Whirlwind Day
Sep. 30th, 2006 10:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
judecorpWe had quite a whirlwind day today and I am bone tired. It didn't help that I was rudely awakened at 5am by cramps that came earlier than they were supposed to. I guess I never should have rescheduled my beta a day early (I was trying to have less things to do today) because I just would have ended up not showing up today.
We headed out to Northampton to meet our realtor and see as many places as we could in about three hours. We actually made it to eight, and now my head is swimming with random details that are all coming together in one big, chaotic house. Our realtor is an interesting woman - she was really direct and honest about what she thought which I really appreciated, but sometimes "direct" can border on "pushy" which turns me off. She also is the worst driver I've been in a car with in a LONG time, and not only did she almost get us killed once, she also bonked her side-view mirror on someone else's side-view by getting too close AND totally dug a chunk out of her rubber bumper (Subaru Outback of course) by driving directly into a street sign pole. No joke. Two hits and a near miss in three hours.
She really REALLY wanted us to immediately bid on this one house in Florence that is over our max price - she wants us to bid $5K under our max so the seller will meet us at our max. She was totally harping on this and it was making me hate the house, even though it was a nice house and it was pretty close to Northampton proper. But I didn't want to go that high and there were some things I didn't like, so I really wanted her to let it go. The selling realtor is a friend of hers and they were all chatty chat and I kept wondering if she had some ulterior motive for that house.
We later saw a house that we both really really liked - this house right here - which has everything we wanted except a garage (multiple floors, more than one bathroom, finished basement, fireplace) and a couple of things that we didn't really want (electric heat and a private septic system) but are doable. The one thing that kind of bites is that it's pretty far out, way over in that weird area where Easthampton, Southampton, and Holyoke kind of meet each other. That makes for a pretty crappy commute for Jen, and also puts us out of the way of pretty much everything. But of course we kind of knew going in that we were going to have to move further away to get more house for less money.
There was another house that was doable for me but not so much for Jen - here. It's in Florence and therefore slightly closer to Northampton, but is in the farthest part of Florence so there's not THAT much difference in distance, just in town and school system and all of that. This one has gas heat and also has a finished basement, but is smaller and one level and has no fireplace. And it's overpriced. It's a cute starter home but since we'll likely be living somewhere for a LONG time with no moving in sight, will we want to live in a starter home in our 40s?
We of course can go back and look at more listings at a later time (maybe even next Sunday or something) so we don't need to decide anything, but Jen can't sleep on couches forever and we need to get cracking. Far Away House is owned by an older woman who has lived there for 30+ years and now wants to downsize into a condo so she will probably want to close quickly. Tiny House is still inhabited by a family with three kids and who knows what their closing plans are.
Being a grown-up is hard. Especially when your realtor is a crazy demolition derby driver!
~//~
After the househunting frenzy, we decided to take in some fun at The Big E (think state fair) since we were in the area and this was the last weekend. $12 to park, $30 for us to get in, and we stayed for a couple of hours to wander, eat bad food, and win cheap stuffed animals. So I'd call that a success, but an exhausting day.
~//~
p.s. I called my doctor's office to start a new cycle and they totally didn't change my instructions/dose AT ALL. So I know SOMEONE who is going to get a phone call on Monday.
We headed out to Northampton to meet our realtor and see as many places as we could in about three hours. We actually made it to eight, and now my head is swimming with random details that are all coming together in one big, chaotic house. Our realtor is an interesting woman - she was really direct and honest about what she thought which I really appreciated, but sometimes "direct" can border on "pushy" which turns me off. She also is the worst driver I've been in a car with in a LONG time, and not only did she almost get us killed once, she also bonked her side-view mirror on someone else's side-view by getting too close AND totally dug a chunk out of her rubber bumper (Subaru Outback of course) by driving directly into a street sign pole. No joke. Two hits and a near miss in three hours.
She really REALLY wanted us to immediately bid on this one house in Florence that is over our max price - she wants us to bid $5K under our max so the seller will meet us at our max. She was totally harping on this and it was making me hate the house, even though it was a nice house and it was pretty close to Northampton proper. But I didn't want to go that high and there were some things I didn't like, so I really wanted her to let it go. The selling realtor is a friend of hers and they were all chatty chat and I kept wondering if she had some ulterior motive for that house.
We later saw a house that we both really really liked - this house right here - which has everything we wanted except a garage (multiple floors, more than one bathroom, finished basement, fireplace) and a couple of things that we didn't really want (electric heat and a private septic system) but are doable. The one thing that kind of bites is that it's pretty far out, way over in that weird area where Easthampton, Southampton, and Holyoke kind of meet each other. That makes for a pretty crappy commute for Jen, and also puts us out of the way of pretty much everything. But of course we kind of knew going in that we were going to have to move further away to get more house for less money.
There was another house that was doable for me but not so much for Jen - here. It's in Florence and therefore slightly closer to Northampton, but is in the farthest part of Florence so there's not THAT much difference in distance, just in town and school system and all of that. This one has gas heat and also has a finished basement, but is smaller and one level and has no fireplace. And it's overpriced. It's a cute starter home but since we'll likely be living somewhere for a LONG time with no moving in sight, will we want to live in a starter home in our 40s?
We of course can go back and look at more listings at a later time (maybe even next Sunday or something) so we don't need to decide anything, but Jen can't sleep on couches forever and we need to get cracking. Far Away House is owned by an older woman who has lived there for 30+ years and now wants to downsize into a condo so she will probably want to close quickly. Tiny House is still inhabited by a family with three kids and who knows what their closing plans are.
Being a grown-up is hard. Especially when your realtor is a crazy demolition derby driver!
~//~
After the househunting frenzy, we decided to take in some fun at The Big E (think state fair) since we were in the area and this was the last weekend. $12 to park, $30 for us to get in, and we stayed for a couple of hours to wander, eat bad food, and win cheap stuffed animals. So I'd call that a success, but an exhausting day.
~//~
p.s. I called my doctor's office to start a new cycle and they totally didn't change my instructions/dose AT ALL. So I know SOMEONE who is going to get a phone call on Monday.
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no subject
Date: 2006-10-01 03:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-01 01:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-01 04:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-01 01:16 pm (UTC)The problem is, well, it's not an apartment and we have to live in it for a long time. Do we want to live in a shoebox so we can be on the very edges of Florence? Or do we want to have a nice amount of space in a cute area that was brimming with kids already and at least one rainbow flag?
I didn't really get to see anyone who lived in that particular neighborhood of Florence (no one was outside).
no subject
Date: 2006-10-01 07:24 pm (UTC)i think there's also some sorta backlash in e'ton about all the "northampton" people moving in.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-02 01:21 am (UTC)Right now the most concerning thing to me is the sceptic system (I've never had one and don't know anything about them), not the "being the only queers in the neighborhood" or "bucking the system." Because really? Isn't that what activism's about anyway? :)
Yes, I would like to live in Florence ideally but I also don't want to live in a shoebox if I don't have to.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-01 05:58 am (UTC)Just sayin'.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-01 01:14 pm (UTC)Once we get settled and back to real life or whatever, we HAVE to work out a Portland mini-vacation. Yes.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-01 10:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-01 01:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-01 07:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-02 01:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-02 08:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-04 12:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-01 01:15 pm (UTC)Skreeky gave me a couple suggestions that have been very useful in house hunting. If you'd like to hear them, let me know. Or just ask skreeky for advice!
Damn your doctor needs to be fired. Grrr. *shakes fist*
Sushi was good company and good food. Thank you. Again please?
no subject
Date: 2006-10-01 03:27 pm (UTC)Anyhow, you know about the registry of deeds, right?
http://www.hampshiredeeds.com/
If you have the street address of the property it will tell you some good information:
- when the house was built
- what the house's last sale price was
and some other stuff that I forget about now.
Also there's a website listing US assessor's offices at:
http://indorgs.virginia.edu/portico/assessors.html
It can be good to know what the last sale price of the home was.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-02 01:30 am (UTC)Are there a lot of realtors who work for a fixed fee? I don't know that I've ever come across one. But yeah, I can see a realtor trying to max a person out to maximize what's going into their pockets.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-02 01:25 am (UTC)But yes, please fire my doctor and please hang out again!
no subject
Date: 2006-10-01 04:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-02 01:32 am (UTC)The houses we can afford in Florence are a lot smaller or a lot more beat down. Tough choice - do we want a better house or a better area?
no subject
Date: 2006-10-02 12:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-04 12:51 am (UTC)We're going to put an offer on that house.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-04 11:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-06 02:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-01 06:56 pm (UTC)you don't really need to worry about schools too much, because you can do school choice within noho/florence/leeds. and not all of the florence kids are automatically in the leeds school (considered by many to be the "best") - at least half go to ryan road (considered to be the worst). but we're talking "worst" by noho standards, so it's still a pretty good school. emma just started at bridge st, and i've been really happy.
but florence is super cute, and has a great kid's coffee house, and is a bit further from downtown, which gets you into a "real" community rather than one catering to the students.
if you can wait at all, the prices have been falling pretty steadily. we're looking too, since the market is becoming really reasonable.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-02 01:36 am (UTC)I'm not worried about schools in Florence AT ALL - more worried if we move to Easthampton to get a better/bigger house for our money. We know it's not as nice an area or as good a school system, but it's SO much more affordable.
I like Florence a lot but right now Easthampton is so much more appealing to the wallet. It's tough. We can't really wait long because Jen starts her job on the 12th of October and she's couch-surfing. She's going to run out of couch sooner rather than later and we need a place to live! (Unless you have a suggestion for that, then we could wait longer. *wink*)
We're thinking that a week or two isn't going to make a major difference in our options. Small ranches in Florence or bigger two-levels with septic systems on the plains in Easthampton? That's the question.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-01 07:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-02 01:40 am (UTC)I worry about the resale, though.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-02 03:18 am (UTC)Good luck tomorrow.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-04 12:53 am (UTC)