So here's yet ANOTHER update on the house hunt. I know. It's all I ever blog about, but that's because with Andrei out of town for the summer I have nothing going on in my life except buying a house. That and I'm semi-obsessed with Real Estate.
We're still waiting to here back on the house with the incredible views. If you've never done a short sale before, DON'T. You can get a house SUPER cheap, but the entire process leaves you feeling exhausted and a little bit used. Basically you subit your offer to the seller's agent. They review it. They send it in to the bank. They review it. They wait like 3 months to see if anyone else bids on the property. They review everything again. They make a decision and get back to you. This usually takes longer than 3 months, in all actuality, because often once the initial offer is sent in to the bank they realize that they don't want to lose as much money as the originally planned, and change the list price on the house. It's a big stupid guessing game, basically. But I digress.
Currently there are 2 other houses that we have looked at that we are kind of liking. They are about as different as 2 houses can be. House Number One can be viewed by clicking on this link. It is located in a golfing community in Vineyard Utah, which is basically down the road from Orem and is usually considered to be part of Orem, even though it's not. The backyard has a pretty good view of the 18th hole, and the hefty HOA fees include membership in the golf club, as well as snow removal and landscaping. They're supposedly in the process of putting in a pool. Most of the houses in this neighborhood were built for around the half million dollar mark 4-5 years ago at the peak of the housing bubble here. This house was originally built for $475K, but is in default so they're short-selling it for less than half that ammount. It's a short sale, so it's a bit iffy, but it will be forclosed on at the end of this month and there are no offers on it currently so we might have a shot. What the video tour will not show you is the massive back yard, the 12 (or was that 16) foot ceilings, or the warm and inviting atmosphere of the home. It sounds bizarre, but it reminded me of the villas I saw in Pompeii this summer. Probably because those are the only other houses I've ever seen with ceilings that high. It's a totally new community, though, because Vineyard is directly south of a massive steel manufacturing plant which closed down about 7 years ago, but prior to that would spew massive ammounts of questionable environmental pollutants into the air, making the entire area smell like a port-o-potty most of the time.
The other house in question is a 109 year old charmer in Springville, which is like Provo 2, the Sequel. It's a small town directly south of the small town I live in now, only without the college to bolster its prestige. They have an art museum, though, which is kind of small and corny, but pretty cute. There are tons of restaurants and a little main street with silly sounding shops like "Chris's Herb Emporium" (which by the looks of it sells mostly bongs), and Vera's Antique Palace. They have parades there and a carnival in summer, but it's just not Provo. It's a close second, though, and the house is hecka cute AND is on a .4 acre lot. Here's the link to the video tour. Ignore the dolphins on the wall and questionable paint choices, and imagine what it would look like if someone who was nearly competent in home decor had their hand at the place. This house is about 600 feet smaller than the first house, AND has a 600 foot studio apartment over the carriage house, so the actual living space would be much smaller than the Vineyard house. However the Vineyard house is way too big for us, so that's not necessarily a bad thing. The major drawback is that it's located off of a semi-busy street (although set far enough off of the street for that not to be a major issue) in a so-so neighborhood full of other equally old although not so lovingly restored homes, down the street from the High School. It's across the street from a big church, which could be good or bad, depending on your point of view. This house, however, does not come with a heft HOA fee, and the rental income from the studio over the carriage house would lower our monthly housing obligation to $400-$600/mo. Wow. That's less than most newly weds pay for their 1 bedroom apartments around here.
Anyway, here's your chance to voice your opinions. Feel free to leave a comment in the comment box. I've enabled anonymous comments if you don't have a google account, just don't be rude, please. :) Let me know what you think. Which house would you pick? Why? Should we forget about both of them and hold out for the house in the actually prestigious neighborhood with the killer views? Some other 4th option?
5 comments:
ok, after living in a lot of places I feel comfortable in saying 2 things...1) That second house, the old one, is soooooo charming. The outside of it is stunning and I love the hill slide! I also like the entryway. I was a bit confused about the bedroom set up. Are there 2 bedroom connected to one another? I don't like that. Also, the kitchen...to me this poses the biggest problem in the home. Even though it has been updated, it looks inconvenient. The placement of the dishwasher is odd and the oven doesn't look quite big enough. You may not like to cook though. I do...so this would be a huge downside for me. I love old homes in general though and this one sure looks adorable!
2) The first home, the newer one seemed nice. You can easily personalize it to suit your tastes. If your tastes are simpler and more streamlined then this one will accomodate that (the other would look nicer with a country/victorian flair). In a neighborhood like this there will be other young families and your son will have kids to play with. You will be able to use the clubhouse for birthday parties and working out probably. And the bathroom look super nice. I love that the closets all have shelves in them. Looks like an organizer lived there before. I love the countertops in the kitchen and the shape of it.
NOW...uh to 2.5) Have you ever rented before? If you are planning to rent the home you currently live in that will be tenant 1. If you take the older home and add a second tenant that will be tenant 2. Tenants can be frustrating, time demanding and some of them come with their own sets of specialness :) In addition, you will have one living on TOP of you, essentially. This could be difficult. If you consider all of the bad issues that might go along with this. But maybe it won't be so bad. I know that money can talk and sometimes it says "this way is cheaper and the house is cute too!" but will it necessarily be the best alternative for a young family? I don't know.
ok..that's all. They both have pros and cons. I'm sure your praying a lot. Best wishes. Picking a house is difficult.
Thanks for the feedback, Amber. I would budget in a kitchen remodel for the older home, because that layout is just insane. The dishwasher on the side? Seriously? I would probably knock out the wall where the pass-through is and put in an island with the stove there, and then move the dishwasher to where the stove is currently. That would make like infinity more sense, and that dining room is huge, anyway.
As far as the bedroom layout goes, the older home has a main floor master suite with a sitting area and 2 upstairs bedrooms. The apartment that goes with that house is located above the detached garage, so it's not really an issue as far as sharing your living space with someone else. I liked that. It's also a studio so it would only accommodate like a young married couple with no kids or a couple of singles, which is good too. Most of the problems we've encountere with renting are trashy families with destructive kids. We've rented before- in fact the house we just sold was rented out for 3 of the 5 years we owned it.
The clubhouse that goes with the gated community for the newer house is actually the golf course building. There's no workout room, and it's pretty posh so it would be more for weddings, etc. Supposedly they're going to be putting in a pool and spa facility, too. Hmmm....
I say neither.
Newer house doesn't seem the "Luis and Cami" style. The house itself is just fine. But my concern is the mentioned high HOA and what for? there isn't even a pool or exercise room or splash pad-please. Like your dad said on facebook the possibility of the neighborhood still being gated and prestigous in a decade-unlikely. I don't see Luis golfing in his pastel sweater drapped around his Ralph Lauren polo while you drive the golf cart in your expensive minolos and coach dress? Doesn't seem like your style of neighborhood. The older house is adorable on the outside and screams "CAMI" BUT the inside doesn't to me. It sounds like you would have to change so much. While you love projects remodeling a kitchen takes more time and money than anticipated (ALWAYS). You guys have worked so hard to get to this point and be able to live a home that fulfills a lot of dreams. You don't want to spend all that time gutting a house or thinking you don't belong in some posh neighborhood . Welp that's my two cents from Texas
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