(no subject)
Since we started our house hunt, I have sifted through over 175 online house listings that more or less fit our criteria. Of those houses, we have visited 37(!) of them personally. Some of the houses have had potential if we wanted to spend the first year tearing everything out and replacing it (something that we can't really afford); others were an immediate and resounding "NO" due to ceilings dripping water or gaping foundation cracks. Our bid on the Gary Street property fell through long ago; three others that we heavily considered have gone to contract without us placing an offer.
Today, we went back to two houses that I had visited on Sunday and wanted Brandon to check out.
The first house
http://www.phoenixhomesandmore.com/idx/residential/4276124/details.html
Pros: Close to work and the highway, newer kitchen, good floorplan, RV gate, new tile throughout main area, large lot, nice ceiling fans.
Best pro: Size/layout. I love how the living room, dining room, and kitchen flow into each other. 1700 square feet means that we won't outgrow the house anytime soon.
Cons: Older building, carpet in rooms needs replacing, paint needed in all rooms, smaller closets, smaller garage, crack in patio slab, small ceiling crack, landscaping needs TLC, some traffic noise, asking $105K (upper limit of our budget).
Biggest con: The price. It's a lot of house for the money but the money is a big concern. Buying an older house might mean that we need to put in more money at the outset to make it livable.
The second house
http://www.movoto.com/az/4014-s-28th-st-phoenix/471_4339333.htm
Pros: Has just about everything we want in a house - new structure, 1500 square feet, nice sized lot, spacious and modern kitchen, tile and wood floors in some rooms, nice molding touches, desert landscaping in front. Security system.
Best pro: The price. They are only asking $54,000. I thought it was a typo at first. We would have an amazingly easy house payment.
Cons: Missing carpet in the living room. The backyard is almost too landscaped - there's no apparent area for a garden except right in front of the patio. It is pretty in a cookie-cutter way, but doesn't have the same character as some of the older houses we've seen.
Biggest Con: In a really, really, really awful location. Most of the other houses in the neighborhood have bars on the windows. Some of the houses are new builds, while others are obviously old and condemned. It would not be the kind of place where I'd feel comfortable walking around the neighborhood, but there wouldn't be anywhere to walk to - no grocery stores or green spaces nearby. The neighborhood is surrounded by a heavy industry zone and is near enough to the airport that you get some of the airplane noise; in fact, the building across the street from the house is the back of a warehouse surrounded by barbed wire. There is also a huge vacant lot heaped with discarded tires that we'd drive past every day. Lastly, it would be a 22-minute commute to work for me.
There are a few more properties that just popped up on the listings tonight, so I'm not exactly down to just these two as our only choices. They are both good properties with different drawbacks. We are still waiting on official word that my job will not be cut from next year's budget, but we are racing the clock to get a contract underway before the homebuyer tax credit expires on April 30.
Today, we went back to two houses that I had visited on Sunday and wanted Brandon to check out.
The first house
http://www.phoenixhomesandmore.com/idx/residential/4276124/details.html
Pros: Close to work and the highway, newer kitchen, good floorplan, RV gate, new tile throughout main area, large lot, nice ceiling fans.
Best pro: Size/layout. I love how the living room, dining room, and kitchen flow into each other. 1700 square feet means that we won't outgrow the house anytime soon.
Cons: Older building, carpet in rooms needs replacing, paint needed in all rooms, smaller closets, smaller garage, crack in patio slab, small ceiling crack, landscaping needs TLC, some traffic noise, asking $105K (upper limit of our budget).
Biggest con: The price. It's a lot of house for the money but the money is a big concern. Buying an older house might mean that we need to put in more money at the outset to make it livable.
The second house
http://www.movoto.com/az/4014-s-28th-st-phoenix/471_4339333.htm
Pros: Has just about everything we want in a house - new structure, 1500 square feet, nice sized lot, spacious and modern kitchen, tile and wood floors in some rooms, nice molding touches, desert landscaping in front. Security system.
Best pro: The price. They are only asking $54,000. I thought it was a typo at first. We would have an amazingly easy house payment.
Cons: Missing carpet in the living room. The backyard is almost too landscaped - there's no apparent area for a garden except right in front of the patio. It is pretty in a cookie-cutter way, but doesn't have the same character as some of the older houses we've seen.
Biggest Con: In a really, really, really awful location. Most of the other houses in the neighborhood have bars on the windows. Some of the houses are new builds, while others are obviously old and condemned. It would not be the kind of place where I'd feel comfortable walking around the neighborhood, but there wouldn't be anywhere to walk to - no grocery stores or green spaces nearby. The neighborhood is surrounded by a heavy industry zone and is near enough to the airport that you get some of the airplane noise; in fact, the building across the street from the house is the back of a warehouse surrounded by barbed wire. There is also a huge vacant lot heaped with discarded tires that we'd drive past every day. Lastly, it would be a 22-minute commute to work for me.
There are a few more properties that just popped up on the listings tonight, so I'm not exactly down to just these two as our only choices. They are both good properties with different drawbacks. We are still waiting on official word that my job will not be cut from next year's budget, but we are racing the clock to get a contract underway before the homebuyer tax credit expires on April 30.