productive weekend.
Feb. 26th, 2006 04:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
daniwithteayesterday, we drove around norristown and pottstown, looking at neighborhoods. then, we met with a realtor (soon to be officially *our* realtor), who was wonderful and helpful and not full of shit. she typed in our parameters and gave us a stack of 82 properties to wade through. after spending last night weeding out obvious undesirables (tenant-occupied and "as-is" properties, houses in known icky areas of town), we ended up with about 10 in Norristown and 12 in Pottstown that we wanted to take a cloer look at. This morning we got up and drove to N-town & P-town for the second day in a row, this time with specific addresses in mind. We pulled up as close as each house as we could get, discussed what we could see of the neighborhood and property, and made notes or eliminated each house. We're down to 5 in N-town and 10 in P-town.
We were both pleasantly surprised at our options. It seems that we can indeed live in a decent house in a decent part of either town within our price range. Yay! Next step for me is to schedule time with the realtor to go see them; next step for Mer is to start the pre-approval process for the mortgage.
On a side note, we're both rather irked by the notion that, in buying a house - possibly a semi-suburban one at that - we are truly turning into grown-ups. Ick.
In case anyone is interested, here are brief details of what we're looking at, in no particular order:
N-town
1. 4BR 2BA twin, 1666 sft., 3-story, large corner lot w/iron fence, off-street parking, gas stove, within walking distance of a Thai restaurant and an Indian grocery. This is my favorite. It's been on the market since October, which worries me, but it's a good amount of house for the money. We're hoping it just needs cosmetic stuff.
2. 4BR 1BA row, 1530 sft., 3-story, new windows, upgraded electric, includes washer & dryer. Gorgeous architecture and brick sidewalks on block; parking could be a big issue here.
3. 3BR 1.5BA row, 1152 sft, 2-story, finished basement, garage. This house is weird. The main living areas are above the garage. I don't like it, but Mer wants to look at it. The neighborhood is nice.
4. 3BR 1BA end of row, 1170 sft, 2-story, hardwood floors, screened-in porch. Very cute; there's a big tree on the street in front of the house, which reminds me of my old apartment in Allentown. May need new windows.
5. 3BR 1BA row, 1263 sft, 2-story, gas stove, new kitchen (incl cabinets, tile floor, stove, dishwasher), new bath (incl tiled bath/shower), new carpets, new heater, new plumbing, new drywall, new roof, new hot water heater, newer siding & windows, 9' ceilings, river view. If nothing else, I want to look at this house to see if I can figure out exactly why they essentially gutted and replaced the whole damn thing. It's not a bad block; the back yard looking out over the Schuylkill would be nifty, but WTF? It's also been on the market since October, which concerns me. Mer thinks it might be a flip.
P-town
1. 3BR 1.5BA end of row, 1152 sft, 2-story, central air (!), off-street parking, bay window, gas cooking, pantry, dishwasher, disposal, shed with electricity, hardwood floors, sliding glass doors in kitchen lead to deck, walk-in closet in master bedroom, linen closet, finished basement with bar. Um, central air? bar? yes, please! It's been on the market since November, though. Something's gotta be off.
2. 3BR 1BA end of row, 1000 sft, 2-story, central air (!), 1-car garage, dishwasher, custom hickory kitchen cabinets, new roof, hardwood floors. This is an interesting property. It's still in the boro, but it's very suburban-looking. It's got a white picket fence - ew. It only has a partial basement, because the garage takes up the other half of the basement. If we bought this, I would do what their neighbors appear to have done, which is finish the garage and replace the garage door with sliding glass doors to make a full basement. It's small, and kind of odd, but it's a good neighborhood, and Mer thinks a lot of old people live there, which she says is good. It's close to the top of our price range, though, and it's on the small side.
3. 3BR 1BA twin, 1124 sft, 2-story, includes fridge/washer/dryer, off-street parking, laundry on main floor, new heater, hardwood floors. Not much to say about this one. There's three houses on the same block, two of which we like a lot more than this one, but we might as well look at this while we're there.
4. 3BR 1BA twin, 1274 sft, 2-story, includes fridge/washer/dryer, workbench in garage, central air, 2-car garage, gas cooking, new windows, mud room. This house is tied for second favorite for me. It's across the street from a cemetary (quiet neighbors!) and has a 2-car garage. It's got central air and looks very well-kept from the outside. It was just listed on the 18th and I think it might be gone before we get to look at it.
5. 2.5BR 1.5BA row, 1152 sft, 2-story, gas stove, upgraded plumbing and electric, half bedroom (9'x9') attached to main bedroom, new carpet. This is another one of the houses on the 3-house street. It's got god-awful awnings over its windows, but otherwise looks good. Parking could be a problem, and it probably needs new windows. The price is nice, but it was listed in October, and I wonder why.)
6. 4BR 1.5BA twin, 1816 sft, 3-story, off-street parking, finished attic, main floor laundry, gas stove, walk-in closet in master bedroom. This house looks great, we like the neighboorhood (the final one of the 3 houses on one street). And 1800 sft? Whee! It needs some cosmetic touch-ups externally, and possibly some new windows. But why has it been on the market since September?
7. 4BR 1BA twin, 1368 sft, 3-story, includes fridge and 2 window ACs, dishwasher, new kitchen with "an abundance of cabinets" and built-in microwave, newer bath, new windows, hardwood flooring in foyer. I like this house, but it's got some steps leading up to the front door (about 5 concrete, hang a left, about 5 wood). Now, I've been dealing with the steps to our apartment for almost 2 years now, but they're indoors, so I can sit down every few steps if I'm having a particularly sucky fibro day. Parking could be an issue on this street, but it's not likely.
8. 3BR 1 BA twin, 1298 sft, 2-story, finished attic, main floor laundry, mudroom, newer carpet and windows. In the picture on the listing our agent gave us, this house appears to be pink with a red roof. In actuality, it's beige-ish with a red tin roof. Uh huh. But, the neighborhood rocks, the price is right, and as long as Boo doesn't climb out the 2nd story windows, I think we'll be ok.
9. 3BR 1BA twin, 1000 sft, 2-story, includes washer/dryer/fridge, off-street parking, finished basement, security system, newer roof. This neighborhood rocks. It's a little farther from the downtown area than I would like to be, but according to Mer, this is the kind of house we want to buy if we can do it. It's less house for more money, which I'm also not thrilled about, but it's certainly worth a look-see.
10. 2BR 1.5BA, 1056 sft, 2-story, off-street parking, in historic building, 2nd floor laundry, 3rd floor is a loft with exposed beams and skylight. Um, yeah. This house is tied with #4 for second place for me. It's a townhome/condo thing, so the price is *good*, even after we figure in the association fee, the building is gorgeous, the area is faboo, and even though it's small, I can totally see us entertaining in the loft with exposed beams and skylight....ooh. Judging from the measurements of the other rooms, which are fairly small, the loft is probably about 400-450 sft. I can't wait to se this. It just listed on 2/14, so hopefully we can see it before someone else snags it.
All in all, we're leaning more towards Norristown than Pottstown, because of the neighborhoods and where our jobs are. But, you just never know.
We were both pleasantly surprised at our options. It seems that we can indeed live in a decent house in a decent part of either town within our price range. Yay! Next step for me is to schedule time with the realtor to go see them; next step for Mer is to start the pre-approval process for the mortgage.
On a side note, we're both rather irked by the notion that, in buying a house - possibly a semi-suburban one at that - we are truly turning into grown-ups. Ick.
In case anyone is interested, here are brief details of what we're looking at, in no particular order:
N-town
1. 4BR 2BA twin, 1666 sft., 3-story, large corner lot w/iron fence, off-street parking, gas stove, within walking distance of a Thai restaurant and an Indian grocery. This is my favorite. It's been on the market since October, which worries me, but it's a good amount of house for the money. We're hoping it just needs cosmetic stuff.
2. 4BR 1BA row, 1530 sft., 3-story, new windows, upgraded electric, includes washer & dryer. Gorgeous architecture and brick sidewalks on block; parking could be a big issue here.
3. 3BR 1.5BA row, 1152 sft, 2-story, finished basement, garage. This house is weird. The main living areas are above the garage. I don't like it, but Mer wants to look at it. The neighborhood is nice.
4. 3BR 1BA end of row, 1170 sft, 2-story, hardwood floors, screened-in porch. Very cute; there's a big tree on the street in front of the house, which reminds me of my old apartment in Allentown. May need new windows.
5. 3BR 1BA row, 1263 sft, 2-story, gas stove, new kitchen (incl cabinets, tile floor, stove, dishwasher), new bath (incl tiled bath/shower), new carpets, new heater, new plumbing, new drywall, new roof, new hot water heater, newer siding & windows, 9' ceilings, river view. If nothing else, I want to look at this house to see if I can figure out exactly why they essentially gutted and replaced the whole damn thing. It's not a bad block; the back yard looking out over the Schuylkill would be nifty, but WTF? It's also been on the market since October, which concerns me. Mer thinks it might be a flip.
P-town
1. 3BR 1.5BA end of row, 1152 sft, 2-story, central air (!), off-street parking, bay window, gas cooking, pantry, dishwasher, disposal, shed with electricity, hardwood floors, sliding glass doors in kitchen lead to deck, walk-in closet in master bedroom, linen closet, finished basement with bar. Um, central air? bar? yes, please! It's been on the market since November, though. Something's gotta be off.
2. 3BR 1BA end of row, 1000 sft, 2-story, central air (!), 1-car garage, dishwasher, custom hickory kitchen cabinets, new roof, hardwood floors. This is an interesting property. It's still in the boro, but it's very suburban-looking. It's got a white picket fence - ew. It only has a partial basement, because the garage takes up the other half of the basement. If we bought this, I would do what their neighbors appear to have done, which is finish the garage and replace the garage door with sliding glass doors to make a full basement. It's small, and kind of odd, but it's a good neighborhood, and Mer thinks a lot of old people live there, which she says is good. It's close to the top of our price range, though, and it's on the small side.
3. 3BR 1BA twin, 1124 sft, 2-story, includes fridge/washer/dryer, off-street parking, laundry on main floor, new heater, hardwood floors. Not much to say about this one. There's three houses on the same block, two of which we like a lot more than this one, but we might as well look at this while we're there.
4. 3BR 1BA twin, 1274 sft, 2-story, includes fridge/washer/dryer, workbench in garage, central air, 2-car garage, gas cooking, new windows, mud room. This house is tied for second favorite for me. It's across the street from a cemetary (quiet neighbors!) and has a 2-car garage. It's got central air and looks very well-kept from the outside. It was just listed on the 18th and I think it might be gone before we get to look at it.
5. 2.5BR 1.5BA row, 1152 sft, 2-story, gas stove, upgraded plumbing and electric, half bedroom (9'x9') attached to main bedroom, new carpet. This is another one of the houses on the 3-house street. It's got god-awful awnings over its windows, but otherwise looks good. Parking could be a problem, and it probably needs new windows. The price is nice, but it was listed in October, and I wonder why.)
6. 4BR 1.5BA twin, 1816 sft, 3-story, off-street parking, finished attic, main floor laundry, gas stove, walk-in closet in master bedroom. This house looks great, we like the neighboorhood (the final one of the 3 houses on one street). And 1800 sft? Whee! It needs some cosmetic touch-ups externally, and possibly some new windows. But why has it been on the market since September?
7. 4BR 1BA twin, 1368 sft, 3-story, includes fridge and 2 window ACs, dishwasher, new kitchen with "an abundance of cabinets" and built-in microwave, newer bath, new windows, hardwood flooring in foyer. I like this house, but it's got some steps leading up to the front door (about 5 concrete, hang a left, about 5 wood). Now, I've been dealing with the steps to our apartment for almost 2 years now, but they're indoors, so I can sit down every few steps if I'm having a particularly sucky fibro day. Parking could be an issue on this street, but it's not likely.
8. 3BR 1 BA twin, 1298 sft, 2-story, finished attic, main floor laundry, mudroom, newer carpet and windows. In the picture on the listing our agent gave us, this house appears to be pink with a red roof. In actuality, it's beige-ish with a red tin roof. Uh huh. But, the neighborhood rocks, the price is right, and as long as Boo doesn't climb out the 2nd story windows, I think we'll be ok.
9. 3BR 1BA twin, 1000 sft, 2-story, includes washer/dryer/fridge, off-street parking, finished basement, security system, newer roof. This neighborhood rocks. It's a little farther from the downtown area than I would like to be, but according to Mer, this is the kind of house we want to buy if we can do it. It's less house for more money, which I'm also not thrilled about, but it's certainly worth a look-see.
10. 2BR 1.5BA, 1056 sft, 2-story, off-street parking, in historic building, 2nd floor laundry, 3rd floor is a loft with exposed beams and skylight. Um, yeah. This house is tied with #4 for second place for me. It's a townhome/condo thing, so the price is *good*, even after we figure in the association fee, the building is gorgeous, the area is faboo, and even though it's small, I can totally see us entertaining in the loft with exposed beams and skylight....ooh. Judging from the measurements of the other rooms, which are fairly small, the loft is probably about 400-450 sft. I can't wait to se this. It just listed on 2/14, so hopefully we can see it before someone else snags it.
All in all, we're leaning more towards Norristown than Pottstown, because of the neighborhoods and where our jobs are. But, you just never know.
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no subject
Date: 2006-02-26 11:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-27 12:24 am (UTC)don't worry about it signifying anything. :)
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Date: 2006-03-01 11:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-27 11:25 pm (UTC)We eventually found the absolute perfect house for us and it is indeed weird to think of paying a mortgage instead of rent and actually feeling like a grownup now. With kiddo on the way, I'm feeling out-an-out Adult-like! eeeek!
no subject
Date: 2006-03-01 10:25 pm (UTC)there's a really nice-looking house 2 doors down from Robin & Shannon that's for sale... it even has a very small yard.
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Date: 2006-03-01 11:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-02 04:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-02 03:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-02 04:56 am (UTC)