Monday, March 12, 2007

Housing Search Update

I'm a bit discouraged on my search for the perfect house under $340,000. So far, I've really liked [1356306 - 8136 Lingle Ln - $289,950], but my brother pointed out a few major practicality issues with the upstairs, and I never have really cared for the basement. [1376694 - 5323 W 132nd St - $328,900] is by far my favorite, but is on the upper end of my price range, and is in pending status (even if this falls through, I'd have to offer almost full price, too). It really is a beautiful home, and I feel like it wasn't nearly so cookie-cutter as most I've seen. While the floor plan has been reused, this house seems to have the best version, too. I vowed against a split level, but this California Front/Back split is pretty amazing [1358668 - 7901 W 155th Pl - $294,500]. Sadly, it got an offer on it last Friday for $289,000, and he's countering at $290,000. Basically, it's almost certainly going to sell.

[1376880 - 17488 W 158th Pl - $224,900] is the cheapest one I'm interested in. It seems to be quite a bit of house for the money, and has a big back yard. There wasn't anything obviously wrong with it when walking through briefly. Only 2.1 baths and only a two-car garage may be a problem for my prospective roommates, however. Plus, it's just nothing terribly special. Basically, it's cheap.

[1357598 - 15996 W 159 Tr - $264,950] is decent, though a bit smaller than what I'd ultimately like. The main problem is the unfinished basement. The remarks sections states "motivated seller," so if I can get it for $250,000, say, then I could finish off the basement for a final cost of about $270,000. This has the added bonus of having a basement as perfect as possible for the house.

[1335619 - 15312 S Blackfoot Dr - $244,000] is next up, but with only a two-car garage. The three full bathrooms is nice. After I refinished the basement, it would have 4 bathrooms, and a wet bar. I wouldn't have to redo every wall, but quite a few would have to move to fully utilize the space. It had a little nook that would be ideally suited for a dartboard, plus the foundation is poured for a basement fireplace already. It's been on the market for over 250 days, so something may be wrong with it, or it may have just been taken off the market for a bit. I'll bet the ceiling could be raised in the basement a bit, most places, too. Overall, I think this is probably the best value I've seen, since I can get the basement refinished how I like it for a total cost of about $255,000 - $260,000. I'll have to take another look, I guess.

I'm going out tomorrow with my mom and agent to see 3 more houses. I haven't picked out which ones, yet - or I could leave it up to him. If any of my readers care to join the house search, I would appreciate additional opinions.

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