Monday, July 19, 2010

Moving up...eventually

I have to say, house hunting is an exhausting process. In my last post I mentioned how we've been looking since October. We were prepared and did a lot of research, even pinpointing the city and neighborhoods we'd love to put down roots. But trying to make this happen is a whole different ballgame. We loved the first house we looked at, but of course didn't want to put an offer on it because it was THE FIRST HOUSE and isn't that a big no-no? But we figured at least we knew what we really wanted and kept looking. Then the "perfect" house came on the market, we fell in love with it and found ourselves dreaming about it...then someone else put down an offer and bam! it was off the market.

Just like a new relationship...you fall head over heels with someone, but then they break your heart and there you are picking up the pieces when it hurts so bad. It makes it hard to love again because your guard is up and it's going to take some serious effort to knock it back down.

There was another house, what we've dubbed the "kitchen house" because this kitchen makes you so giddy and in love and wanting to have it's little kitchen babies. In reality the downstairs is amazing and perfect for entertaining, there's a great backyard and you think that's it. But the upstairs needs serious work, the master bath & closet will need to be completely redone and the owner is asking way too much money for the thing.

So we sat. We did all kinds of research on this house, the owner and why he didn't want to bring his price down. The word divorce was thrown around and after reading Dooce's posts on the crazy lady they bought from it made me almost run away screaming. But the kitchen, the beautiful kitchen with the sub zero fridge, the separate freezer, the double oven, the island that seats six.

...

Then yesterday we saw a different house. I was wary, thought "eh, I see so many things I'd like to change". But it's priced to sell, and those around here go within a week. And after spending almost an hour and a half touring the house I tentatively started warming up to it. The layout is perfect, the high vaulted ceilings, the master bedroom, the laundry chute, even the backyard. I want to get excited, but I'm so timid, worried my heart is going to get ripped out again.

Dream kitchen vs. decent kitchen w/amazing pantry
Landscaped backyard vs. larger slightly noisy backyard
Mirrored closets vs. california closet walk-ins
Xmas tree bay window vs. cascading staircase

Is one better? What can you upgrade for cheap and what's going to cost an arm and a leg to change? My head hurts. People normally get a starter home for their 1st but we're looking for a house we can settle down in. Put down roots, raise children. We're going to discuss this to death. I know that if either one of these houses is not the right one it will present itself to us but I don't know how much more I can handle. Pro-con lists will be my friend tonight, I can feel it. And hopefully we can both land comfortably on one side or the other.

Homeowners, how did you know your place was "the one"? Was there a feeling or did it take you a little time to know it was right?

1 comment:

  1. I'm not a homeowner yet, but I do know from other major purchases that you do get a feeling. Same with friends of mine who HAVE bought a house. They liked a lot of houses, but when they walked into the "one", they knew.

    I loved reading Dooce's posts about her new house! Which, by the way, looks f-ing AMAZING.

    Good luck with your search!!!

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