House Hunting Day!

Yesterday Dave and I got to go look at five houses with our real estate agent Sarah.  She is so sweet, and the poor girl is 8 months pregnant with her third child but had no problem traipsing around in the snow and cold with us.

All five homes are within $30-$50K of each other in price, yet  are so very different.

Our first stop is the house I'm saving for last in this post!

The second home we visited was one that I really wanted to see.  It was a home with unique architecture in our price range on a lot amongst million-dollar homes, and appeared as though it had a private yard with a mountain feel.

Once we stepped inside, however, it was quickly apparent that it was not our house.  The layout was really bizarre and some of the walls up the stairs and in the loft had glass in them so you could see through to other areas of the house - in my opinion it looked cheap and tacky.  The stairs were not solid: which looks cool but is a complete safety hazard for toddlers.  In the kitchen the cabinets and appliances were dated, and if we're going to spend money on a house like this we don't want to tack on an additional $15K + in updates.

The 'private' lot was shared with homes on either side precariously close (if one caught on fire, this one would be in danger) and there wasn't a lot of privacy.  This was definitely not our house.

The next home we visited was in a great location map-wise, but was right on the main parkway in the city so there is a lot of traffic, dirt, and noise.

 Before the mountain views out the windows were power lines and rooftops, minimizing the homes future resale value.  This house was a fix-and-flip that appears inside to be unfinished.

 It has a gorgeous 5-piece travertine master bath, but the other bathroom is in serious disrepair.  The closet doors remind me of those sketchy apartments that we all lived in in college, and the kitchen felt crooked and poorly done, and the cabinets were cheap plywood and falling apart.   The photo is very deceiving; the refrigerator is even falling apart, not to mention filthy.

Overall the house was uninviting and cold, not to mention the horrible driveway, lack of a yard, and baseboard heat adding insult to injury.  Speaking of a lack of attention to detail, the concrete forms were never taken off of the supports on the deck, speaking to the homes likely poor and quickly done construction. As we came out of the house I nearly tripped coming off the stairs, which violate code with a two-inch higher stair at the bottom.  This was not our house, and even our agent said it was majorly overpriced.

Down the street was another home we wanted to see, a mountain-inspired home on the hill being sold by it's original owners.  In photos it looks like a clean, well-kept modern home with great views.

For starters, the home has a very distinct old smell to it, but is well laid out with a beautiful stone fireplace and tall windows.  For some strange reason they used very old dirty furniture to stage this home. The kitchen appears to be a modern dream kitchen, but in reality the cabinets need to be re-stained (they are severely worn out), and the pantry is in really poor condition.

  

The master bedroom has holes in the walls and the bathroom needs some work.  There were no blinds, and this house is lacking privacy so new window coverings would be an added expense.  The carpet is filthy, and in the basement are two very small bedrooms painted in various shades of teal and pink.  It's also very dark downstairs and has a morbid, creepy vibe in addition to some odd corners and spaces.  The garage had a very pungent sharp odor like mold or dead mice, sealing the coffin on this house for us.  We couldn't wait to get out of it!

The last home we saw was one Dave really wanted to visit, and I knew from photos that I wasn't terribly interested.  It also had a funny odor too it, not to mention the most unwelcoming entryway with the front door leading right to the laundry room before opening into the house.

Inside the home had a very small kitchen, and more of a 'closed' floor plan.  We knew within seconds of entering the house that we would not be interested, but inspected it anyways simply out of curiosity.

Of the 4 homes we didn't like, this one was the cleanest with only some dust and flies because it has been sitting staged and empty.  I can see this one being a great home for the right people, but for us it just wasn't right.

Now onto the piece de resistance!  I've mentioned this home before, but now that we've seen it we have more to think about!  A month ago, Dave and I got sucked into a short sale home in our city (see this post) and really thought it was such a beautiful and special house.  No doubt we would have loved it: it was simply gorgeous, unique, and had that great mountain vibe we are looking for.  But hands down, our latest obsession goes above and beyond anything we could imagine.  It looks, feels, and shows like a $500K+ home, but isn't.  The owner has had the home on the market since January, and has dropped the price by $130K since, including a $5K drop the same day we came by for a tour.

Our *thought* is that the home isn't selling because on a map it looks like it's in a bad location (we thought it was too but went to see it anyways).  In truth, it is only 4-6 minutes from downtown.  The problem is that the drive in snow would require a good vehicle, and we imagine that several prospective buyers have been turned off by the (paved) mountain road up to the property.  It is very likely that the current owners want out for the same reason: we asked the daughter (who was home alone sick) and her answer was that her family simply wanted to move closer to Denver.  Dave and I were both raised in the mountains and don't have a problem with a bit of a snow drive: the neighborhood and location are definitely not a deal breaker for us.

Ironically enough, the paint colors in the home are very similar to what we currently have in our townhouse.

I've mentioned this before, but for clarity I'll mention it again.  The kitchen is beyond incredible!  It has a pantry, beautiful cabinets, and a gas stove.

On the wall in the kitchen is a built-in chalkboard.  This home is BEGGING to have children raised in it.

Across from the kitchen is a breakfast area.

There is also a formal dining area, and the sweeping views and tall windows continue throughout the house.  The whole main level is very open and inviting, with several doors leading to the wrap around deck.

The living room has a fireplace with an insert, and more fabulous views.

The entry is a split level, which in most homes I don't like (you come in the front door and have to make a decision which way to go. . .up. . .or down. . .) but this entrance is so grand and open I can't resist.  I wish there was a better photo of it - it's in the for corner of this picture.

The master bedroom is open and has it's own private deck, a walk in closet, and a 5-piece bath with a separate W.C.

The walk out basement is a really cozy separate family room for the TV and comfy furniture.

It also has two bedrooms and another bathroom (there are 4 bedrooms total in this house), one of which could be used as a music studio for my private students.

Outside, the home sits on over an acre of wooded property - it is a dream for Dave and I and our future children.  There is a fort, lots of trees and rocks, privacy, and incredible views.

I'm not sure if Dave is going to want to place an offer.  We both agree that this house is perfect for us: he crunched some numbers and found out that based on comparable properties (price per finished square foot averages) in the area this home *should* sell for $30 - $50K less than it's current price, putting it within reach.  He is saying that we should make a very low offer and then bargain back up to a price that is basically on the edge of our range.

The problem here is the cost of moving: closing costs, inspections, commissions. . .it all adds up to a significant amount.  What I told Dave though was that no matter what at some point we will have to move. . .if we can get a property like this one for such a low price, it may be smart to make that move now instead of waiting for that time when our (not even born yet) toddler is more independent and we need  more space.  This home offers instant equity if we hold onto it long enough as the market bounces back, and marketed correctly (only 6 minutes from downtown, immaculate condition, etc: all things the current listing agent fails to mention) has tremendous resale potential.

Our agent says 'well, it's only the first home we saw, we'll see tons more, so let's just sit on it and put your house on the market and see who bites'.  Personally, I'd rather make an offer!  She thinks that the seller, like most sellers in Colorado, won't accept a contingency (a contract obligating them to sell us their house *but* place it on hold until our own home sells) however it appears that this family doesn't have a home to move into themselves.  They may want a contingency like that to buy some time and find a home they'd rather move too, further confirming my belief that this may be our house.

I can see our furniture in it, imagine our children running around there, and feel myself cooking in that kitchen.  The price is incredible for the home and what it is, the current market is just perfect for buying homes we would otherwise never afford.  Remember that this home we love is the same price range as the other four in poor condition. . .it's mind boggling.

I wonder if it's been overlooked by other buyers simply because it's our home and has been waiting for us to come along and snatch it up.