Whirlwind Day

[judecorp]

We 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.

Comments

[estrange.livejournal.com]

Both those houses look nice. Make sure not to settle for something though - get the one you really want!

[hope-persists.livejournal.com]

florence is better for the raisin' of the baybeez.

[fatfeistyfemme.livejournal.com]

The problem with those houses is, they aren't in Portland.

Just sayin'.

[riggeronfire.livejournal.com]

i get back to northampton in early january, and i'm sure you both will have a fabulous house in western mass by then. i propose a sushi date, since, well northampton has a GAZILLION sushi restaurants and it would be nice to reminisce, talk about the area and just catch up.

[whuffle.livejournal.com]

Ugh sounds like a less than ideal way to start the house hunt. My suggestion; find a different realtor. If the one you were working with asks why you aren't working with her any more, be honest; you drive like a maniac and almost got in 2 accidents with us in the car and you are pushy with your clients rather than listening to what they say. She won't learn if no one tells her.

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?

[smurfbrother.livejournal.com]

Florence is a nice little community - I worked there for a while when I lived in Haydenville. I don't know about the schools or anything like that...I was 23 and didn't think about that stuff, but the people I met there were quite nice and it just seemed liveable and pleasant.

[sassyjenski.livejournal.com]

OK, so I've been out of the LJ-routine for too long. This is SO EXCITING!!! Yay! Maybe we can hang out when you move? YAY!

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.

[nagylany.livejournal.com]

Avoid the private septic system!!!!! (Are they very common in your area?) They can be EXTREMELY expensive to fix, you have to watch your water usage, and you have to get it pumped. We almost bought a house with one and we're so glad that we didn't.

[skatured.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't even start this cycle...as in taking anything, unless you get the dosage you are shooting for, especially since it's the last one. Make it count, and be as bitchy as you need to be.

Good luck tomorrow.