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Ergh Man buying a new place sucks
Just a venting. I'm still living in a hotel since we can't seem to find a place to buy. I'm running out of "free" housing too!! We must have seen over 70 houses so far. Some are ok, but just not for us. Some just have concrete for a backyard. Some are weird and some have "quirks."
I've walked into some and immediately said "cat pee." Others make me ask "Why does every square inch of wall have to have wallpaper that I hate?" I don't mind removing wallpaper, but I do mind ever wall of every room including the one wall that runs from the top of the cathedral ceiling to the bottom of the basement stairs. One of my favorites was the house that we looked at because they dropped the price $80,000. That house had the original 1974 indoor-outdoor blue/green alternating stripe carpeting that was installed when it was built. Incomplete renovations. Botched renovations. I've almost seen it all.
Plain stupidity like the laundry room that is not plumbed or electrical run for laundry appliances because the owners wanted their units in the basement of the 2 story home. The laundry room is all there complete with overhead cabinets. Just no hookups for laundry. I know it can be fixed, but it will take time and money.
One weekend seemed to only have religious themed houses. The first one on that day had a religious message written on the glass shower door in makeup. I don't mind people being religious as that's their perogative. But when you are looking to buy a house, that message is plain freaky. Besides, the house beat up, smelled bad of cat pee and looked like it had a botched addition made.
I know people are proud of their homes but it isn't the 1970's anymore. Some elbow grease in the form of paint and ancient wallpaper will do wonders for buyers. One house was done in a contemporary theme, from the early 80's when Miami Vice was king of the network shows. The colors and decor were straight from the show.
Why are 2 car garages called 2.5? The only difference is the 2.5 car garage is wide enough so you can open your car door. I know your bathroom remodel is worthy of a home magazine photo spread. Looks beautiful. Except those neat bureau style vanities have no drawers, the small sink has no counter space and you didn't put in a medicine cabinet. So where do I put my toothbrush?
Sigh... Call me "Struggling Iowafun not having fun in Wisconsin"
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Ergh Man buying a new place sucks
We are looking in the Milwaukee Metro area, but trying to stay out of Milwaukee since we don't like half the mortgage payment to be taxes. Plus I'm portly enough that a kevlar vest would make me look ridiculous.
One of the issue we are facing was the market turned from a seller's market to a buyers market. But many sellers have not adjusted for that and frankly, have an over-inflated opinion of their home. So the homes that are valued correctly and don't have major defects are selling. Problem is those homes are very few and far between right now.
We found one we like with 4 acres of property and at a good price. BUT, it is much further away than we want to be and put my worst day 50-60 minutes drive each way. That would be ok for me, but a contender for a job for my wife is in the local as my worst day. So she'd be doing the bad drive every day.
I made fun of the wallpaper, but we are looking past the color and the wallpaper since that can be fixed for relatively minor expense. I don't mind replacing carpet either for a home at the right price. So my focus is on the big stuff like layout, storage, usefulness, etc.
One factor is my wood shop equipment. I can run that in a basement, but the basement needs to have access such that the equipment can be placed down there, wood hauled down and projects hauled back up. So those narrow stairs with the 90 degree turn just don't pass the test.
One home I was starting to really like. Well, I hated the choice of vinyl siding (fake bare wood pattern) but there was nothing major wrong that I couldn't fix given time and a little cash. BUT then we hit the basement and I saw all the large black (not paint) spots on the floor joists. Or another house with ceramic tile in the entry. The tile was white/beige but the grout was a dark red. That house also required a complete gut and redo of the kitchen and two baths.
I know we are a bit picky, but when the realtor walks out of the house and says the home is over-priced based on what she saw, well, it backs up my opinion. Another problem we face is this market also has a lot of home owners that do not want much yard maintenance. So they build large homes on micro-lots. So the backyard is 5 feet of grass past the deck. That won't work for our kid.
So it's tough to find a balance of needs and trade-offs. We have houses would could live with, but for that kind of money I don't want to just live with it. I realize I have been spoiled with the land and shop I had in Iowa. It may be that our lifestyle is far less compatible with the suburban life than we anticipated.
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Ergh Man buying a new place sucks
Cutter, I hear ya. I spent quite a bot of time fixing or upgrading the last two homes I owned. I'd like to live and spend time with my family. So that is a factor I cam keeping a close eye on!
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