Sayyyyy... That reminds me of another amusing anecdote... -

From: 3v1lsh33pz Date: July 8th, 2009 01:56 pm (UTC) (Link)

Your dad is probably right about the house-hunting. People tend to want to move in the summer, especially if they've got kids, so there's more competition then. And paying down as much debt as you can before hand is always smart. Especially since homeownership is *full* of surprise expenses (for me last year it was plumbing problems, and this year the AC), not to mention the normal expenses that you don't really think about - I probably spent at least $300 on grass seed, mulch, plants, and top soil this spring. And my yard still looks like crap, but it would look even *more* like crap if I hadn't spent the money.

Also, packing time is a *great* time to get rid of stuff you don't want/need any more. Toys that the kids aren't interested in/won't miss, books that you don't love or probably won't read again, random crap that has accumulated over time, etc. Clothes the kids have outgrown or just don't wear (clothes that you wouldn't want to save for another kid).

If the market where you are is anything like here, tons of homes are sitting vacant. In my row of 9 townhomes alone, 3 are vacant. I'm sure there are plenty of others in my neighborhood overall, and it's a pretty nice neighborhood - good schools, pretty trees, older - so the rows of townhomes aren't all one on top of each other - the yards are decent size, the HOA is a major PITA, so most of the homes are kept in good shape, etc.

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From: fisme_nasu Date: July 8th, 2009 03:09 pm (UTC) (Link)

Yeah, I know he's right. And we have to have $1000 to break our lease, not to mention money to pay a carpet cleaning service and movers. Plus, we want to stay in the same area, so more than likely, Katie wouldn't have to switch schools.

We have a ton of crap, but the man is a packrat and I seriously doubt I'll be able to pry much from him. I've been slowly getting rid of crap myself, but we still have a ton of stuff.

Jacksonville got hit hard by the housing crisis. I just found trulia.com and it was a shock to see how many foreclosures are in my zip code. We really don't want to live in a neighborhood with a HOA if we can help it. The laws in FL don't favor the home owner when it comes to disputes with HOAs and I really want to be able to do anything I want in my own home/yard without some committee telling me I have too many roses planted or I'm digging in an unacceptable place. The good thing is, a lot of the older neighborhoods in my area all got switched from septic to public water/sewer, so most of them have been replumbed.

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From: 3v1lsh33pz Date: July 8th, 2009 04:42 pm (UTC) (Link)

Something I just learned recently about short sales and foreclosures because my friends just bought one - DO NOT CLOSE until the people who live there are out, and change the locks immediately. If you sign the paperwork and the people are still in the house, it's your problem to get them out and will need to go through formal eviction proceedings which take at least a month. And if a woman lives there who gets pregnant, you can't make them leave until after the baby is born. And you can't force them to pay you anything like rent in the meantime either.

The day that my friends closed on their new house the previous family was still moving their crap out of the house. The real estate agent waited until they were gone, turned off the automatic garage opener and change locks on all outside doors immediately so the people couldn't get back in once they had closed. And be prepared to spend a lot of money to replace little things, because people can be jerks when they're getting kicked out of their homes - they'll take door knobs, toilets, light switch covers outlet covers...anything that's not majorly attached, people are taking. just because they're angry.

If the home is vacant already, this isn't an issue...just if the people still live there when you buy it.

I understand people get upset about losing their homes, but still...it's not fair to be assholes to the people who just bought your house...even if they hadn't, the bank would still own your house and you'd have to leave anyway.

HOAs have their pluses and minuses. They are a pain the butt sometimes, but they also try to make it so that nobody's house is allowed to get into too much of a state of disrepair bringing down everyone else's property values.

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From: fisme_nasu Date: July 9th, 2009 12:14 pm (UTC) (Link)

Yeah, I don't want to be in that situation. I'm looking for vacant homes - the last thing I want to do is feel responsible for kicking people out on the street (yeah, I know, it's not my fault, but still.) There are enough people who really want or need to sell, and I'd rather look in that direction.

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From: 3v1lsh33pz Date: July 9th, 2009 01:14 pm (UTC) (Link)

Vacant or not, if you're looking at foreclosures, the first thing you will probably need to buy is a lawn mower, so that's a good thing to budget for. Vacant homes, especially on a non-HOA neighborhood will probably have jungle lawns, and even the non-vacant ones probably will as well if the people just don't care any more.

even though my neighborhood is an HOA, the vacant house right next door to me that is owned by the bank only has its front yard cut by a lawn service. the back yard has grass probably a foot high and weeds that are taller than the 6 foot fence!! it is literally, a jungle. maybe i'll take a picture.

i hope someone moves in soon...someone who will take better care of the house. my previous neighbor was nice, but she didn't take great care of her house or yard.

i want a new house now...ah well...i should probably finish fixing up the one i have currently.

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From: enogitna Date: July 8th, 2009 09:05 pm (UTC) (Link)

"I keep dreaming that I'm pregnant. Last night I dreamed that I was pregnant with a boy and that my water broke and I went into labor. It was very vivid. We were still in California and I was terrified because I didn't know how long it would be before we could go home - and I really wanted to go home."

It's like you channeled me for a night. The labor thing is the same. And I'm sad because we're stuck in California due to the economy, but we really want to go "home" (back east - well, it's home for me and Josh loves it there) and we always thought we would once we had a baby. Stupid economy.

I also am dying to move somewhere nicer than here so I feel your pain on that front. How funny I'm also concentrating on what a PITA moving is... whenever I feel trapped here I just think, "at least I don't need to pack up all this stuff after we worked so hard to make a baby's room."

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From: fisme_nasu Date: July 9th, 2009 12:04 pm (UTC) (Link)

Heh. :) I'm hoping the economy gets better so you can come back "home."

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From: shadowfreder Date: July 8th, 2009 11:46 pm (UTC) (Link)

When is your lease up? You may want to give some time to look at an adequate number of houses.

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From: fisme_nasu Date: July 9th, 2009 12:03 pm (UTC) (Link)

Next June. :) I'd say we have time. :) Seriously, though, since we renewed in May, we've had some serious talks, both between ourselves and our parents, and we're overpaying for our apartment. We've outgrown it and since we want to have another kid in the semi-near future, we want to be settled in a house before that happens. Ben needs room to run and play, too.

But yeah, we know it's a buyer's market and we're not going to settle for just anything. We've got some "must haves" that we're sticking to.

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