On House Hunting
House hunting is such a peculiar activity. You have to figure out your requirements and then test those requirements. Then there are the listings. They show pictures, but pictures can be deceptive. There are room measurements and some brief comments at the bottom, like renovators special or ready to move right in or all new appliances or desirable street or big basement for this area.
We know the ins and outs of our neighbourhood because we've been here for seven years. We drive through and walk around in other areas we don't know so well, but how much can you learn with a few quick visits?
Buying a house is just about the biggest investment we'll ever make. It scares me a little to consider just how little time we'll really spend in the place we end up buying before we make a decision. Good thing humans are pretty good at situational analysis.
I hear there are people who make a living "staging" houses for sale. When we bought Anchovy World Headquarters, it sure wasn't staged at all (unless they thought the plastic chandelier hanging five feet down from the ceiling was a good thing).
The whole business draws out a wide range of emotions, from anxiety to excitement. The right place is out there somewhere, or hopefully will be soon. I think tomorrow I'll drop over at that Open House, the one with the really big basement. Maybe we could make a couple painting studios down there?
4 comments:
My friend used to work for a company"touching-up" realestate pictures. If you figure lots of things in your mind you'd be surprised how much you can picture in your head that will mach any "reality" for any future living quarterz!! Keep going. It's all within the practice of physically lookinglat as many spaces as you can..even if you chalk up a few to the sh@# and giggles dept.
You're right, Mr. A, there are 'stagers' out there. And I remember thinking that I was less worried about getting married (idiot that I was) than about buying a house.
Huge investment. Worth the search, but geez it's tough on the nerves. Hang in there.
It's nerve-wracking, but if you do a bit of homework ahead of time (and it sounds like you have), you can find the right place without too much pain.
We flew into town with 5 days to buy a house (in a market where there were bidding wars amongst buyers) and found our current home, after already making an offer on another place, and we gave the seller 1/2 hour to accept our offer or not. It was a crazy time, but we have been here happily for 10 years now.
You can do it!
A plastic chandelier hanging five feet down from the ceiling is a good thing in my book, wouldn't have changed a thing,
Stop fretting, I bought the first and only house I looked at.
Though I understand what happens to your head when you start imagining yourself in a house before the offer is accepted.
Post a Comment