Their budget is $2054 (BAH... Basic Allowance for Housing). A good school system, lots of room, and allowance for pets is important.
Here are the choices:
House #1
Upsides: A former model home, loaded with everything... builder trying to show off. 3500 square feet; finished basement with den, wet bar, and pool table room; HUGE master bedroom with jacuzzi tub, fireplace and two walk in closets; kitchen with stainless steel appliances, double ovens and island Jenn-Aire; deck with gazebo; house wired for internet and sound through-out; gas fireplace on main level and finished basement.
Downsides: Located on a corner lot with virtually no yard; close proximity to neighbors; escalating lease ($1900 year 1, $2000 year 2 & $2100 year 3); e would have to ride the bus past a place called the 'insanity farm' with beware of dog signs; no parks except for an open field with 5 picnic tables; water damage (with mold) to the basement and dead yard.
House #2
Upsides: HUGE yard; nicely landscaped; wrap-around front/side porch; above ground pool; wood burning fireplace; master bedroom with stand alone shower and jacuzzi tub; owners leaving riding lawnmower; close proximity to the bay; partially finished attic space for office or craft room; full mud room; walking distance to elementary school; secluded location.
Downsides: tending for yard and landscaping, tons of leaf raking; pool maintenance; single sink master bathroom and bedroom with small closets; older home; kitchen could stand to be remodeled; rickety fence around pool; no basement.
House #3
Upsides: Lowest rent price ($1700); unfinished basement (lots of room for girls to ride bikes inside); 'designer' color through out house; washer/dryer upstairs; HUGE master bedroom with great closet, large tub and separate shower; nice kitchen with island, cherry cabinets, side-by-side refrigerator; first house we looked at and loved; gas fireplace.
Downsides: Door to deck has no deck; SMALL yard not watered since tenants left in June... dead; hurricane (2 years ago) knocked down trees in the backyard (county land) trees remain knocked down; designer paint out of control in some rooms; bedrooms, other than master, are small; propane heating for water heater... what??; located in same subdivision as house #1... same bus problem arises.
We had no idea that we would find this many possibilities... all in one day. PLEASE help us make a decision. What do you think? What is important for you or us? HELP!!
11 comments:
For me, no contest, walk to school.
All houses look lovely and have major improvements over current obviously. I would be somewhat concerned about the pool maintenance, but know the girls would love it.
I am sure the amenities of the others would be awesome, but take into consideration that I accepted this "house" strictly to keep the school and get her settled immediately. I may be a little crazy and obsessive about the school thing...
Disclaimer - I'm a nerd. These are not necessarily things YOU might care about, but you asked if there were things "we" look for. Besides the things you've already mentioned, here are some things I've learned the hard way and look for when shopping for houses:
1) How old is the house? We discovered with our first house that there is a statute of limitations (10 years in CA) on suing construction companies for "builders defects." So a lot of HOAs file class action lawsuits against the construction company just before the statute of limitations expires to get the construction company to fix the defects. Not a deal maker or breaker, just something to be aware of - if it's close to that statute of limitations, you may end up in the middle of the class-action lawsuit like we did. It can make it difficult to sell your house if it's in the middle of a class-action lawsuit with the builder. Ideally, I would look for a house just a little bit older than the statute of limitations that already had the builders defects fixed.
2) Are there any easements on or adjacent to the property? Most counties nowadays have a GIS (Geographic Information System) website that enable you to look at overhead imagery of the house with overlays of the property lines and easements.
3) Flood Plane - Most County GIS websites include an overlay for the 500-year flood plane, so you can see if the house would be in danger of flooding. You can also look at the slope of the land and check the drainage of the area.
4) In VA, the GIS websites I used there included overlays that showed the dB noise level from nearby airports and pollutant levels. I thought that was pretty cool. Underlying question being: Are there any airports or train tracks nearby? I rented a place near Charleston, SC that looked SO NICE. It wasn't until I picked up the keys and moved in that I heard the first train rumble behind the house that night and almost every night thereafter. I didn't sleep well there.
5) What type of heat? Electric? Gas? Oil?
Okay, my wife is laughing at me for writing you all this unsolicited advice. You DID ASK for what we look for though.
Blue Nose!
I am also an alum of 719. Thanks for the rental checklist, like the RPMs.
Just a rental, so even if it floods/hurricanes/earthquakes, we will move on.
BAWDEN Rules!
E
I would vote for the walk to school and avoiding the "Insanity Farm".
Also, Mold is nothing to fool around with.
Yard work won't be so bad with a riding mower, especially if it has a rear bagger for leaf collection.
Being close to the Bay is a real plus, and the yard is great for the kids.
My two cents worth.
wow... how nice to have so many options! i would go for house #2. walking to school is a definite plus, as is the nice yard. you could always hire a lawn care service! i am helping with some mold remediation at work and you don't want to mess with the possible health problems that could arise. it's not a good situation to be stuck in for three years.
holy cow, blunoz... do you do land acquisitions for a living? everything you wrote sounded exactly like the kind of research i used to do for a homebuilding company. good stuff.
keep us updated. this is fun! i'm jealous that you guys will have a BASEMENT.
House number two looks great to me. Yard, pool, walk to school, and no negative bus ride. Hey, if I remember correctly you guys said you wanted a house so you could work outside and fix things up. Here's the chance.
I would say house number 2. :) I am so very very jealous that you are on the east coast not too far from my neck of the woods.... Sigh.
Thank you soo much for the comments. We will be making our final decision today and will let you know.
I'd try to be close to school; it will make life easier and it helps ensure you won't have perverts for neighbors (that whole thing about how close to schools sex offenders can live). I guess you can always go online to check about that anyways.
I'd avoid the mold at all costs- it is often a big problem in otherwise healthy people. It probably isn't too bad, but just remember everyone after Katrina wearing those masks when going back to visit their condemned houses.
i'm with everyone else. house #2. the yard is no big deal, esp. with the mower. commute time is essential. y'all will love the pool, and the best part is you will be renters! fix-ups are for the landlord, right? good luck, and can't wait to see what you decide!
k likes the red door in house #3. I vote for one with no sloped ceilings. Cracked my head good.
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