhoods. House 1 is indisputably on the nicest street and in a neighborhood where it is surounded entirely by more nice streets. That was a big factor for me. 2, 3, and 6 are all in a second neighborhood which is still pretty nice. 4 and 5 are at a disadvantage there because not only are they the farthest from work (they're actually back-to-back neighbors, so they're in exactly the same neighborhood as each other), but while they're on fairly nice streets, they are really close to a not-so-nice neighborhood. And walking to work in the middle of night would take me even closer to said not-so-nice neighborhood, which is a kind of scary disadvantage for both. sweatdrop Even though I'm living on the nicest side of town, I'm still in a low-income city with a pretty good amount of gangs and violence and I try not to forget it.
When I went to Cali and was visiting my friend Tish, we went into this small convience store. It was like the little stores near where I live, so I wasn't at all alarmed or even concerned. sweatdrop So I felt kinda... silly afterwards when Tish and Brad (the other friend) said "OMG!! Didn't it feel like we were gonna get mugged at any moment? eek "
I admit to being airheaded and somewhat... clueless (ok, a lot clueless and kinda gullible), but really... it wasn't nearly that bad! xd
What does this have to do with house buying? Absolutely nothing. ninja But really, you should pick the one your gut says to buy. Ultimately, you're the one who's going to have to live there. I think house 1 is butt ugly, but if you don't, that's good! Also... just to throw in some support to house 2.... even if you're not planning on it, love may sneak up on you. You might need the extra room when this guy shows up at your office needing his ears cleaned. 3nodding
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 7:31 pm
Peppermint Elf Ok... here we go.
House 1: I hate it. It's ugly and looks like it will need A LOT of work. Painting, removing that god awful wallpaper, and some new carpeting. Seriously. Do not like. xp
House 2: This is my favorite of the bunch. The small touches are charming, the backyard is... well... I prefer grass to brick, but it's ok. 3nodding
House 3: I like the den/sunroom area. The backyard is also pretty impressive. Not truly impressive, but nice. 3nodding
House 4: The small touches make it really charming. The yard is cute too. A pool? You might need to read up on pool maintence. gonk
House 5: Hot damn, I love the crawl space. I'd probably leave it empty and use it to chase Genrou around. xd I also like the drop from the kitchen into the living room. I'd have so much fun jumping off that. But then... Nabs is like that. xd Ooh! Orbs in the bedroom. Be careful of ghost molesting you! wink (yes, I'm kidding... but being possessed might explain that easter colored closet. What the hell were they on? gonk ) Needs paint... and not easter egg dye.
House 6: Nothing particularly stands out. Not impressive, but nice. The dog run could be handy. sweatdrop
Poor House 1. xd I think it's crying inside. But yeah, definitely needs new carpet and I could see replacing the wallpaper in the bedroom, but I didn't really notice any funky wallpaper in any other room. Everything else is pretty clean and in good repair, so I didn't really think it needed all that much work. Mostly, though, I really like the layout of the house.
On 2, yeah, the backyard is one of the weakest points for me. sweatdrop A lot of brick and what isn't brick is wildly overgrown with bushes. Trees are very nice, but where in the world is Genrou supposed to do his doggy business? gonk
3 - Yes. Back yard isn't super special, but it's nice. And the sunroom is pretty neat; I like how it's just a small drop from the kitchen area, too, though I'm not sure how well that shows in the images.
4 - It is really cute! But the seller is offering to remove the pool at the buyer's request and I think I'd lean in that direction if I bought the house. It's really not big enough to do laps in or anything, so it'd just be a "hum dee dum, sittin' in the water" kind of pool. I suspect it'd be more work than it's worth, aside from being able to tell people, "I've got a pool." xp It really is on a nice little street, though. Yesterday was the first time I looked at this one, so this was still a first rather than second impression. If it was closer to work or farther from scary neighborhoods, I think I'd lean a lot more toward it.
5 - Orbs. xd But yes, as soon as I walked into that one, I totally envisioned myself setting a big squashy chair filled with pillows under that drop and constantly flying off the edge. The house is smaller than any of the others I'm considering, I don't like the yard, and the distance/neighborhood aren't great. Seriously, that drop off is the biggest factor keeping this house on the list. xd It's awesome! And the crawl space is hueg; I would've taken a picture inside it, but it was still full of possessions and I felt a little creepy about taking pictures of somebody's stuff. And yeah, the pastels of doom. WTF? gonk I think, though, if I lived there, I would keep it that way just because it's so horrible. I could be like, "HAY GUYS, LOOK AT THIS!"
6 - Yeah, it's kind of mediocre, but not bad. The carpet replacement offer is also a nice incentive, but I'm really bugged by the difficult access to the back yard. I wouldn't want to send Genrou down the stairs on that deck (because it's a long staircase), so we'd always have to run through the garage. The biggest advantage for this one is that it's for sale by owner, so I can actually sit down and talk with the guy who knows every little detail about this house and he's also a really nice guy. I just feel like there's go to be good karma in dealing with a nice person. I think it's also the second smallest after 5.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 7:36 pm
Skizzors I have to say, I can really see a Mala living in the first one. It does look like it'd need some work, but.. they all do. talk2hand EDIT: And the blue bathroom is really neat!
Yeah, I think any house is going to need some work when moving in. There are always going to be odd little things that the previous owner loved that I might not. But...I'm also not too picky about things like colour schemes. I've lived in rentals 95% of my life, so I'm used to adapting to whatever the place looked like when I moved in. And frankly, a little work on things like painting or recarpeting doesn't bug me, since it'd be like getting to personalize the place for myself right off the bat.
I like the blue bathroom, too. ninja
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 7:38 pm
Yeah, I don't see why people in general seem to think "ohnoes it needs work!" Work is fun, as long as other people do it. And.. yeah, I guess I've never really paid for it so there's a factor. >_> *whistles*
But, house customization! Fun. D:
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 7:43 pm
Peppermint Elf I live in a mid-range of neighborhoods. Halfway between family oriented and seedy gang-ridden. sweatdrop I've never really balked at walking around at night here (although, I do admit to being very aware of my surroundings).
When I went to Cali and was visiting my friend Tish, we went into this small convience store. It was like the little stores near where I live, so I wasn't at all alarmed or even concerned. sweatdrop So I felt kinda... silly afterwards when Tish and Brad (the other friend) said "OMG!! Didn't it feel like we were gonna get mugged at any moment? eek "
I admit to being airheaded and somewhat... clueless (ok, a lot clueless and kinda gullible), but really... it wasn't nearly that bad! xd
What does this have to do with house buying? Absolutely nothing. ninja But really, you should pick the one your gut says to buy. Ultimately, you're the one who's going to have to live there. I think house 1 is butt ugly, but if you don't, that's good! Also... just to throw in some support to house 2.... even if you're not planning on it, love may sneak up on you. You might need the extra room when this guy shows up at your office needing his ears cleaned. 3nodding
I've had to walk around really late at night for my work for years now, so I'm not overly jumpy about things like that. The neighborhood I'm in right now is pretty middle-of-the-road and I almost never feel worried when I go out. But...there are definitely areas in this town that you just don't go walking through at night. Back when I first got wind of this job, people warned me about moving down here and all the violent crime. sweatdrop It still really is the nice part of town, but there still are a couple of pockets that make me uncomfortable. I wouldn't worry about walking back and forth during the day, but the night...I'm just not sure. I can safely say that if my mom saw the area near 4 & 5, she'd flip out about me not carrying my mace.
xd Poor, poor House 1. I definitely won't argue on the kitchen, 'cause that's just terrible. But...for what it's worth, the photos really make the carpet look a lot worse than they look in person. I honestly went in thinking they were a rather pretty shade of slate blue and I was aghast when I saw what the flash did to them in the photos. The carpet just has this funny sheen to it that makes it glare and look really odd. The downstairs carpet is in real need of replacing, but the stuff on the main level and stairs is so much nicer looking in person.
... xd heart He can move in with me any day. RAWR!
But yeah, 2 keeps fluctuating for the top spot. I'm going to call Monday, find out what the average utilities were in the past and see how much it makes me cry.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 7:48 pm
Skizzors Yeah, I don't see why people in general seem to think "ohnoes it needs work!" Work is fun, as long as other people do it. And.. yeah, I guess I've never really paid for it so there's a factor. >_> *whistles* But, house customization! Fun. D:
I could also see doing some painting by myself, because I've never done it before. Even if it ends up sucking, it'll build character or some such.
And! Some of the houses, 1 included, have been up on the market for a while. 1 has actually been up for something like 8 months now and they're getting desperate enough to do open houses every weekend. Since I don't have anything to sell and I'm off-lease, I'm in a good position to haggle because I can close the deal quickly. If I offered on 1, it would probably be contingent on either getting a decent chunk off the asking price or having them put some money toward replacing the carpeting in a lot of the house. A couple of the places that are for sale by owner have openly offered that (6 and another one that didn't make it to the final list), with the option that I could also just keep the carpet as-is and they'll cover closing costs, which means I could put my own savings toward redoing the carpets and whatever else I want redone before moving in. The kitchen, though ugly in colour, is actually in really nice shape, so I don't think I could justify having them redo that. sweatdrop
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 7:59 pm
From where I'm sitting ... House #2. It's simply great and looks to have been kept in great order. It has a basement, a very cozy living room, nice bedrooms, etc. etc. etc.
The only thing I noticed is that the bathrooms are a little small. Not a concern for me personally, in any case.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 8:17 pm
House 2...really is so pretty. crying
I suppose I should say, though... Price-wise, unless I can talk them down a fair amount on that one, I'd be putting pretty much all my expendable funds into the house payments. After taxes and insurance, it would take a full two-week paycheck or a little more for the house payment alone. Running through a budget based on my current expenses, I could do it, but I wouldn't really be able to afford to put much of anything aside for savings or emergencies and there's a pretty decent chance that if I buy that house I won't be able to afford to make it to AX '08 or much of any other vacation until I get a raise, and even then I dunno. It'd definitely mean being a lot more frugal than I've been used to. I am up for another possible raise come September, though, so if I'm lucky...
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 8:56 pm
Taka's thoughts:
#1: The rooms are a pretty decent size, and it's overall a charming little place IMO, but as Aki said the interior's sort of lacking. The carpet's icky but definitely liveable for a while if you're not ready to get new. The wallpaper in the master bedroom has gotta go. Backyard's really nice though, and it does have quite the storage capacity.
#2: The exterior is absolutely adorable. I'm a sucker for that brickwork. The interior is also cosy and the kitchen looks like a big improvement from House 1. The sunroom is also really lovely. I really don't know about the backyard though, and that girly showerless bathroom kind of disturbs me. The other ones seem ok though. Needless to say, the basement and such is definitely a plus. Also, it could just be the camera angle but the bedrooms seem to be on the small side.
I looked at all the other pics and I can probably stop with the in-depth opinions because I don't like any of them better than House 2. XD;;
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 9:03 pm
Takako-sama Taka's thoughts: #1: The rooms are a pretty decent size, and it's overall a charming little place IMO, but as Aki said the interior's sort of lacking. The carpet's icky but definitely liveable for a while if you're not ready to get new. The wallpaper in the master bedroom has gotta go. Backyard's really nice though, and it does have quite the storage capacity. #2: The exterior is absolutely adorable. I'm a sucker for that brickwork. The interior is also cosy and the kitchen looks like a big improvement from House 1. The sunroom is also really lovely. I really don't know about the backyard though, and that girly showerless bathroom kind of disturbs me. The other ones seem ok though. Needless to say, the basement and such is definitely a plus. Also, it could just be the camera angle but the bedrooms seem to be on the small side.
The little side bedrooms really weren't very big, but since I'd just be using them for storage/stuff, they're probably big enough.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 9:04 pm
Dr. Fomite Takako-sama Taka's thoughts: #1: The rooms are a pretty decent size, and it's overall a charming little place IMO, but as Aki said the interior's sort of lacking. The carpet's icky but definitely liveable for a while if you're not ready to get new. The wallpaper in the master bedroom has gotta go. Backyard's really nice though, and it does have quite the storage capacity. #2: The exterior is absolutely adorable. I'm a sucker for that brickwork. The interior is also cosy and the kitchen looks like a big improvement from House 1. The sunroom is also really lovely. I really don't know about the backyard though, and that girly showerless bathroom kind of disturbs me. The other ones seem ok though. Needless to say, the basement and such is definitely a plus. Also, it could just be the camera angle but the bedrooms seem to be on the small side.
The little side bedrooms really weren't very big, but since I'd just be using them for storage/stuff, they're probably big enough. Ah, okay. Well I still like 2 the best. 3nodding
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 9:54 pm
Yay! Bed with Mala whee
For the brick backyard...brick is incredibly easy to take up, actually. I did it and you can also store it to make things...like walls? But really, brick is pretty easy to deal with. Yard work isn't bad :3
I really like #2 though.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 10:13 pm
Thought about it for a little while.
I really like #1 and #2. Like Skizz said, fixing it up and changing things around isn't a bad thing. It can be a lot of fun. With that, and the fact that they seem to fit you best in regards to space and such. Also, neighbourhoods are obviously a factor and if number one has the best, that pushes me in that direction even more.
Uhm.. on the other hand though, you should just get the one that's cheapest. 'Cause I want to be able to maul you at AX' 08. Ahem.. anyway..yes. ninja
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 10:25 pm
EdwardHau Thought about it for a little while.
I really like #1 and #2. Like Skizz said, fixing it up and changing things around isn't a bad thing. It can be a lot of fun. With that, and the fact that they seem to fit you best in regards to space and such. Also, neighbourhoods are obviously a factor and if number one has the best, that pushes me in that direction even more.
Uhm.. on the other hand though, you should just get the one that's cheapest. 'Cause I want to be able to maul you at AX' 08. Ahem.. anyway..yes. ninja
I think I'm going to have to call and talk more with my loan guy. heart He was able to run some figures on what I could expect to pay for a $190k house (because that's the same price as the sold "dream house" I had been looking at) and it was pretty tight, but possible. I didn't ask him to run any numbers for cheaper places, though, so I'll have to find out how much of a difference it is.
If nothing else, I might even just put a low bid in on 2 and see if they bite. If they're not willing to negotiate, I can still have the others as back up if I decide I can't really afford that one.
Either way, I probably picked a bad time to start buying, what with my D.C. trip coming up. I've been putting money into savings for a while now to help fund D.C., but it looks like I'll probably need/use most of that for closing costs on a house. I'm sure I'll be able to manage, but it'll be snug. Next year's continuing education had better be close and cheap. gonk
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 10:28 pm
Also, I just wanted to thank everyone so much. heart This really has helped me think on what's important to me in a house. I appreciate all the feedback, positive and negative.
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