I think I found my new home!

frau kaleun · 03-10-13, 12:04 AM

So, went out today with my realtor friend/co-worker and another friend and looked at half a dozen places, and I think I'm gonna make an offer on one of them. I'll do another walkthrough with my sister and her Mr. Fix-It husband just to get a second opinion on things that might need to be fixed or replaced... which will probably not be much, from what we could tell today. Everything seems to be functional, all appliances are included except a microwave which I've already got, so replacements can probably be elective over time because I want something different, instead of being based on the fact that OMG I DON'T HAVE A REFRIGERATOR?

Really nice condo with an attached garage (YAY!) that is an end unit (YAY!) in a nice community very close to both the major N/S and E/W highways, also a bit closer to my office than where I live now, also very convenient to major local shopping areas, restaurants, and all that stuff.

It was already my favorite of all the ones I'd seen so far, just from what I saw online, but it turned out to be a lot more spacious than was obvious from the pictures, and there were three rooms that weren't IN the pictures and one of them wasn't even mentioned in the listing.

Living room, dining room, eat-in kitchen, den/study and half bath on lower level. Three bedrooms and two full bathrooms on upper level. The two "spare" rooms upstairs are smallish but I probably wouldn't do a full second bedroom in either one of them anyway... because, you know, if you have a guest room, it just encourages people.

Anyhoo - it's more than 20K below the top of my price range at the listed price, and in much better shape and nicer and bigger and more "homey" than any of the more expensive places I've looked at - and the cheaper ones are cheap for a reason that often involves having been abandoned after a foreclosure and pretty well trashed, or else the persistent odor of cat pee which drove us out of one place before we even got past the front hall, or else they are just butt ugly and cramped and badly laid out on the inside. In many cases they are just glorified versions of the apartments that are ubiquitous in this area and look like where I live now with a couple small extra rooms and slightly more storage space. No thanks.

This place I like - it looks more like a home inside.

So - gonna talk to my lender guy to see if I can get a ballpark figure on what the monthly payments would be, and talk to the electric co. to see if I can get an idea of what the average bill is there when occupied, and then make an offer unless some kind of dealbreaker presents itself at the next showing.

Wish me luck! I'm excited!

03-10-13, 12:04 AM	#1
frau kaleun Rear Admiral Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Skyri--oh who are we kidding, I'm probably at Lowe's. Again. Posts: 12,706 Downloads: 168 Uploads: 0	I think I found my new home! So, went out today with my realtor friend/co-worker and another friend and looked at half a dozen places, and I think I'm gonna make an offer on one of them. I'll do another walkthrough with my sister and her Mr. Fix-It husband just to get a second opinion on things that might need to be fixed or replaced... which will probably not be much, from what we could tell today. Everything seems to be functional, all appliances are included except a microwave which I've already got, so replacements can probably be elective over time because I want something different, instead of being based on the fact that OMG I DON'T HAVE A REFRIGERATOR? Really nice condo with an attached garage (YAY!) that is an end unit (YAY!) in a nice community very close to both the major N/S and E/W highways, also a bit closer to my office than where I live now, also very convenient to major local shopping areas, restaurants, and all that stuff. It was already my favorite of all the ones I'd seen so far, just from what I saw online, but it turned out to be a lot more spacious than was obvious from the pictures, and there were three rooms that weren't IN the pictures and one of them wasn't even mentioned in the listing. Living room, dining room, eat-in kitchen, den/study and half bath on lower level. Three bedrooms and two full bathrooms on upper level. The two "spare" rooms upstairs are smallish but I probably wouldn't do a full second bedroom in either one of them anyway... because, you know, if you have a guest room, it just encourages people. Anyhoo - it's more than 20K below the top of my price range at the listed price, and in much better shape and nicer and bigger and more "homey" than any of the more expensive places I've looked at - and the cheaper ones are cheap for a reason that often involves having been abandoned after a foreclosure and pretty well trashed, or else the persistent odor of cat pee which drove us out of one place before we even got past the front hall, or else they are just butt ugly and cramped and badly laid out on the inside. In many cases they are just glorified versions of the apartments that are ubiquitous in this area and look like where I live now with a couple small extra rooms and slightly more storage space. No thanks. This place I like - it looks more like a home inside. So - gonna talk to my lender guy to see if I can get a ballpark figure on what the monthly payments would be, and talk to the electric co. to see if I can get an idea of what the average bill is there when occupied, and then make an offer unless some kind of dealbreaker presents itself at the next showing. Wish me luck! I'm excited!