House Update
I went out with the real estate agent today for the first time. We looked at about a dozen places in the west side of town (near Red Rock). Agent showed me a range of stuff, from nice ready-to-move-in places to a place that had completely flooded and was in the process of being gutted and rebuilt.
More notes:
* Some of these floor plans are completely retarded. Not just a difference in taste, but like, retarded. There seems to be an abundance of places where a large open area is subdivided by a low wall. One area is designated the living room and the other is the family room. Yes, you are expected to put a couch in one, and then put another couch about 10 feet away. Not really sure what the house designers were thinking? What do you do with a layout like that?
* More bad taste. For the most part, if I buy pre-owned, I’m probably going to have to at least minimally redo carpet, paint, and landscaping. Need to investigate costs for that stuff.
* Some house builders built in recessed areas for TVs but somehow didn’t anticipate the emergence of widescreen TVs or Jon Regul-style massive TVs that won’t fit in the spaces. So that means unfortunately I have to rule these things out.
* The stories about foreclosures out here that people trash and abandon - well, they aren’t just stories. One house we visited - appliances, light fixtures, electrical plates, even the kitchen sink - ripped out and gone, with cabinets broken and the place completely filthy. Most of the places we looked at were maybe 4-5 years old. I just don’t get why someone would ever buy a new house and then not properly maintain it.
* We saw a place that had an awesome location - the backyard looked right out at the Red Rock casino with a view of the Strip as well. However, the house itself wasn’t so hot - it was pretty obviously somebody heavily smoked indoors (it was nasty inside), the layout was retarded, and the fit/finish just wasn’t that great. Unfortunately, pass.
I think I am going to rule out anything that isn’t in a master-planned community - the neighborhoods just don’t seem to be as well-kept over time. Although money is money, the HOAs here seem to be fairly low and if that helps to maintain property values, then I guess it’s probably worth it. That kind of leaves me only two areas of town but I think it’ll be fine.
So far the leading candidates right now are a couple of probably overly expensive but pretty much turnkey places which I could live in but am not super excited about, and the completely gutted house. I’m actually kind of intrigued by the idea of the latter (try to get it at a super-low price and then put money into finishing it out). It would kind of be a cool thing to be able to basically furnish a house from things of my own choosing, but I have no experience with construction so it might turn out to be too much work. It’s in a nice neighborhood though and there is enough of a backyard to put a pool in eventually. Have to think about that one.
Real estate agent just says that you know your new place when you see it. Hey Kelly, is that the case?
It really is the case! When you find your house, you know it in your heart! I was super scared but super excited. I could totally visualize living there. I had liked 3 previous houses in Sherman Oaks but for some reason or another our offers weren’t accepted. I got discouraged and the real estate agent said that those weren’t the right houses for us. I didn’t believe her at first but then we found our home and I must agree none of those other houses compared to the one we have now. You have to be super excited about your house. Don’t buy it if you don’t love it!!! Not only is it bad feng shui but for your soul. You never want to be surround by things that don’t make you happy or you will be miserable. Bad energy. You want to be somewhere where you are happy to be. If it takes a lot of looking, so be it! It’s important to hold out for what you want cuz its the biggest purchase you will likely make. Sounds like Vegas has a lot of options so stick to your guns about what you want and make your agent find it! That’s why they get the big commission. Good Luck!!
I’ve never bought a house, but I’ve bought many pairs of shoes, and I know one thing for sure: if they don’t feel right before you’ve even handed over money, they sure aren’t gonna feel right when you are walking a lot on a hot summer’s day and your skin is being ripped off your toes … Well, the latter is probably mostly applicable to shoes, but you know what I mean.