House on the MLS. Pretty, but needs work.
It's pending anyway, and we won't know until tomorrow if it is going through. If not, we will take a look-see. The lot is huge (really, really huge), the house is huge (and has a big wrap-around balcony up top, down one side and around to the back), and it is quite pretty from the outside. The garage is in great shape, and the fence is a really new, tall privacy fence that looks to be in very good shape, though it needs to be stained. But...
The "River valley view" is actually a birds-eye view of the refinery. "Needs 'TLC'" actually means it needs a lot of work, particularly to floors and such things, and mostly in the two-storey addition. The solarium in particular is in issue, since it requires a permit and an encroachment agreement or some such thing in order to make it compliant. It's really, really close to some low-rentals. It's a foreclosure sale, but that is only part of the reason why it is so cheap. (The price is apparently incorrect on the MLS; the banks are looking for $192,900 and there isn't a lot of room to bargain.) Still less than we could get for our place, but with the repair work that would be required, well, I wonder if it is a worthwhile endeavor.
I wonder what else may be wrong with it. Hmmm...
Showing posts with label housing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label housing. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Sunday, July 24, 2005
More House Stuff
Saw a gorgeous house on the Comfree. Of course it's pending!
We're going to look at it anyway, at around 7:00. J is teething and he's extremely grumpy today, but hopefully this won't be an issue - we'll be in and out.
Conditions get removed Wednesday. I'm sure it will go through, though, so this will just give us an idea of what's available in this area at this sort of price point. (It has a lovely view of a major freeway. Not a bonus.)
On a different note, J just headbutted me in the mouth. Boy does that ever smart!
We're going to look at it anyway, at around 7:00. J is teething and he's extremely grumpy today, but hopefully this won't be an issue - we'll be in and out.
Conditions get removed Wednesday. I'm sure it will go through, though, so this will just give us an idea of what's available in this area at this sort of price point. (It has a lovely view of a major freeway. Not a bonus.)
On a different note, J just headbutted me in the mouth. Boy does that ever smart!
Friday, July 15, 2005
Any Trades Accepted
T and I went house hunting tonight.
The sign on the lawn of the dilapidated bungalow across the street from the mall read: "Any Trades Accepted". T said that was a bad omen. I couldn't help but say: "I'll give you an old Sex Pistols tape". T and the realtor both laughed, and the realtor said: "I'll give you my cat".
We trudged up the steps to the front door, me clinging desperately to J lest the steps give way. (The sagging front steps were actually coming detached from the house.) We walked in, and noted the plywood flooring in the entranceway. The kitchen was done in green 70's lino. But they ran out, and did one section in blue. It only got worse from there.
The only good thing about the house was its gorgeous oversized stainless steel refrigerator. It did not come with the house.
The sign on the lawn of the dilapidated bungalow across the street from the mall read: "Any Trades Accepted". T said that was a bad omen. I couldn't help but say: "I'll give you an old Sex Pistols tape". T and the realtor both laughed, and the realtor said: "I'll give you my cat".
We trudged up the steps to the front door, me clinging desperately to J lest the steps give way. (The sagging front steps were actually coming detached from the house.) We walked in, and noted the plywood flooring in the entranceway. The kitchen was done in green 70's lino. But they ran out, and did one section in blue. It only got worse from there.
The only good thing about the house was its gorgeous oversized stainless steel refrigerator. It did not come with the house.
Smelly
Tonight, I made a shrimp stir fry. It was quite yummy. But I forgot to rinse out the pan before we went out. We got home, and the entire house smells of shrimp. I like shrimp, but it's not a pleasant odor.
On another note, we went on a house hunt in the southeast. Disheartening. Of the 10 homes for sale that were in our price range: 2 were sold, 5 were pending, 1 (just listed this morning, I might add) had an offer and counteroffer situation happening on it, leaving only 2 houses to view. They were both icky. We also checked out the one with the offer in place and it was really nice, but was located right on a really busy street, and the traffic noise was astonishing. So it didn't seem appropriate to get into a bidding war with another potential buyer, especially when we're not sure the southeast is the right area for us in any event.
**Sigh!**
On another note, we went on a house hunt in the southeast. Disheartening. Of the 10 homes for sale that were in our price range: 2 were sold, 5 were pending, 1 (just listed this morning, I might add) had an offer and counteroffer situation happening on it, leaving only 2 houses to view. They were both icky. We also checked out the one with the offer in place and it was really nice, but was located right on a really busy street, and the traffic noise was astonishing. So it didn't seem appropriate to get into a bidding war with another potential buyer, especially when we're not sure the southeast is the right area for us in any event.
**Sigh!**
House Hunting
Very tiring! Very frustrating!
I love my house. But I have to acknowledge that it is no longer the right home for us. It's a beautiful house in a very nice neighborhood. But it lacks schools and near daycares (a real consideration these days), and it is not on a decent bus route. (I work downtown, so that is quite important.) Plus, it is a 2-storey home, so we have a lot of stairs to barricade from J. Besides, if I ever end up on bed rest again, it would be best for us to be in a bungalow. We don't have a finished basement or a garage and, with the new baby, we won't be able to find the time to do these things ourselves (not that we're particularly handy folk who could figure it out anyway); we certainly don't have the cash to hire someone to do it! So it is with some sadness that we must begin the dreaded house hunting process.
But where to live? H and I have very different takes on this issue. He is partial to the area where he grew up. I love that area as well and, if that were the only consideration, we'd probably be devoting ourselves to a search in the city's southeast. But that is not the only consideration.
My parents, who are our main source of support and care for J, live in the west end. (Kind of northwest, actually.) Being southeast would not work for us from that perspective. We'd lose our main support and possibly some childcare assistance. Suffice it to say that I quite enjoy the help of my family and don't wish to lose it by moving really far away from them.
So I propose we move to the west end of town, near my parents' home. Of course, H prefers southeast, and states that the west end is too far from his mother, who has some health concerns and is in need of assistance. My thought is that the west end works better for us right now and housing is temporary - we could always sell our west end home down the road if it is not working as well for us and we still prefer the southeast communities. But for right now, we need to be where it makes sense right now.
To quote va1kyrie, "If I Ruled the World"...
If I ruled the world, H's mother would move into a senior's complex in the west end, where she would be near us and we could provide some assistance and a close relationship with her new grandson. In turn, we would find a suitable house for sale in some nice west end neighbourhood near my parents. The house would be within our price range and, (and this is very important), would be AVAILABLE!! Not sold; not pending; not waiting for acceptance of the other possible offer - AVAILABLE!! We would then sell our current home for an appropriate price, transfer our mortgage to the new house, and move in. And it would all go really smoothly and everyone would be perfectly happy.
Every time we find something we like with a reasonable price point in either southeast or west, it's already either sold or pending. Sure takes time to find anything tangible.
I love my house. But I have to acknowledge that it is no longer the right home for us. It's a beautiful house in a very nice neighborhood. But it lacks schools and near daycares (a real consideration these days), and it is not on a decent bus route. (I work downtown, so that is quite important.) Plus, it is a 2-storey home, so we have a lot of stairs to barricade from J. Besides, if I ever end up on bed rest again, it would be best for us to be in a bungalow. We don't have a finished basement or a garage and, with the new baby, we won't be able to find the time to do these things ourselves (not that we're particularly handy folk who could figure it out anyway); we certainly don't have the cash to hire someone to do it! So it is with some sadness that we must begin the dreaded house hunting process.
But where to live? H and I have very different takes on this issue. He is partial to the area where he grew up. I love that area as well and, if that were the only consideration, we'd probably be devoting ourselves to a search in the city's southeast. But that is not the only consideration.
My parents, who are our main source of support and care for J, live in the west end. (Kind of northwest, actually.) Being southeast would not work for us from that perspective. We'd lose our main support and possibly some childcare assistance. Suffice it to say that I quite enjoy the help of my family and don't wish to lose it by moving really far away from them.
So I propose we move to the west end of town, near my parents' home. Of course, H prefers southeast, and states that the west end is too far from his mother, who has some health concerns and is in need of assistance. My thought is that the west end works better for us right now and housing is temporary - we could always sell our west end home down the road if it is not working as well for us and we still prefer the southeast communities. But for right now, we need to be where it makes sense right now.
To quote va1kyrie, "If I Ruled the World"...
If I ruled the world, H's mother would move into a senior's complex in the west end, where she would be near us and we could provide some assistance and a close relationship with her new grandson. In turn, we would find a suitable house for sale in some nice west end neighbourhood near my parents. The house would be within our price range and, (and this is very important), would be AVAILABLE!! Not sold; not pending; not waiting for acceptance of the other possible offer - AVAILABLE!! We would then sell our current home for an appropriate price, transfer our mortgage to the new house, and move in. And it would all go really smoothly and everyone would be perfectly happy.
Every time we find something we like with a reasonable price point in either southeast or west, it's already either sold or pending. Sure takes time to find anything tangible.
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Hypothetical Real Estate Query
If a house is being listed for sale at $230,000, and the City has it assessed at $185,500, what would be a reasonable offer to make? I don't know the answer to this. I do, however, know that a house assessed at $226,000 will never ever sell for its asking price of $325,000.
Realtors should not smoke crack.
Realtors should not smoke crack.
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