Buying Property Is Scary

Went to look at a bunch of condos and townhouses today. But there is only one we are considering at all, and that is because it has three bedrooms. I couldn't believe it. There were actually two townhomes in the same monstrous mazelike complex (in which we only saw old men walking little white fluffy dogs). The first was owned by this Armenian family that decorated the place not unlike the parent's house in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Really. Every single pale pink wall was covered in roman columns and a ridiculous amount of decorative molding. There was a framed horse puzzle in the family room.
The back patio fence was lined with razor wire. Hmmmmm. And the wife hovered over us the whole time we were looking around.
The second one was empty. It has three bedrooms. Three. We could have a baby room. I had accepted the fact that we would have to choose between having a studio or a baby room. With three, we wouldn't have to. This place had very nice wood floors throughout. It needs a washer and dryer, refigerator, new range, (the one in there now is ancient, and not in a good retro way), and the cabinets in the kitchen and all three bathrooms are very gross, but that can wait I suppose. Our agent seems to think we can offer $250K to the bank (it's a foreclosure) and wait for a counter offer. The HOA for the place is $300 (for the love of Pete!). So our payment each month with bills and everything else(mortgage insurance, property tax, HOA, mortgage, food, etc.) would probably leave us with about $1200 a month to spare, if we stick to a tight budget. Is that cutting it too close?
I mean, we are really frightened and need advice. This whole BIG BIG SCARY purchase is too much. We know it's the smart thing to do, and we hate to keep giving our evil landlord money. But how do we know the real estate market will go back up? What if there is no equity in 5 years and we poured all our money into the place? I guess we could always go back to renting a crappy place in the perfect neighborhood again. Sigh. I just wish someone could tell us what to do!

Anyway, here are some pics from today:

KITCHEN


VIEW FROM L.R. TO ENTRY


VIEW TO PATIO


LIVING ROOM (check out the mirror wall!)


STAIRS


Yes it is two levels. We could pretend it's a real house! Only drawbacks are no nice views, big maze of a complex, and no funky coffee shops or parks. What do you think?

More House Hunting

Went to look at these "condos" today with Mark. I use quotation marks because they are really just dressed up apartments. But their prices are really low. Bad points: There are no real views, a small laundry room in the basement, no balconies, big construction project across the street, it's a neighborhood that we wouldn't stay in because of terrible schools, and they are about 850 square feet. Good points: Everything is brand new, central air, only $200 HOA, and the neighborhood is not scary. And we could probably get one for $275,000. Believe it or not, that is a very good price.

Also looked at this house in Burbank in an amazing area. It is a foreclosure selling at $399K. (Most houses in that area go for $600K and up.) So at that price we were used to something that has no roof, in a crack den, or with a electric plant in the front yard. So we thought, well let's see what scary thing this is. It does need a lot of cosmetic work. Needs: some new windows, new floors, all appliances, major scrubbing, paint, some landscaping, and new cabinets. Also, there is about 5 feet in between houses, and no back yard. Our awesome realtor, Alison, says we can offer $330K because it is a foreclosure. Here are some pics:
den


tiiiiiiiny kitchen


garage


2nd bathroom


bedroom

(You can see I already have a bit of belly. Belly pics to come soon.)

How about that red room? The house is in a great neighborhood with a fantastic bike/jog path right across the street where folks are walking their dogs, jogging, strolling with babies. It is in a great school district. And within walking distance are cafes, cool shops, a Rite Aid, and a park. The question is, can we do all that cosmetic work with a baby in the picture? And can we afford the extra expenses?

Big decisions. We would love any advice! Especially, how much of a tax break do you really get from interest deductions?

Premature Escrowization

We changed our minds. And the bank declined our offer. In that order. Sorry, folks. I know we got everyones hopes up, and now I am eating my hat because of all complaining I did about the annoyances of apartment living in the last post. We are still looking and open, but a monthly payment quote from the lender was so shocking that we had to sit down and really think. With condo association fees($315!), property taxes, mortgage insurance, homeowners insurance, and the actual mortgage, the payments would be $3200 a month. And this is on the cheapest, littlest, beat up old condos in foreclosure. Most nice new condos are starting at $600,000, and houses start at $750,000. We could do the $3200, but we would have not much money left over each month. No trips, no dinners out, no new shoes, no art supplies, no yoga classes, no funky neighborhood. Jeesh, why is it all so difficult? Why can't I be making more money?
So we will wait and hold out for a place that we can't live without. And hopefully prices will go down to at least $300K (please!), and in the mean time we will save all that extra dough that we would have been spending on the condo, and in 5 years we will have over $120,000, which will be a small downpayment for something then. So we are very happy either way.
What would you do in this situation?

Make Me An Offer

We made an offer on this condo, which was very scary and fun at the same time. The pictures are not all that great, I apologize. For some reason all the blinds were closed when we were there.

So far this has been the nicest one. All the others had one or more things with which we decided we could not live. Like a bedroom with no windows. Or a labyrinth of hallways to reach the door, or someone living above you. I mean, seriously, you would think that $400,000 would at least buy you the privilege of quiet ceilings.

This one had two floors, like a real house. A private entrance, like a real house. And it is a lot bigger than most condos. 2 1/2 baths, 2 bedrooms, a seperate dining area, walk in closets (2!) with a private bath off the main bedroom. It is close to bakeries, groceries, and liquor stores, and a very short drive to Whole Foods! And the kitchen is an actual room, where more than one person may fit. All for about $40,000 less than all the others we looked at. (foreclosure)

All of a sudden, though, the things we will miss about our current neighborhood seem so nice to us. We will miss the funky coffee house around the corner, the walks to Trader Joe's, walks to Thai, Mexican, Greek, Japanese, the best bagels, or the best soup and sandwich cafe, a quick walk to the bank, our fantastic, awesome neighbors, and so many trees.

But we absolutely will NOT miss the dreaded trips to the laundromat that smells like sewer, the complete lack of hot water pressure, our next door neighbor with the extra loud motorcycle that he like to take out on Sunday mornings, the arranging of our lives and days around parking nightmares, having to run out first thing in the morning in your jammies to move the car because you forgot it was streetsweeping day, carrying groceries or laundry across the busy street, coming home to find NO parking anywhere, so you get a $50 ticket because you HAD to park on the next street.

Most of all, we will be so happy to not send our landlord any more of our money. He has enough of it already.

Condo Hunting

Well, maybe it's Christy and Amy, who are both looking for houses, that really got us started. Mark and I spent last weekend looking at condos. Yes, we are tired of sending our lousy landlord money every month and seeing nothing in return. We have lived here 2 and 1/2 years and the only thing that has been done is a termite bombing. I am pretty sure it is the only thing that has been done since the building was built in 1938.
It is a tough to get over the fact that our only option is a condo. My lovely friends have the sweet fortune of actually looking at houses. I have lived in a house a total of maybe 3 out of my 35 years, so maybe that's why I yearn for one so much. That and the fact that now I can't have one. Most of the condos here are apartment buildings from the 70's or 80's that are termed 'condos' because they are for sale. Here are some pics of one we saw. It was about 700 sq. ft. It had one window total on the bottom floor with the world's tiniest kitchen. There wasn't even a space for a couch or a TV, but there was an ugly fireplace with Three's Company mirrors and fake brick. It can be yours for $400,000. That's $3200 a month with all the fees, etc. Actually, if it was bigger we might have considered it. The horrible carpets, windows, and fireplace could be remedied. (We are thinking that we should just wait for an earthquake; They bring down costs.)

In spite of this, I am very cheerful and hopeful! With patience, we will find a great place, in a nice neighborhood, on a quiet street, with many windows, and a patio! Wish us luck!

House Hunters

Back in the days when I had cable and spare time, I loved to watch House Hunters on HGTV. You get to follow someone as they look at house after house for one they like enough and can afford. Then at the end of the show the suspenseful phone call from the real estate agent telling them if their bid was accepted. You know that they are real people and not actors by the way they 'pretend' they are talking on the phone. And I love to see how the agents try to describe a gaping hole in the ceiling as an opportunity to put in skylights.

It's also exciting to see if the house hunters pick the house you like. Ooh, or are they going for the condo? Noooo! Go for the cute bungalow!! It had leaded glass windows and built in bookshelves! What's the matter with you?
How could you pass up that ultra-cool mid century mod architectural gem? Just because it didn't have a pool? Wah?
Oh, no, their offer was rejected!

Well, it's big drama, as you could imagine. So yesterday, after Mark and I went to the laundromat, we passed an open house sign for these new condos that are almost done. We were in just the right adventurous mood, so we thought 'why not?'. Now, we are not planning to buy anything right now. We just bought a couch. That's a big enough investment. We were just curious.

We asked to see the 2 bedroom sample unit. The salesman, nor any of the literature stated the square footage of the units, but they were pretty small. A tiny kitchen, tiny kitchen nook, tiny living room, and 2 tiny bedrooms. Our apartment is bigger. They had it decorated beautifully, with Bette Davis artsy photos, and Old Hollywood 40's themes. Half a million dollars and it could be yours!
It was fun pretending that we had a half a million dollars, and that the place was nice, but 'just too small for our needs'.

So we decided to drive around the neighborhood, and saw another open house. This time it was an actual house. A very cute house on a nice little quiet street. We would have loved this house. It had a lemon tree, orange tree, and a flagstone terrace in the back with a two car garage. A washer and dryer, and something rarely seen in LA, a refrigerator. Ooooohh. Four bedrooms, and a huge living/dining room area. The kitchen needs major updating. (The dishasher had fake wood veneer on the door.) Something must have been structurally wrong with it because it was listed at only $700,000. Or maybe the market is dropping. The agent there asked if we had been pre-aproved and if it was in our price range. We just said,'well, just a smidge over our price range'. Ha-ha!

A little while ago this experience would have made me sad. I would walk around staring longingly at houses, with tears in my eyes, telling myself,'we will never have a house.' But I decided that I think anything is possible. We can have a house. We deserve a house.

Not that I think starting a life and a family in an apartment is so bad. Millions do in New York. I like our apartment, love the neighbors, love the neighborhood. I just hate the idea of giving our weird landlord money every month, and getting no return.

What's your opinion? Is an apartment okay to raise a child? I grew up in apartments and condos, and I turned out pretty well.