The House Hunters Thread

[PrettyBlues]

Date: 12/2/2009 10:03:39 AM
Author: anchor31
The Anchor family has a HOUSE!!! Our offer was accepted!!! I''m so excited. We''ll be moving on May 1st so I need to call our landlord to tell him we''ll be breaking our lease two months early.

Congrats Anchor

I''ve been reading through this thread in the past few days because we are just starting our search for a place as well. It would be great if we could get in somewhere before the bub comes, but it may require a few months of renting before getting in.

Will you be living on or off the island?

 

[drk]

Congrats Anchor! How fantastic that you can relax and not look for houses when you''re so close to your due date. I had a feeling this was going to work out as soon as they countered.

NEL - good luck deciding whether to offer or not. If they''re motivated, maybe it''ll be meant to be if they accept what you''re willing to pay? I''d rather have the perfect house inland, a short drive from the shore, than a less ideal one right on the water, but that''s just me.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Date: 12/2/2009 10:03:39 AM
Author: anchor31
The Anchor family has a HOUSE!!! Our offer was accepted!!! I''m so excited. We''ll be moving on May 1st so I need to call our landlord to tell him we''ll be breaking our lease two months early.

ANCHOR!!!! YAY!!!!!!!! Congratulations, that is SO EXCITING!!! Oh my gosh, you must be over the moon!

So you''re moving May 1st, is that the same day you are closing or are you closing earlier? So what''s next, the inspection?

 

[anchor31]

PrettyBlues - We got pregnant just before we moved in our current apartment last May. The original plan was to get a house then, but DH had a bout of unemployment, so we put it off by a year. We started hunting just a few weeks ago, so I think we were lucky to find something fast... Good thing too, because visiting houses was getting difficult with a 30 pounds baby belly! We''ll be living east off the island.

Thanks Drk!

NEL - I''m not sure what closing means? We have 10 days to finalize the mortgage papers with the bank, then we have the inspection to get done and the seller has to have the house''s foundations tested. We have to sign papers with the notary on or before April 26th.

 

[meresal]

Date: 12/1/2009 7:18:28 PM
Author: pennquaker09
Meresal, I really would consider having the ceilings painted, but I think it depends on what colors you have picked. Generally, going from painted walls to unpainted ceilings or stark white ceilings is very noticeable. I would at the very least paint them Dove White.

Well, we are definitley having the ceiling painted, apparently we don't have the option to change anything anymore. LOL!! If we decide to paint any of the ceilings "white" it will most definitely be "Ceiling white" or something similar to "Dove white" like you suggested. Thank you!

The color I originally picked out is called "Desert Castle" and will look similar to a light tan. It will work out fine and we are good with just painting over what we need to. I think it will be better to have some kind of color when we move in, as opposed to nothing on the walls at all.



ANCHOR!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!! I am so excited for you!!!!

 

[PrettyBlues]

Anchor, I''m sure it wasn''t easy for you at all at this point in your pregnancy. Kudos for you for getting it done, and so quickly as well, I know there isn''t a lot out there at the moment. We are starting now so it''s not a problem for me at only 17 weeks, but then again if we get to move in when we want I''ll be about as far along as you are now, so I guess I won''t be helping all that much with the move

We are looking on the west of the island, that way we will be closest to both sets of his parents and his sister, which I know they are happy about and is great for us (yay for family who babysits)!

Congrats again on the house. The idea of getting out of rental land is so exciting.

 

[anchor31]

Date: 12/2/2009 11:16:01 AM
Author: PrettyBlues
Anchor, I'm sure it wasn't easy for you at all at this point in your pregnancy. Kudos for you for getting it done, and so quickly as well, I know there isn't a lot out there at the moment. We are starting now so it's not a problem for me at only 17 weeks, but then again if we get to move in when we want I'll be about as far along as you are now, so I guess I won't be helping all that much with the move

We are looking on the west of the island, that way we will be closest to both sets of his parents and his sister, which I know they are happy about and is great for us (yay for family who babysits)!

Congrats again on the house. The idea of getting out of rental land is so exciting.

Good luck on your hunt. We weren't looking at all at property on the island, so I have no idea what the market is like. Checking out mls.ca can help get you started... Do you have an agent? Ours was really great and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend her to you. DH's family is on the south shore (where we are renting now) and my family is on the north shore, so we tried to find something somewhat in the middle... It'll be good to have a bit more distance from the ILs, they can be quite overwhelming at times. Plus DH works in Montreal-East, so he'll be very close to work.

ETA: I'm not sure I would have been able to house-hunt at 17 weeks... I had really bad morning sickness up to 23 weeks!

 

[Lynnie]

ANCHOR!!!! WOOT! Congratulations!!

 

[PrettyBlues]

Date: 12/2/2009 2:15:13 PM
Author: anchor31

Good luck on your hunt. We weren''t looking at all at property on the island, so I have no idea what the market is like. Checking out mls.ca can help get you started... Do you have an agent? Ours was really great and I wouldn''t hesitate to recommend her to you. DH''s family is on the south shore (where we are renting now) and my family is on the north shore, so we tried to find something somewhat in the middle... It''ll be good to have a bit more distance from the ILs, they can be quite overwhelming at times. Plus DH works in Montreal-East, so he''ll be very close to work.


ETA: I''m not sure I would have been able to house-hunt at 17 weeks... I had really bad morning sickness up to 23 weeks!

Market seems pretty slow on the island right now, but apparently it is meant to pick up from Jan. I have been looking at MLS and at the moment we are using an agent that my FI used to go to high school with. Hopefully we''ll get to go look at some places with her in the next few weeks, and I can get a better idea if she is a good fit for us. If it doesn''t work out, I will keep you in mind though! I think it is so important to have a good agent. You poor think with morning sickness until 23 weeks - that is a long time!

I''m lucky that mine started to taper off around week 14, and wasn''t actually too bad to begin with.

 

[drk]

House stuff is driving me nuts!

I guess I pissed off the seller of our house, who''d let us contact him by email with questions over the last month. We asked for all the surveys/plans/mechanical drawings etc for the house last week (had tried to get them a month ago, but didn''t specifically ask for each thing that had been outlined in our purchase agreement). Got an email back saying that he knew he had them, but they were in storage somewhere and would take a while to find. There was no time frame given on how long that would be.

So yesterday I decided to follow up and ask one quick question while I was at it. I asked him how long he thought it was going to be before he got his hands on them. The email that came back this morning said something to the effect of ''I''m insanely busy, have no time, and to be honest, finding them will be a "last minute detail".'' I risked his ire by writing back to ask whether by that he meant sometime in Jan (like a week before we close), and sure enough, no response, but his agent called our agent to ask that we not contact him directly again. Meanwhile, our contract indicated that when we asked for this stuff, it was to be provided without undue delay. A week or two I can see, 6 weeks, not so much.

This guy seemed had been very nice, open with info, and very helpful thus far. He had offered to let us in to the house extra times if necessary, within reason. And now that it''s really inconvenient for him, no more Mr Nice Guy.

I sure hope he still lets in the contractor that he''d used previously who was going in to check things out today to give us a second quote on the reno work. Pray for me that I haven''t shot myself in the foot on that one! Should have maybe waited till tonight to risk his ire.

 

[neatfreak]

drk I'm sorry that sucks! Maybe he just has other things going on in his life that are making him jump down everyone's throat. I wouldn't worry about it. It's HIS failure to abide by the contract, not yours.

Anchor CONGRATS GIRL!!!!!! So exciting!!!!

Lynnie Meant to say that the house looks BEAUTIFUL! Isn't it amazing what some paint and elbow grease can do to a house?

Meresal If I were you I would get on that builder's a**. Even if it means you pull the "I'm pregnant and you're making me cry" routine. It works trust me!

 

[drk]

I know he''s extremely busy. He said he runs 2 businesses, is planning his move, and is renovating the new place (has run into a couple issues there, I think). But it still doesn''t mean that he can put our contracted agreement to get all the important paperwork ahead of closing to the bottom of his list! I hate to piss him off, but the potential HVAC issue is weighing on me, and we need to plan our reno too. Don''t want to be living in construction when the baby arrives!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

drk, what a pain in the rear end! He''s under contract to give all of this stuff for you and yet it sounds like it''s going to be a huge battle to get it--in fact it sounds like he told you that it would be last-minute. I would be extremely frustrated, too. You''d think he would understand since he''s renovating his new place, too. I think NF''s "I''m pregnant and you''re making me cry" tactic might need to be put into effect.

 

[drk]

Well, I definitely had mentioned the pregnant-and-due-early-March thing in a previous email, so he''s not oblivious to it. I''m just sad that previously (I thought) cordial relations have deteriorated over something he''s contractually obligated to do. We''ll see what happens. At least both agents must know he has to stick to the letter of the agreement, so I hope they get something out of him soon, even if it''s not convenient for him.

Now I''m getting anxious that we gave up our apartment as of Jan 31st - what if something dramatic appears and we need to back out of the agreement? I''d be devastated! Of course I think in the agreement the only thing that would have let us back out was if anything had shown up on the house inspection within a week after we made the offer, and nothing did. Hopefully we''ll just get title insurance and hope for the best.

 

[meresal]

Drk- I''m sorry to hear about the seller. Seems liek his frustration is a little misdirected. Hopefully he will chill out and realize that it is contractual.


UPDATE: I had a dream last night that we drove by the lot, and the framing to lay the foundation was set up and just waiting for concrete to be poured... Well, today I got a call from my friend that already lives in the neightborhood, saying that there is a pile of 2x4''s sitting at the front of the lot, and a bunch of stakes laying next to it!!!! YAY!!!!

We are leaving for a wedding tomorrow, so we are going to drive by on our way back into town on Sunday, I''m hoping that I will "see" the set-up that I saw in my dream! I''ll be sure to take pictures!

 

[kittybean]

Anchor, I am so excited for you! Congrats on your house!

Bad news for our house-hunt today: the bank decided to take another, last-minute offer for the beautiful condo on which we had made an offer. We had waited for weeks for them to approve the short sale! They took this other offer right on the eve of the final, final deadline we gave them. DH has a very it-just-wasn''t-meant-to-be, positive attitude; I am kind of heartbroken. It would have been such a perfect place for us right now, and I''m really afraid we''re not going to find anything even close to it in our price range. I know I shouldn''t have had my heart set on it, but I did, and now I just want to cry.

Back to the drawing board for us.

 

[drk]

Damn, Kittybean - how frustrating to find out at the last minute like that. Hope something better comes along soon.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Meresal! Oh my gosh, that is FANTASTIC!!! I just let out an audible "woohoo!" It sounds like they''re finally going to get started this weekend which means the basement should be poured before the ground freezes, right? This is great news!

Kittybean, I am so, so sorry. To put in an offer and have to wait for weeks only to find out that the bank took a last-minute offer over yours in the final hour? I can definitely understand why you''re heartbroken. I think your husband''s reaction to it is healthy and I''m glad he''s looking forward, but I can also understand if it''s a little frustrating since his reaction was different from yours. I hate to sound cliche, but while I know it doesn''t feel like it now, you WILL find something you love as much. I spoke to several friends about it after our offer was rejected and they all said I''d find something I loved even more, and strangely enough I think that might be true. You never know what might pop onto the market and in the end I know you''ll find something you love!

 

[geckodani]

Meresal! YAYNESS!!!

drk - ugh. I''m sorry the seller is being a pain!

Kittybean - ((HUGS)) I hate it when that happens.

We had 4 to see this weekend. Now it''s down to 2 (other 2 went pending).

I''m about to give up, for real.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Gecko, it stinks that half the houses you were planning to look at went under contract. That happened with us last weekend, but it was just one house. How do the two that are left look? Are you excited about either of them?

I can definitely relate to feeling "done". I keep telling myself I need to take a break because I''m tired of using time every weekend to hunt for houses that I never really love, but then my urge to have this over with gets the best of me and I end up going to see houses I can tell I probably won''t love based on the listing, but I want to see them "just in case". I''m done with that strategy--if I don''t love the house on paper, I''m not going to see it. The three houses I''ve found that I loved enough to put an offer on I KNEW I''d love...I''ve never had the experience of falling in love with a house that was "meh" on paper. So this weekend we are only going back to see the one we love and if we decide to put an offer in and it doesn''t work out, I''m sticking with the new strategy. I''m tired of wasting my time.

 

[geckodani]

Date: 12/4/2009 2:18:03 PM
Author: NewEnglandLady
Gecko, it stinks that half the houses you were planning to look at went under contract. That happened with us last weekend, but it was just one house. How do the two that are left look? Are you excited about either of them?

I can definitely relate to feeling ''done''. I keep telling myself I need to take a break because I''m tired of using time every weekend to hunt for houses that I never really love, but then my urge to have this over with gets the best of me and I end up going to see houses I can tell I probably won''t love based on the listing, but I want to see them ''just in case''. I''m done with that strategy--if I don''t love the house on paper, I''m not going to see it. The three houses I''ve found that I loved enough to put an offer on I KNEW I''d love...I''ve never had the experience of falling in love with a house that was ''meh'' on paper. So this weekend we are only going back to see the one we love and if we decide to put an offer in and it doesn''t work out, I''m sticking with the new strategy. I''m tired of wasting my time.

Good for you NEL! We did end up really liking one that was meh on paper, so that keeps me going. I found 3 more that my realtor is checking out.

I just... we really want kids soon. And I really want a house before we procreate.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Date: 12/4/2009 2:44:46 PM
Author: geckodani

Date: 12/4/2009 2:18:03 PM
Author: NewEnglandLady
Gecko, it stinks that half the houses you were planning to look at went under contract. That happened with us last weekend, but it was just one house. How do the two that are left look? Are you excited about either of them?

I can definitely relate to feeling ''done''. I keep telling myself I need to take a break because I''m tired of using time every weekend to hunt for houses that I never really love, but then my urge to have this over with gets the best of me and I end up going to see houses I can tell I probably won''t love based on the listing, but I want to see them ''just in case''. I''m done with that strategy--if I don''t love the house on paper, I''m not going to see it. The three houses I''ve found that I loved enough to put an offer on I KNEW I''d love...I''ve never had the experience of falling in love with a house that was ''meh'' on paper. So this weekend we are only going back to see the one we love and if we decide to put an offer in and it doesn''t work out, I''m sticking with the new strategy. I''m tired of wasting my time.

Good for you NEL! We did end up really liking one that was meh on paper, so that keeps me going. I found 3 more that my realtor is checking out.

I just... we really want kids soon. And I really want a house before we procreate.

Ooo, three more! That sounds good, I hope you can check all of them out!

I definitely understand the house before baby issue. I''m in nesting mode. And I want to nest in my own house. My fear is that if we don''t ge a house soon and I somehow get pg first, I''ll compromise what I want just to get something. Logically I know our rental house would be fine...we rented it with a baby in mind "just in case". But I really, really want a house first. And I want to settle in before we focus on that chapter.

 

[Smurfysmiles]

DH and I have begun doing our researching on houses. We are paying off a few more things to boost our credit just a bit higher so we can hopefully get a lower interest rate when we do apply. But this weekend there a lot of open houses so we are going to go check out the ones in our price range just to see what's around the area. The suburbs of denver are all so uniquely different and in some areas you can get more bang for your buck so that it would be good to just start seeing what is out there, what we like and don't like, that sort of thing sooo yeah I probably won't post here too often while we are getting started but it is interesting to read what everyone has to say!

eta: any denver ladies on here that have any suggestions?

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Have fun, Smurfy!!!

There is a show on HGTV--I can't remember if it's House Hunters or My First Place or something like that, but they often have shows in Denver. I just watched an episode last night that was in Denver! Anyway, I am sort of addicted to those shows and just wondered if you might have seen a couple of Denver-based episodes if you watch HGTV. Can't wait to hear how your open houses go!

 

[Smurfysmiles]

Date: 12/4/2009 5:50:49 PM
Author: NewEnglandLady
Have fun, Smurfy!!!


There is a show on HGTV--I can''t remember if it''s House Hunters or My First Place or something like that, but they often have shows in Denver. I just watched an episode last night that was in Denver! Anyway, I am sort of addicted to those shows and just wondered if you caught any around Denver. I have a good friend who lives in a townhouse downtown and is moving to the ''burbs. Can''t wait to hear how your open houses go!

ahhh yes I''ve seen a couple of those shows It''s amazing how you can get a really tiny condo for the same price as a 4 bed 3 ba house in some parts! We''re trying to stay in the 200k range because then we''d be paying about the same what we pay for rent now and it''s in a really good school district. The only downside is there''s not many good views of the mountains but that''s what we have a car for, to drive up in them!

 

[Smurfysmiles]

So we found an area we really like with a great school district and saw some open houses and met a realtor who we liked a lot and has helped a lot of first time home buyers so i think we will be working with her to see some more homes DH is excited because all the homes are by a golf course! lol

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Smurfy--finding an area you love and a great realtor are two big things on the house-hunting checklist, so congrats on pinning those two things down!

Gecko--how did it go for you this weekend?

We just got back from our second viewing of the house I posted earlier (the white antique house). We met the selling agent and I actually really liked her. She was the sellers'' buying agent when they bought the house, so she was very up front about everything that might come up in the inspection report. Plus she gave us a lot of great info. about the history of the house, which was really interesting. We walked away still loving it, so I think we''re going to put in an offer. How much and when is still up in the air--we are going to figure that out with our realtor this week.

 

[geckodani]

Date: 12/6/2009 11:37:31 AM
Author: NewEnglandLady
Smurfy--finding an area you love and a great realtor are two big things on the house-hunting checklist, so congrats on pinning those two things down!

Gecko--how did it go for you this weekend?

We just got back from our second viewing of the house I posted earlier (the white antique house). We met the selling agent and I actually really liked her. She was the sellers'' buying agent when they bought the house, so she was very up front about everything that might come up in the inspection report. Plus she gave us a lot of great info. about the history of the house, which was really interesting. We walked away still loving it, so I think we''re going to put in an offer. How much and when is still up in the air--we are going to figure that out with our realtor this week.

We were only able to see 2; the other three are up later this week.

Oooh NEL - Sounds promising! I''m excited for you!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Gecko, did you like either of the ones you saw today or are you passing on them and focusing on the next three?

 

[geckodani]

Date: 12/6/2009 9:19:15 PM
Author: NewEnglandLady
Gecko, did you like either of the ones you saw today or are you passing on them and focusing on the next three?

They both had good bones, but needed way more work then we are willing to do. So... on to the next!

ETA: The problem is, that we FOUND the perfect house, and lost it. So now I'm holding everything up to that one. And I'm afraid we're not going to find it again.