Friday, January 6, 2012

Hurry up and wait

We're at the wait stage now -- on a couple of items.

School:

We decided to say 'no' to Duke University and really hope to get into the University of Utah.  I'd love to go to either school, but it just makes sense with the massive price tag difference without the scholarship to choose the U of U.  I should be able to get a job in Nursing Informatics with either school, so that's not an issue at all.  We're hoping to hear back from them sooner than later (It still likely won't be for months) but we do have some back-up schools in mind to apply for should the U not work out.  So we wait...


House:

Personally, I like the house in the
second-to-the-right spot.  You?
Some of you already know we put offers on a few short-sale houses.  It sounds like one of the original three is still a viable option, but we found out yesterday that we are "the offer into the bank" on the one house and are in a "very good position" on that one. Our real-estate agent sounds very optimistic about us getting that one.   However, the latest question-mark in the puzzle is that the day before yesterday (before we found out that other stuff), another house popped up that Katie has had her eye on since we started looking at houses.  We could never see it because there was a pending sale.  As of 2 days ago, it was re-posted online as "Sale Failed."  I guess the buyer backed out for some reason.  We jumped on it to look at it yesterday and we like it.  We put an offer on it right then and there.  Without getting into the boring details of some "stuff" that has to happen, because this house already went under the short-sale review in the bank, this offer could be processed very speedily -- possibly getting back to us even before the offer on the other house we made mid-December.  If we end up buying that house, we'll of course cancel our other offer and let the next offer in line behind us for that house take it.  And so goes the short-sale game.  Right now, we just wait...


House 1:
(Our original offer)
Pros:

  • Slightly bigger house
  • 2/3 of the house is finished space (2 floors finished + unfinished basement).
  • Unfinished basement to add to.
  • 4 bedrooms (space for the kids to run amok in for a while until we finish a downstairs family room)
  • A bigger/nicer master bedroom/bathroom/walk-in-closet
  • Huge kitchen/cupboard space/pantry
Pros:

  • Great looking yard. Landscaped. Sprinklers.
  • 0.25 acres.
  • Unfinished basement to add to.
  • Everything is on the main level – bedrooms, laundry, kitchen, family room.
  • NO BLASTED HOA FEE (unknown on the other one)!
  • Bar in the kitchen (the kind you can put benches up to)
Cons:

  • Unfinished back yard (UG!)
  • 0.14 acres.
  • More expensive for utilities for a 2-story (basement + 2 floors) house?
  • Unknown HOA fee status.

Cons:

  • Only ½ of the house space is finished (2-level, with the basement mostly unfinished)
  • Currently only one “living area.” We'd have to finish a basement family room area for kids to run amok in.
  • While it's a decent sized kitchen, it's nothing like the other one.


5 comments:

Chad said...

The Mustang house has a greener lawn. And your car out front.

Some more serious things to think about:
- Mustang appears to be on a corner. Not sure if you like corners or not, or are indifferent.
- Does the Mustang have enough bedrooms on the first floor such that you can be confident in your ability to finish a basement before you really need it?
- The three story house is probably going to feel smaller. You might feel boxed in a bit more, because your space is vertical instead of horizontal.
- Finishing the backyard of a house that is .14 acres is probably not a big deal.

Kristin said...

I'm mostly commenting because we just went through this process and have been in our home for a week.

In short- They both look great!
If I were to get nitpicky... here's my opinion. :)

I am a little more partial to the mustang house-- great open layout, vaulted ceilings, more yard space so you don't feel right on top of your neighbors...
This is silly, but having a gate on the top of your stairs would be a cinch (referring to mustang)because there's no banister there. Maybe that's the case with both? I didn't check...
We have an unfinished basement and we're using it more than we thought we would, so it's not a complete waste of space for now. I also prefer ramblers so you don't have to take the baby up and down all the time.... Is there enough sq. ft. to still grow though?
Oh, and the HOA fee is a quick decision for me...no way. If it included internet then maybe, but otherwise I definitely would prefer the mustang! Both look great though. :) Good luck!

Unknown said...

I loved house shopping, and I think it's exciting to follow your house shopping adventures!

You know how we feel about yards after living in ABQ, so of course I like Mustang House better. Both look nice, though! I'm excited to see where you land!

Holly said...

First off, I have to say that I'm so jealous of your options. If only you could have seen our options when we were hunting. {shudder} Ya'll are WAAAYYY lucky to be looking in Utah.

If it were me, it would be Mustang house all the way. That kitchen is great. The bar is awesome, I love that little yellow wall, the flow is really nice. I have never lived in an HOA, but I have heard horror stories. And if it is a corner lot, as was mentioned above, bonus. I grew up on a corner lot and it was great (as did you, Katie, I just remembered!). And the YARD IS FINISHED. It is always so much easier to tear out a little grass for a garden and re-do a few sprinkler lines than install the whole thing while trying to keep Lindy from eating every rock and bug she happens upon.

Good luck! I hope you get the one you're supposed to have.

Katrina said...

Exciting!! :) Good luck with the waiting game...that was the worst for us when we were looking around... (and then backed out for Grad school instead!) :) lol

I'm sad to see you leaving though...so I have to admit that part of me is not wanting your waiting game to wait! ;)