House shopping; a depressing list

"Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle" (1500sand535)
02/01/2018 at 18:29 • Filed to: None

Airplane noise

Sketchy part of generally good neighborhood

Is there sag in the roof

Why’d they cut that joist

Roof is old

so many trees scraping on the roof

there are no trees in the yard

The alley sucks

The driveway takes up half the yard

That boiler is huge and old

No walkable libraries/cafes/pubs/restaurants

Too small

Garage sucks

Needs $3000 repair escrow for city required repairs

Bus access isn’t good

Far from family

Schools aren’t great

Child care is out of the way

Have a good weekend Oppo!

DISCUSSION (17)

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
02/01/2018 at 18:48

The feels, man.

Here are my current problems:

- 12 other offers on the home

- no inventory

- nice house in sketch area

- corner lot next to a 4-way stop and no fence

- parking chaos on the street

Or specifically what happened last night: one of us really liked the home, and one of us really didn’t.

Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
02/01/2018 at 18:53

Oh man, I’ve got some of that; first of 8 offers on a house; “this house is beautiful” but people sure shoot guns around there a lot,

why are there no homes

Why are there no homes

Thursdays and fridays are actually kind of therapeutic because at least a few houses get listed. I’m like a cokehead who gets a tiny sniff and then by following Wednesday I’m tweaking and itchy because none of those houses planned out and I need more.

haveacarortwoorthree2 > Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
02/01/2018 at 18:53

Having lived near a small city’s airport (and directly under one of the flight paths) and then near DFW, you really get used to plane noise very quickly. Now the small city’s airport wasn’t too busy, but the national guard did fly out of there Saturday mornings and all conversation ceased until the planes had gone over. DFW wasn’t too bad because we were not in the flight path for any runway. We could still hear the planes on the ground spooling their engines for takeoff late at night or early in the morning if the windows were open, but it really wasn’t that bad.

Mid Engine > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
02/01/2018 at 18:53

Where you looking?

Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle > haveacarortwoorthree2
02/01/2018 at 18:54

Thanks for input! Both of tomorrow’s houses are on edge of the noise path I found.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
02/01/2018 at 18:57

I’m basically only shopping for specific areas (and not even ritzy ones... I mean look at me. I’m a schmuck). I care little about the home itself, as long as it’s livable. We can always improve or add to the house. Unfortunately with the inventory, everyone else is on that same playing field. “I don’t care it the carpet is 48 years old and it’s 1,100 square feet, we need a goddamn place to live!”

Spaceball-Two > Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
02/01/2018 at 19:02

I would gladly take more driveway and less lawn to mow. Stuck with a single file driveway at the moment and the constant shuffling of cars is wearing thin.

shop-teacher > Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
02/01/2018 at 19:41

Ugh. I don’t miss that. We looked at over 100 houses before we bought ours.

WilliamsSW > Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
02/01/2018 at 19:59

Make sure you check it during different wind conditions. Quiet one day when they’re landing west might be loud as hell when they’re landing north.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Mid Engine
02/01/2018 at 20:47

Everett — the parts with less shopping carts and needles though

ranwhenparked > Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
02/01/2018 at 20:47

I’ve got:

house 15 minutes from beach in nice neighborhood at crazy cheap price

1. Why didn’t the previous owners service the furnace any time after 2002?

2. Wait, is that furnace 32 years old?

3. Are the shingles in the front older than the back?

4. Why is the veneer plaster delaminating from the ceiling?

5. Are those kitchen counters warped? How does a kitchen counter warp?

6. So this how people born during WWI lived during the 1980s, neat.

7. Good Lord, what is that smell and can it ever been cleaned out?

There’s apparently three other showings scheduled on it in the next few days. It needs a ton purely in cosmetics, and who knows about everything else. Still seriously considering putting down an offer, though.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Spaceball-Two
02/01/2018 at 20:48

Same. We were happy with out huge lot when we bought this house, but now yardwork is nothing more than a burden. I’ve been living the shuffle life.

Spaceball-Two > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
02/01/2018 at 21:04

Soon as the weather improves i’m Ripping out some trees so I really only have to maintain the lawn. I’m done with trees growing into power lines and the endless leaves.

fintail > Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
02/01/2018 at 21:17

For listings I read in my area, the faults are more simple:

Can’t afford it

I’d need to win a lottery to afford it

Can’t afford it

No trust fund, can’t afford it

Can’t afford it

Demilitarized zone teardown

Can’t afford it

200 minute commute

Can’t afford it

If my salary doubled, I could almost afford it

Can’t afford it

If my salary quadrupled, I could afford it

Can’t afford it

f86sabre > Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
02/01/2018 at 21:38

Sound of Freedom (TM) I’m about 15 miles out as the crow flies from Atlanta Hartsfield Airport and we have continuous jet noise. It’s not bad. That said, my office is literally next to the runway, so it is all relative

Work hard to get into an area with good schools if you, or are planning to have, kids. If you don’t have kids yet and skimp here you will end up moving when the time comes.

f86sabre > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
02/01/2018 at 21:43

I don’t envy you shopping in western Washington. The market is just insane. I was offered a six figure government job in Renton in 2008 and even then I realized I couldn’t afford anything decent within 30 miles. That would then result in a 90 minute ride home. No way. I grew up in Maple Valley and there is basically no way I could endorse anything there anymore.

Good luck in your mission. All I can say is Atlanta is nice.

Mid Engine > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
02/02/2018 at 09:13

Everett is a big town, I’m in unincorporated Bothell, right near Mill Creek (I’m less than a mile from the ST3 cash grab zone). Amazing how close Everett is to me, plenty of nice homes. Most houses around here are 600k+