Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
Finish this sentence: location, location . . .
We looked at real estate in the Seattle area today, and Jake radiated disappointment in great, mighty waves. How dare they charge this much for this little? seemed to be his feeling. Problem is, we visited the Olympia area first, and of course you get more for your dollar there. A lot more. Twice as much, seems like.
So, no, we didn’t see any homes we fell in love with, not that it would make a difference; no matter where I go, it’ll be a few months before we’re ready to buy. CREDENTIALING! Hospitals don’t give just any shmoe privileges. Well, sometimes they do (hey, Leann, you reading this?) But even when they do, they still have to go through the credentialing process, and that takes time.
Back to the homes. It seemed like a good idea at the time to have the agent drive us around the various neighborhoods, but by the second hour of this (in the back seat of her Beamer — and why exactly did I go into medicine instead of real estate sales?) I felt sick. Perhaps I wasn’t in the best mood to look at homes.
Deep down, I agree with Jake. I understand the location3 rule on an intellectual level, but my gut still isn’t down with it. I should be less of an idjit about this, though. After all, if our present home weren’t on the ocean, it would be worth about $39.95.
D.
PS: Here’s where we ate tonight. Mmmmmm.
Sounds about right. Even once we resigned ourselves to the 200-300% difference in median housing prices between Seattle & our Saint Louis neighborhood, it took us a while to come to the terms with the fact that if we were serious about buying the kind of house we wanted in the kind of neighborhood we wanted, we were going to have to spend $150-200K more than we originally intended – 40-50% more than our original budget.
(Do you remember what neighborhoods you were looking in? That can make a huge difference – like 30-50% difference…)
(Oh, and FWIF – I also agree with Jake at some level. I love it here, but still…)
Because there will always be sick people, while housing bubbles are pretty much a time-limited thing.
And Volterra looks absolutely delicious. Another one to add to our list…
It pays to remember that the money you put into a house in a bigger market, particularly a market that has historically been ahead of inflation (like Seattle or Vancouver) is that the money doesn’t disappear, and it won’t disappear. Even people who overpaid for their houses at the peak of the boom will eventually get their money back, unlike in some other markets.
We have high real estate prices because people want to live here. Odd, that. 🙂
uh, earthquake or wild fire – lol. be safe this weekend folk
But yeah. Actually contemplating that a 70 year old 3 bedroom 1 bathroom needs work house costs 1.2 mill because it’s in the picturesque old neighborhood near downtown can make you throw your hands up in despair.
I still think y’all should move to rural Iowa. We’re looking at houses comparable to ours for about $40k-$50k, about 1/3 of what our house is worth. Even brand new houses in the Des Moines bubs aren’t that pricey, bunches under $200k.
But we do have four seasons including brutal summers and winters, virtually no mass transit, and limited urban/entertainment opportunities. We also have an extremely low crime rate, fresh air, and friendly folks. Even if it wasn’t inexpensive here, I can’t imagine living anywhere but Iowa.
Thanks, folks.
The interviews are all done. I’m not going to say anything yet for fear of jinxing myself.
But ps, the thing is, these agents are making a freakin’ fortune during a boom. Make your fortune, retire, and be done with it all.
On the other hand, I can’t imagine being in a job where I HAD to laugh at other kids’ puns. Jake came out with some real whiffies on these house hunting trips.
Yeah, I’m reading. Just remember, it’s the doctor (i.e., CHIEF OF STAFF) who signs on the dotted line who is responsible. I’m just the messenger…