Getting over it

The whole "I need a new house" thing. Very nearly over it.

So we went and looked at what from the outside appeared to be an awesome development in an ideal location last week. (Blogged about it here.) Ideal location in cutting the commute. But not ideal as in long ways from all the shopping and schools. My kids would be destined to long bus rides to school. And as someone who grew up literally across the street from my grade school, that just isn't going to work. Oh and not to mention the price tag. We would like a travel trailer next spring and I have some hopes of being able to go to 75-80% time at work so I can have more one on one time with the kids. So putting it all together, AB and I have agreed that we have ruled out that development.

We went down to the house on the coveted lot down the street on Saturday afternoon. I had actually figured I was going to walk in and hate it, and so I just needed to see it so I could move on. AB on the other hand was bound and determined he was going to walk in and love it. We met halfway in the middle.

I was pleasantly surprised given that it was a two story house, and I prefer ramblers or ranch style. AB was disappointed from his initial "I know I am going to love this house" take.

There were a lot of little things with the house both positively and negatively. It was a weird house which I can only assume was a custom design. Why else would you put an actually pretty decent kitchen off facing against a wall and not into the great room? Why put nice Pergo flooring in the dining room butted up next to green and purple linoleum in the kitchen? Why put top of the line fixtures in the kitchen, and bargain basement clearance crap in the bathrooms?

As far as I could see, the house wasn't worth the $269K asking price. Though I hope it really is as that would bode well for my house. Because while it has a bonus room that our house doesn't, and a third car garage and a much larger lot, our house is "nicer". We could buy the house, but it needs a lot of work put into it to make it what we want. And I am not doing that with a house that is only 3-4 years old.

Saturday night AB and I sat on the patio, under the pergola with glasses of wine in hand and a fire in the firepit, kids asleep. I love my house. The thought of moving out of my house that I brought my babies home to pains me. We bought this house as a single couple who had lived in apartments to that point. We had no idea at the time how we were going to fill all those rooms, cupboards and shelves. Five years later and we have filled them.

We don't have an immediate need to move. We are running out of room, we lack storage space completely, but nothing is changing anytime soon. We want a fourth bedroom that will act as a guest room. We want a three car garage. I want a kitchen with functional cabinets and a walk in pantry. But none of these things are "needs".

We are giving thought to calling a real estate agent we met and liked awhile back and giving her a list of exactly what we are looking for, in what areas, at what price and strict instructions to only call us if something that fits the bill comes onto the market. That is plan one. Plan two has us buying one of the view lots we have been drooling over for sometime now. Sit on it for a year while we get together with Josh and design our house. Pay for him to come up and help us as needed (and to play golf). And build our dream house over the course of about 2 years. (Hi Josh... we haven't told YOU this yet, of course.)

Either way, cool our heels. We are doing just fine in our currrent house. (And I am thinking I want to actually benefit from some of the upgrades we might like to make to our house to make it sell better.)

Seeing what's out there

AB (and Leif since he was home from school recovering from a pukey day yesterday) came by and grabbed me for lunch. We ran out to a development nearby where I work. It has intrigued us because it cuts AB's commute literally in half and mine down to about 1/3.

And that's about all it has going for it.

We walked around the view lots, impressed and picked out a few to inquire on. We loved the builder's style and had seen a few of the homes last year at the Parade of Homes. We started writing down a lot of numbers and dreaming "what if".

We went to the model home. Of course we walked into the house, which really threw Leif since we don't just walk into a house. Once he got over the shock of walking into a house unannounced he kept yelling "anyone here?"

Amazingly, there wasn't. We had expected to get bombarded by a sales person of some sort.

We wandered around the three bedroom, two bath house. It was pretty. Nice slate tile, custom cabinets and countertops. Leif kept asking to "go upstairs and wake them up". Because apparently there should be people there and they must have been sleeping.

Our dreaming turned to dust when we saw the price. $439,000. We don't live in the big city. This house had no view, no hot tub, pool, outdoor kitchen, or even a freaking walk in pantry. (One my anal retentive requirements for our next home.) It was about the size of our home, a few hundred square feet larger thanks to the bonus room, but that's it. And we will be LUCKY to get $200,000 for our house - though we hope for $220K.

We actually know a few people in this development who are paranoid and a little freaked out by the stall in home sales around them. Neighborhoods left undeveloped, houses not moving. Yet houses are listing for at least 50-75% more than what would be reasonable anywhere else in town.

We haven't decided when we will move, though it would be nice to be on that path by the time Skadi is moving out of our bedroom and into her little room (thereby fully eliminating my guest room). According to my MIL (one of the most savvy real estate agents ever) we have a lot of work to do on the house (new carpets, paint trim outside, little details inside) before moving - we know this, but sometimes need to be reminded.

We are kicking around staying in the house until Leif goes to first grade - in which case I am thinking I might go the bunk beds route and put both kids in the bigger safari themed bedroom and use the guest room for toy storage. Or not. Not many people visit us anyways, but I like having an extra queen bed around for those nights when AB snores or can't sleep and tosses and turns, or one of the kids is sick and needs us close (our bedroom is across the house).

Then 10 minutes later we kick around the idea of trying to move next spring. Who knows. Our goal right now is to get an idea of what's out there and for how much.

Plus, who knows if we could even sell our house right now. We will have a challenge with selling it in a good market because of the towering monstrosity behind us. In a crappy market? Ugh. My MIL recommended renting it... yeah, that's the headache I need on top of working full time and raising two kids is dealing with a rental.

AB is supposed to be calling the agent for the house on the coveted lot down the street this afternoon to schedule a viewing. It is still for sale and has dropped in price. We will see what that presents. (Though our friends down the street tell us you must like purple to move in... thankfully I don't mind painting.)