So house hunting was exhausting, informative, fun, frustrating, and at the end, satisfying. We saw the 5 houses we'd planned to see (culled from the LA Times ads) and then just drove around the neighborhoods stopping in at other houses who happened to have signs up. All in all we saw 10 houses, and boy did we run the gamut of dump to darling. We saw one where there was literally piles of trash strewn throughout the house. It was horrifying. And we saw one advertised as "Cute! Cute! Cute!" (but they left out "Small! Small! Small!"). We saw a variety of price ranges as well and while I thought I was prepared for some of the prices, I couldn't believe the audacity some people had to ask what they were asking for. It was like yeah, give me a call when your asking price drops a hundred thousand or so.
We spent our time mostly in Pasadena and Altadena, both cities that we really liked. There were multiple cute houses in each. We saw a great house in Eagle Rock but I'm quite sure it was sold at 7 am this morning. We had to practically take a number to get in, and there were tons of yuppies there with their parents (can you say "well funded") who drove up in their BMWs. So pretty much that house was a goner.
Then we found a great house that we fell in love with in Pasadena. 4 bedrooms, 1.75 ba. Craftsman that had obviously been loved and cared for. It had tons of those little historic details that we love and was in great shape. Plus it had some of those features that fall under the "Would really like to have" category (as opposed to the "Must have" and the "Must NOT have")--2 car garage, hardwood floors (recently refinished), corner lot, and a fireplace to name a few. The only thing it didn't have that was a big priority for us is a dishwasher (and it wasn't clear if there was room to install one), and it was lacking some counter space in the kitchen. But really, we were awed as soon as we walked in. The problem? It's at the very very very tippy-top of our price range--so much so that it may not even BE in our price range. We're not sure.
Today we started the process of getting pre-approved for a mortgage. Once we run the numbers and see what we qualify for, we're definitely taking a closer look at this house if it's still available.
Mostly the house shopping was exciting. It reminds me of when we had a house in Palm Desert (we being my parents and brother) and there was a huge construction explosion there with these fancy developments. And for fun we'd go look at model homes (there wasn't a lot to do in the desert at that time aside from swimming). It's easy to pick out your room and imagine how you'd decorate it and what you'd do with the space. And when that one strikes you--what a rush.
Posted by Shelby at August 2, 2004 03:42 PM