We're back from yet another house...Sigh

[WillParkinson]

Seems that the realtor who gave information to our agent was a bit less than forthcoming. She told her that one of the bedrooms was missing a ceiling. Which was true. What she didn't bother to mention was the water damage to one of the walls and the fact that one of the toilets either broke or burst or something and that's what caused the missing ceiling. So we're gonna pass on this property, too. Which is a shame because in the pictures it was gorgeous.

She then took us to see another house but we passed on that one, too, as Paul didn't like the layout (and I have to admit I wasn't overly fond of it, either).

Back to the market!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Oh, NO, my dear WillParkinson!

Times like these, I just have to say, what in hell is wrong with people???

Don't they know that you're going to find out?

ARGH.

You will find your new home. YOU WILL.

:hug:

[WillParkinson]

3. Well, yeah...

Me Will. You Peggy.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. LOL!

[Curmudgeoness]

2. That just sucks.

I hope that your agent reams the realtor a new one about wasting everyone's time. I would. Keep looking, and wait until you find the one that you love. I have heard that if you are doing it right and being careful about what you buy, you will have to view at least 30 houses before you find the right one. (I hope you are not there yet!) Good luck.

[WillParkinson]

4. 30!?!?!

We've been inside about 1/2 a dozen. Looked online at many we wanted to see but found they were already sold.

[Curmudgeoness]

6. It often comes down to dumb luck, or lack of it.

I was trying to find a link to the statistics on it, but ran into this and you can see how different peoples experiences are.

http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/how-longhow-many-houses-did-it-take-you-to-find-the-one

One of the comments here was something that I really liked---just drive by houses that you might be interested in before you even decide to take the time to do a full house tour. That would definitely save time. I know when I was looking for a house, I did a lot of driving around neighborhoods that I was interested in and could afford to look for "for sale" signs and open houses.

[WillParkinson]

10. See the new thread!

Speaking of dumb luck.

[REP]

8. We looked for a year before we found the one we wanted

Don't expect much reaming - in this market, people are desperate to move property,

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince.

The same is true when it comes to house-hunting. I remember one that we totally loved and were just about ready to buy -- an older house with a really neat floor plan, cool old woodwork, etc. Just before doing the deal we came back to look at something in the basement -- the electrical system, I think -- and coincidentally it happened to be raining very hard that day. So there we were in the basement of this house we were all set to buy, and we see water starting to seep through and run in rivulets down the walls. If it hadn't been for that hard rain we wouldn't have known the basement leaked (since it was one of those old unfinished ones with stone walls that don't show water damage). Regretfully we passed on the deal, moved on, and finally found one we liked.

Also, be sure to check out the neighborhood for good and bad things: bus routes, schools, sources of noise, etc. I heard of one situation locally where a real estate agent went to the smallish airport near where he was showing houses, and asked the air traffic controllers not to route any arriving or departing airplanes over the home where he was having an open house that afternoon! Of course they refused, but consider that some agents and/or homeowners might do sneaky things to cover up the fact that there's something in the neighborhood people might not care for. If there's an airport nearby, find out where the arrival and departure paths are; if there's a freeway nearby, determine whether there's noise or fumes that might bother you.

When I was a kid we lived near a zoo, and some early mornings in the summer we could hear the lions roar. That was cool.

[Dystopian]

9. Never too late ...

Will :hug:
Although I've not checked in .... I've been following your search. I loved the Victorian, it was beautiful, was happy for you and Paul....then saw the photos you took....
Not knowing much about house maintenance, I thought the problems looked minor.
Isn't it odd how the initial photos can look so perfect... lovely?

It will take a while .... but you'll find your dream house.
I wish you both the best...

Soon...home sweet home.

peace & love~