I am one of those people who just loves looking at houses, even if I’m not in the market for one myself. The venue doesn’t matter – in person, on tv or even online – count me IN. But now that I’ve left the ranks of “perpetual” house hunter to “actual” house hunter, I think I have taken my hobby to a whole new level. And we have potential buyers with no strings attached, who have now been through the house. Twice. For the second showing, the woman brought her dad. Her dad. Evidently, he has some construction experience and gave the house a thumbs up from a quality perspective, which is good. And now we wait. We were told that they are pulling the comps and are getting back together with their realtor on Friday. So, I probably shouldn’t have just put that all out there, because I’ll probably just jinx myself, but since my blog is still a baby, I’m probably talking to myself for the most part anyway. 😉
So, now is the time to (possibly) really be serious about a new house. But here’s the thing. We don’t have one picked out yet. Even though there is a lot of inventory, I’m apparently extremely picky and hard to please choosy. What can I say? This will probably be our long term house, so I want what I want, right? To a certain degree anyway.
I scour the MLS for “new listings” on what seems to be an hourly basis, and do my weekly (ok, daily) neighborhood drive-bys, practically willing houses to have a “For Sale” sign in their front yards. There are a couple of neighborhoods that I drive through/stalk on a regular basis, and I’m sure there are some people who must assume I live there since I’ve become such a regular.
There are some beautiful homes in these neighborhoods, each with different styles and plenty of character.
Traditional Custom Builders
And this…
Traditional Custom Builders
Mind you, we won’t be able to afford any of these homes, but it sure would be nice to live in the same neighborhood, right? You don’t want to have the most expensive home in the neighborhood anyway.
So, what do you do if you sell your house and have nowhere to go? Aside from the homeless part of the equation, it’s not such a bad position to be in, given the current housing market. Do you rent and wait like a tiger in the brush, waiting to pounce on a deal? Move in with the parents? Or buy and make the best of what’s available?
2 Comments
Anonymous
August 26, 2010 at 12:09 amI made the mistake once of buying and "making the best of it" which resulted in us moving again a year later. I would temporarily move into a rental (or with parents if you have that option) and wait for the house that makes you swoon.
Mrs Modern Country
August 27, 2010 at 11:30 amThe whole house-moving thing is so hard if you're the kind of person who wants a home thatwarms their heart. I am SOOO like that!
I heard good advice about house-moving which is to choose a house that has good 'bones' and you can add the rest. I guess it's hard to add the bones!