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Priced to Sell …

So, Wifey™ and I have begun the house hunt. We heard from our mortgage broker on Friday and found that we qualify for about $350,000. Actually I think we qualify for more, but she knows we can’t afford the payment that goes along with more of a loan, so I think she capped it off at $350,000.

Now in most parts of the free world, that kind of money would buy us a spectacular home. We’d not only get multiple rooms, but bonus rooms and backyards and sideyards and pools and hot tubs and glorious home-like features in a brand new development. However in the land of the debt-ridden, that kind of money will afford us a one or two bedroom condo or townhouse. We need one bedroom and a room for our computer. So, we’ve narrowed it down to two bedrooms or a one bedroom with a den/study. Whatever is affordable.

So, as a preliminary search, Wifey™ and I headed out to see what’s out there for us sans real estate agent. Just on our own visiting open houses. Now, I’ve gone to open houses before, back in the day. There’s usually some prep work done to make the house presentable … sort of to give you a good first impression, so you’ll want to snap it right up. Or maybe not, these days. Maybe just for the multiple million dollar ones — not the cheap ones.

The first places we visited was totally not in the area we wanted to be in, but thought we’d check it out anyway. The first bad sign was when we arrived at the guard station and the guy was on the phone flapping his lips not paying any attention to us. I even stopped the car and he really didn’t make any effort to get up and greet us or anything.. so I proceeded through. Upon entering, there were half a million cars jammed into the parking lots — not one visitor space was left open. Even though we’d probably have assigned parking, we’d still like to have a place for guests to park. The place was a maze. We drove around and around trying to figure out where the open house was and after driving around for ten minutes finally managed to find it. Probably at the total back of the entire complex — next to the cemetary and freeway … and garbage. So we’re already turned off, but continue to head to the townhouse to see the inside. Erm. The kitchen is smaller than my office at work. Like even though Wifey™ and I have lost about 50 pounds combined, we still wouldn’t both be able to be in the kitchen at the same time. And it was nasty. We’d have to gut it. The living room was very small as was the dining area … and the bathrooms. The bathrooms reminded me of those bathrooms in RV’s, where you can take a shit and brush your teeth, while taking a shower all at once. And the place smelled. This one had that asian people smell. I’m not being racist or anything, but asian people have a distinct smell and this place had it. So, we’d basically have to gut the building and start from scratch. And the place wasn’t even that cheap as far as our budget goes. Next …

So, the next place we went to visit was definately in a better community. We pulled right in and found a parking spot right away. A few steps more and we’d found the open house. There were two of them. The first one was pretty nice for what it was. Of course there were things that would need to be changed, but overall a nice place. A fairly updated kitchen, newer flooring, etc. We’d have to do some work to get it up to speed, but nothing compared to the very first one. It was also approved for having a washer/drying installed, a definite perk, in the land of community laundry rooms. The place was nice for the price, but still not our ideal. It was doable, but I dont think either of us fell in love.

And then came the third. This one was two doors down from the last one, in the same building. Roughly the same layout, except this didn’t have two bathrooms, just one. It was also a shit hole. Ohmygod. I don’t think words can describe the level of filth in this place. First of all, someone had gone to the trouble of purchasing a Pergo floor and installing it and then doing a shitty job of installation. The floor wasn’t straight and hadn’t been locked together correctly and just sort of ended at the closets without and end moldings or anything … so it would need to be ripped out. They also just tore the old carpet out, so all the seams from the bedroom carpets were just sort of hanging there ready to be tripped on … but enough about the flooring. I opened the hall closet and nearly passed out from the smell of mildew. First, it was packed to the ceiling with dead bodies and shit and then the smell nearly knocked my ass out. The bathroom was just disgusting — like a cleaning product had never been seen in there. A few of the doors were broken or had holes in them. The kitchen was covered in a layer of filth and grease I’d never seen before and really wanted no part of. The place would basically need t be gutted to be habitable and even then I’m not sure it would be something we’d be happy with. Next …

The last place on our list was the one we’d actually had high hopes for from the beginning. It was in our area and close to both transportation and other things we wanted. We entered the complex and weren’t immediately impressed by the fact that we got lost in the maze of hallways leading to the open house. In the end we found that we could’ve gone another easier and quicker way. The bad part about his complex was the long, dark narrow hallways leading to each condo. The hallways were outdoors but had walls on each side, so it created a dark feeling. The actual condo was nice. Nice light in the living room/dining area. The kitchen was twice the size of all the previous condos and although it needed updating, it was definately something we could work with. The two bedrooms were good sized, as were the two bathrooms. Again there was no washer/dryer in the unit, so we’d have to use the complex laundry room. Another negative was the proximity to the train tracks — like right next to this particular condo. For the day we put it at the top of our prospects, but I think we still weren’t totally sold on it, so we’ll continue our search.

Sunday was more of a day to see what’s out there. We can’t really get out of our lease until March, so we’ll probably start the real search in January and then if we find anything we’ve got about 60 days to close the deal. Should be a fun ride. As a result of our search this weekend, we also found out that the two bedrooms probably aren’t going to be in that great a complex, while the one bedroom plus study condos are going to be in nicer areas, even closer to where we live currently, due to the price differences between a one bedroom and a two bedroom. So it’s something we are definately checking into. We’ve also got two mortgage brokers on the job, our realtor and another realtor sending us emails. So, it’s in full swing. Now to just get through Christmas. Ugh.

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