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or then again maybe not
Mar. 5th, 2006 10:40 pmSo now it looks like the other buyers will get that little rundown house I was talking about last post. Now that I've had a chance to do enough research to know that I almost totally do want it. The only hesitations being the commute and the hassle of moving.
Been looking around at the various sorts of things I could supposedly get loans to cover or nearly cover. On the one hand, they're willing to loan me more money than I would have thought. On the other hand, it's probably still not enough for what I really hope to find, even though the payments at the prices I'm approved for definitely push my comfort level. So looking at an odd spectrum. Realizing that choosing any of them would seriously affect the direction my life takes, in completely different ways.
So it's not just a question of do I buy a home? It's a question of - if I do - who do I want to be? Buying the house I've been mentioning would make me one person, buying a condo would make me someone else, which someone depends on which place. And then there are a few duplexes where the rent from the other unit would make it possible to do, and each of those is very different from the others.
At least I do actually like the apartment I live in, so I'm not in a rush. If I don't like a place better than here, why should I get it? The things I don't have here that I want most are ability to install a cat door, get a second cat, and somewhere to garden a bit. Lots of condos don't have those things either. Oh and a chance to build some equity.
I begin to wonder if I'm a freak for caring about foundations, but then any house in SJ that I might possibly be able to get is about 100 yrs old and most of those didn't originally have foundations, or only partial ones... here in earthquake-land they are supposed to get bolted to the foundations. Any of you California home owners insist on bolted foundations? Or are you okay with mudsills and/or partial ones? I'm just a bit perturbed by the vacant confusion that I get response to asking sellers or some RE agents foundation questions.
So who knows? Which person am I going to be? I almost feel like I can write stories about them and what happens, but I'm not sure yet what matters most... or whether it's a matter of finding the right place and knowing. There is something I saw yesterday that I felt was very good, except that the price is higher than my comfort level. It's in the theoretically possible range, but my tendency (when not being too heavily pressured by one of the boys) is to be more conservative. Especially since 2002-2004 was so scary.
Well when (if?) I actually find something AND commit to it, I'll let you know. Right now my head is just swimming with all the plusses and minuses of various things and the sense that only a couple of them really deserve any thought at all. I need to get better at eliminating possibilities that I really don't want enough. Just add the goods and bads to my criteria list and clear the rest of that clutter from my brain.
Well I did stop by a condo-conversion complex today that was a very easy "absolutely not for me" ! That Cupertino Villas. I used to know someone who lived there about 10 yrs ago when it was apartments, I can see the building being ok for that. But as condos? Ugh, just ugh. I really have a hard time thinking of anything good about them and the way they decorate the models only makes it much worse. I have actually seen a couple of these other conversion projects around that I haven't totally rejected... I can see some potential despite the model's decor, but CV - have I said ugh enough times yet? Next time I go into one of these places I need to actually tell the people that granite countertops and stainless steel appliances are negatives I could tolerate if everything else was ok, not plusses they should keep pointing out to me. Also huge furniture makes the rooms look tinier. Brown walls and fugly wallpaper make the rooms look dark and pukesome. I never thought I would long for white walls! CV also has some nasty textured carpeting and these idiotic partial drapes stuck to the ceiling near the bathtubs. They're a "suggestion" said the sales lady, but they are too far from the tub, don't look waterproof and don't stretch the whole length of the tub... so they leave me feeling more uneasy than impressed with elegance. A real shower curtain would be better. OH! and really dumb. They stuck a washing machine in one of the walkin closets of the one bedroom model and the sales lady was calling it a 'utility room' for doing laundry, but then she said they still hadn't decided whether or not to let people ask for hookups to be installed so that you could actually use the damn thing! They currently don't actually have hookups in those units! Run away, run away, what morons! If you do like granite and steel there are some less dreadful conversion complexes around. Imagine how stupid your neighbors would all be if you lived in that one!
Been looking around at the various sorts of things I could supposedly get loans to cover or nearly cover. On the one hand, they're willing to loan me more money than I would have thought. On the other hand, it's probably still not enough for what I really hope to find, even though the payments at the prices I'm approved for definitely push my comfort level. So looking at an odd spectrum. Realizing that choosing any of them would seriously affect the direction my life takes, in completely different ways.
So it's not just a question of do I buy a home? It's a question of - if I do - who do I want to be? Buying the house I've been mentioning would make me one person, buying a condo would make me someone else, which someone depends on which place. And then there are a few duplexes where the rent from the other unit would make it possible to do, and each of those is very different from the others.
At least I do actually like the apartment I live in, so I'm not in a rush. If I don't like a place better than here, why should I get it? The things I don't have here that I want most are ability to install a cat door, get a second cat, and somewhere to garden a bit. Lots of condos don't have those things either. Oh and a chance to build some equity.
I begin to wonder if I'm a freak for caring about foundations, but then any house in SJ that I might possibly be able to get is about 100 yrs old and most of those didn't originally have foundations, or only partial ones... here in earthquake-land they are supposed to get bolted to the foundations. Any of you California home owners insist on bolted foundations? Or are you okay with mudsills and/or partial ones? I'm just a bit perturbed by the vacant confusion that I get response to asking sellers or some RE agents foundation questions.
So who knows? Which person am I going to be? I almost feel like I can write stories about them and what happens, but I'm not sure yet what matters most... or whether it's a matter of finding the right place and knowing. There is something I saw yesterday that I felt was very good, except that the price is higher than my comfort level. It's in the theoretically possible range, but my tendency (when not being too heavily pressured by one of the boys) is to be more conservative. Especially since 2002-2004 was so scary.
Well when (if?) I actually find something AND commit to it, I'll let you know. Right now my head is just swimming with all the plusses and minuses of various things and the sense that only a couple of them really deserve any thought at all. I need to get better at eliminating possibilities that I really don't want enough. Just add the goods and bads to my criteria list and clear the rest of that clutter from my brain.
Well I did stop by a condo-conversion complex today that was a very easy "absolutely not for me" ! That Cupertino Villas. I used to know someone who lived there about 10 yrs ago when it was apartments, I can see the building being ok for that. But as condos? Ugh, just ugh. I really have a hard time thinking of anything good about them and the way they decorate the models only makes it much worse. I have actually seen a couple of these other conversion projects around that I haven't totally rejected... I can see some potential despite the model's decor, but CV - have I said ugh enough times yet? Next time I go into one of these places I need to actually tell the people that granite countertops and stainless steel appliances are negatives I could tolerate if everything else was ok, not plusses they should keep pointing out to me. Also huge furniture makes the rooms look tinier. Brown walls and fugly wallpaper make the rooms look dark and pukesome. I never thought I would long for white walls! CV also has some nasty textured carpeting and these idiotic partial drapes stuck to the ceiling near the bathtubs. They're a "suggestion" said the sales lady, but they are too far from the tub, don't look waterproof and don't stretch the whole length of the tub... so they leave me feeling more uneasy than impressed with elegance. A real shower curtain would be better. OH! and really dumb. They stuck a washing machine in one of the walkin closets of the one bedroom model and the sales lady was calling it a 'utility room' for doing laundry, but then she said they still hadn't decided whether or not to let people ask for hookups to be installed so that you could actually use the damn thing! They currently don't actually have hookups in those units! Run away, run away, what morons! If you do like granite and steel there are some less dreadful conversion complexes around. Imagine how stupid your neighbors would all be if you lived in that one!
