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house hunting the first day
So I'm not going to go into too much detail in this public entry, I've got a private entry for that...but it was quite the eye opening experience today. You can get a crap house for CHEAP here...under 200k no problem...I know that's not really cheap, but compared to the bay area it is, where you can't get a tin shack over a dug up Indian burial ground for under 500k.
Anyway. Saw two possibilities. One is perfect in many many ways except for the kitchen. The kitchen is small and there is no room for renovation. I could get past the size but not the lack of possibility of a dishwasher. Oh man and the YARD is perfect, amazing and spooky--picket fence and everything. Our agent is making sure about the kitchen though. The other one was immaculate but not our style, unless we can get comfortable with a 50's bungalow. The neighborhoods on both were nice though...very friendly. The bungalow had a great kitchen, but it was really REALLY 1970's. Very nice 1970's though. We saw 6 today, all around or quite a bit under 200k.
The first place we went to was next door to a crack house...we didn't even look. The next one, the guy had obviously spent all his money putting his many children through school and law school...and had done nothing to the house in over 40 years or more. It was sad, but you could tell his kids had made good and were going to take care of him now.
What I don't understand is why most folks don't even CLEAN up the places when they know they are going to be shown, which they all knew. That was strange. Good thing here though--the houses come with the appliances 99% of the time.
We decided to increase our looking price--right now it's matching our current rent (but still far under our total approval level) and we're going to pull some of our discretionary income into the mortgage area and reach our bay area rent. And we're going further out too...as far as Palatine I'm thinking. And the further out you go the more house you get for less. I'd like to be close to the friends we've made, but we figured good friends will visit and we have to be in a place we'll be happy in, in a good neighborhood with good schools--and room to grow ya know, in case there is a sibling for Emily...still not likely, but not as unlikely :-) depending on if my body can handle another pregnancy/birth. Besides, we'll have enough room for folks to crash after a holiday!
anyway...
Tomorrow we are going to take a drive again through some of these burbs and look about and then drop by the savages for a minute or two. James will be going over to zombie night I'm guessing (if he can bare to step away from SWG for a minute) . Me, I'll be reading house buying books. I'm nearly finished with two and have two more to go.
I still haven't started Harry potter. I'm in the middle of a mildly interesting book that I want to finish before I start in on Harry. I want to drop the first book in favor of the second, but I love Harry Potter so much that I don't want to be distracted from the experience, if that makes sense.
And Emily was AMAZiNG today.. Friendly, interested and really sweet from 9:40 until 1:20. Luckily she's a curious eep and loves new things. She was not quite so happy in the afternoon but 16 readings of hop on pop and fox in socks helped that. And running about naked save for her diaper in circles around the dining room table.
Hokay.. sleepy now.
Anyway. Saw two possibilities. One is perfect in many many ways except for the kitchen. The kitchen is small and there is no room for renovation. I could get past the size but not the lack of possibility of a dishwasher. Oh man and the YARD is perfect, amazing and spooky--picket fence and everything. Our agent is making sure about the kitchen though. The other one was immaculate but not our style, unless we can get comfortable with a 50's bungalow. The neighborhoods on both were nice though...very friendly. The bungalow had a great kitchen, but it was really REALLY 1970's. Very nice 1970's though. We saw 6 today, all around or quite a bit under 200k.
The first place we went to was next door to a crack house...we didn't even look. The next one, the guy had obviously spent all his money putting his many children through school and law school...and had done nothing to the house in over 40 years or more. It was sad, but you could tell his kids had made good and were going to take care of him now.
What I don't understand is why most folks don't even CLEAN up the places when they know they are going to be shown, which they all knew. That was strange. Good thing here though--the houses come with the appliances 99% of the time.
We decided to increase our looking price--right now it's matching our current rent (but still far under our total approval level) and we're going to pull some of our discretionary income into the mortgage area and reach our bay area rent. And we're going further out too...as far as Palatine I'm thinking. And the further out you go the more house you get for less. I'd like to be close to the friends we've made, but we figured good friends will visit and we have to be in a place we'll be happy in, in a good neighborhood with good schools--and room to grow ya know, in case there is a sibling for Emily...still not likely, but not as unlikely :-) depending on if my body can handle another pregnancy/birth. Besides, we'll have enough room for folks to crash after a holiday!
anyway...
Tomorrow we are going to take a drive again through some of these burbs and look about and then drop by the savages for a minute or two. James will be going over to zombie night I'm guessing (if he can bare to step away from SWG for a minute) . Me, I'll be reading house buying books. I'm nearly finished with two and have two more to go.
I still haven't started Harry potter. I'm in the middle of a mildly interesting book that I want to finish before I start in on Harry. I want to drop the first book in favor of the second, but I love Harry Potter so much that I don't want to be distracted from the experience, if that makes sense.
And Emily was AMAZiNG today.. Friendly, interested and really sweet from 9:40 until 1:20. Luckily she's a curious eep and loves new things. She was not quite so happy in the afternoon but 16 readings of hop on pop and fox in socks helped that. And running about naked save for her diaper in circles around the dining room table.
Hokay.. sleepy now.
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You'll find The Perfect House soon, hon. It's really a buyers' market right now.
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glad you had fun
I think there are a couple townships that also don't have property tax (schaumburg i think is one)
we will come and visit you :). hopefully you will come and visit us too
Re: glad you had fun
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bairdwarner.com will also tell you which school attendance zones the house is in, and yearly taxes.