Putting "The Watch" on a House

I think we may have found a house. We are cautious and not making any sudden movements, but there's a house that could potentially be THE ONE. E & I are in the right place to pull the trigger and make an offer, but we want to wait some more.

We contacted our REA to talk about making an offer, seller's assist and closing costs, and decided not to put an offer in. We are still curious to see what houses may prop up on the market over the next few months. We have plenty of time since our target date for closing is not until early-March. However, we would hate to miss out on this house.

Our REA recommended that we put "a watch" on the house. Meaning that if someone else puts in an offer, the seller's agent will notify us to see if we want to put in an offer as well. This way we won't lose the house without a fight, and we can wait a bit longer to see if anything even better comes along. So, that's what we are doing. Watching the house until we are ready to pounce. Fingers crossed that no one snatches it up before we are ready to commit or that, if they do, something even more perfect comes along.

House Hunting Saturday

Yesterday, E & I went out to look at three homes in the South Hills, two in Bethel Park and one in South Park. After a few wrong turns and the GPS leading us to a closed road, we made it to South Park for the first house in a foul mood. Here's the summary:

House 1

Location: South Park
Stats: 4 Bedrooms, 2.5 Bathrooms, First Floor Family Room

Pros: Room sizes were great, the layout of the house was very nice, closets were large, the yard was beautiful (about 1/3 acre), the deck was huge, huge 2-car garage, master bathroom, great neighborhood, some new windows.
Cons: Needs cosmetic updates: some new carpets, lots of dated wallpaper, kitchen cabinets (not real wood) and counter tops, closet doors. Furnace and AC are original with the house (30 years old). Kitchen appliances are dated. The commute is 28 minutes without traffic. This is 10 minutes more (6 extra miles) than if we moved to Bethel.

Verdict: Loved the house, loved the space. Hated the commute.

This house is priced for a quick sale and will be snatched up within the month. It is being sold by a recent divorcee for only $1K above market value.

Major Conclusion: Although I could handle the commute, it would make for a very cranky E. It is something for us to think about.

House 2

Location: Bethel Park
Stats: 4 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms, First Floor FR, In-ground Pool

Pros: The street and neighborhood is fantastic! A cul-de-sac with kids playing on the street, hardly any traffic and loads of trees. The house is spacious with the family room and four bedrooms. It has a nice deck and a large yard. The finished basement is nice.
Cons: Closet space is practically non-existent. The stairs to the second level are enclosed. There are no kitchen appliances. No bathroom on the second floor. The garage is unusable unless the driveway is paved. The driveway is too narrow to shuffle the cars. The yard is tiered and has a lot of overgrown trees, vines and bushes. The pool is extra insurance ($200 a year), extra electric and extra maintenance, plus the fence around the top of the pool is not up to code. The front porch needs to be torn down and re-done and there are some cosmetic updates needed on the house. The furnace is old.

Verdict: Nice house, but we couldn't live with no closets and no driveway. The yard is difficult to maintain. The pool is both a plus and a con. Needs lots of updates.

I think this is a good house, but there are lots of updates needed, and the layout is not ideal for us.

Major conclusion: More bedrooms do not translate to a better house.

House 3

Location: Bethel Park
Stats: 3 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms, Over 1/2 Acre Yard

Pros: This is our second time viewing this house. We really like it. It is turn-key with fab new appliances, new wood windows, HW floors, new furnace, new AC and new hot water tank. The room sizes are nice, the closets are huge, the layout is great (traditional and efficient) and the yard is a dream-come-true. There is a deep integral garage, a finished GR in the basement, a huge covered brick porch and nice landscaping.
Cons: The house sits on a busier road. The second full bathroom (brand new) is in the basement. We would have to extend the driveway by about 4 ft in order to be able to shuffle the two cars in and out of the garage.

Verdict: This is a great house, and it has a lot of potential for improvements and additions.

The price of this house was just significantly reduced. It was certainly worth a second look.

Major conclusion: We still love this house, especially for the new price.

The Chore List Adventure

A few weeks ago, I started getting self conscious about the fact that out house was never quite clean. I wondered how people managed to work full time and keep a clean house. Surely they don't have lives, don't enjoy themselves and have no friends, right?

Then, I discovered a little tool (thanks to the all-powerful Google) called a weekly chore chart. Apparently a clean house does not require a full scrubbing daily, but simply a little work each day. With this new tool, I put together an N & E customized chore list. I have four chores per day, including washing the dishes and kitchen counters, and sorting our mail daily. It really breaks down to doing two extra chores each day.

On Mondays, I have to dust the furniture and do any laundry left over from the weekend, Tuesdays I pick up clutter and vacuum, Wednesdays I clean the bathroom, and so on. For the most part, this adds less than an hour of work each day. Our house looks great, our surfaces are clean, the clutter is gone, and the bathroom tiles are staying white.

I have been slacking with my chores this week and I can already tell the difference. Thankfully I was smart enough to schedule a "rest day" for Sundays, which has really just become my "catch up day" for this week. My greatest measure of success? E came home this week and said:

"Lately, I have loved coming home. It is so relaxing here."

Removing the clutter and the dust does make the dwelling more peaceful.

The Stimulus! The Stimulus!

Got great news when I woke up this morning: the Senate unanimously passed an extension to the Housing Stimulus Bill. This means that if we close by April 30, we will get $8,000. I am so excited about this. It will give us extra money to purchase furniture, make improvements to the house, and save for a rainy day.

The particulars of this extension are different. The stimulus will be extended to some non-first-time home buyers, and the income maximus have been increased. I am jcrossing my fingers that the bill passes in the House and is signed soon.

Since we are going into the winter, there hasn't been that many houses coming into the market and nothing new for E & I to go look at. I am hoping this announcement motivates some sellers in the off season.

I am also hoping that this announcement does not stir up too much buyer competition: people don't like moving in the winter, right? I'd like to be able to shop for a house without feeling pressured or rushed by competing offers.

Is this our Dream House?

There is a house we both really like. I happen to love it, E likes it very much, but is it THE house?

We want to wait at least another month before putting in an offer, but what if this house is gone? Will we have missed out on our dream house? If we do buy this house, what if something better comes along after February?

I don't think I am the type of person that just "knows" when something is the one. I had to try on my wedding dress three times before deciding on it, and even to this day I wonder if that was the right move.
This is the house causing all the doubts. Here's how it compares with what we described as our dream house.

YES - At least three nice-sized bedrooms.
YES - A spacious living room.
YES - A separate dining room.
YES - Nice large windows in common areas.
YES+++ - A relatively medium to large yard. A good yard to us is at least 1/4 of an acre.
YES+ Bonus - A driveway and garage, bonus points if the driveway can fit two cars side by side.
YES - A nice street and neighborhood.

These are the things we would love to have, but are not deal-breakers:
YES - At least 1.5 bathrooms, preferably 2 full baths.
YES - Integral garage.
YES - Finished basement.
YES! - Nice size closets.
YES - Room for a home office, either in the basement or an extra bedroom or den.

Additional Plus's:

New A/C, furnace and Hot Water Heater

Renovated kitchen with Stainless Appliances

Pantry

Brand New Wood Windows

Hardwood floors in impeccable condition

No Wallpaper!

Built-in grill in back yard (connected to gas line)

Huge back porch that can easily become a FR or Den

New landscaping in front

1/2 Acre flat yard

1/4 mile from elementary school

Close to South Park

So what are the cons?

- The second full bathroom, although fully renovated, is in the basement (finished).

- The main bathroom might need to be renovated soon, but it's not really necessary.

- The street is a bit busier than we would like, although the house sits far back from the street.

- We need to work on the curb appeal (shutters and a portico should do the trick).

- We found it too early!

Maybe it will take us looking at this house a few times before deciding it is THE one, or maybe it just isn't it.