In which to sort out my befuddlement

Do we:

a) buy the house built in the 70's in the perfect location with the most amazingly huge beautiful backyard which (the house) has been immaculately kept for at least the last 25 years which is in a cul-de-sac in really great school boundaries and a fireman lived there so there are freaking ladders (!) outside every second story window -- so, so safe in case of a fire, but sort of easy access for sneaking out and thieves coming in and kids climbing on and falling off of the roof -- and the house is 3800 square feet and lots of bedrooms and an unfinished basement that we could finish any way we wanted but Steve doesn't like the low ceilings and -- AND -- every single surface of the interior including the wallpapered walls, crazy-carpeted floors and light fixtures needs a majorly major cosmetic overhaul?

OR

b) buy the house built in 2001 (ugh) with a boring exterior and a garage that sticks out so that's the first thing you notice, which is heading into foreclosure and is steeply undervalued that is only four bedrooms with really nice hardwood floors and (the best feature by far) a to-die-for mudroom/laundry room and which sits on more than half an acre but the yard is kind of laid out skewy and it sits really far back from the street and it seems really cold because it is covered in big overgrown trees and faces north and it is next to some good friends of ours who have cool kids who are friends with our kids and is right up against a slope of a mountain and there are all kinds of crazy cool places for the kids to explore the woods with footpaths and deer and squirrels and hideouts and cool childhood stuff like that and Steve really likes this one but I'm not so sure and -- get this -- no air conditioning! and problems with the land survey and legal stuff like that and it's a short sell so the bank could keep us waiting for a few months and the house is on the filthy side and the yard needs a lot of work but has a great deal of potential?

OR

c) keep looking and praying?

Comments

Anonymous said…
1st thought is keep looking and praying. AG
Angela said…
I like the sound of the 70's one.
everydayjami said…
d) move back to phoenix???
just kidding. You should by the house that you start thinking about at night. The house where you are mentally putting all of your furniture and thinking of weekend projects to make the house your own. If this hasn't happened yet, it's time to keep looking. Looking forward to seeing you in April.
Sarah said…
Um, photos. I need photos.
Courtney said…
Without pics and an understanding of the price differential it's hard to say. I'm just glad you were able to sell your house here.
Carina said…
When you close your eyes, where do you see yourself living?
Emily said…
I see #1. Steve sees #2.
Sarah said…
Keep looking for #3
What happened to that lawyer's house in Alpine? The Sound of Music mansion? I thought you were going to buy that house. And I was excited.
Heidi said…
Sounds like a stupor of thought to me.... --Andrew
Anonymous said…
a or c
love- heather g
Heidi said…
I don't know how many houses you have looked at already, but if I were you I'd keep looking. For me if it's a home that needs alot of updating or a short sale, I would steer clear of both. I'm sure somewhere in Utah County there is a better house for your family.
Nancy said…
sounds like they both could be good, where would you be more happy?
go boo boo said…
#1 sounds great (location, location, location!) and it's fun to slowly make your home exactly as you like it (although you could do that with #2, so again, location, location, location!)
Jord said…
Ummmm, I say since you're the one working at home you get to have the majority vote in the decision. #1 sounds great!
Anonymous said…
I say a or c, though I wouldn't be afraid to go for a short-sale or foreclosed home unless it is in bad shape.
Andelin said…
I'd like to know more about exactly where these are (off the blog).

The land problems could be a major issue. I love the idea of living amongst trees and woods myself. But I've also heard a lot about houses sliding down hills in Utah valley because of all of the sand (i.e. Sandy?) or basements flooding because the land is too soaked by the lake. (For example, my brother bought a dream home that is constant danger of flooding and he has to keep a pump continually running from his basement to keep the water from seeping in).

A friend of ours took a class in geology at BYU and he said that you should always get a geologist's opinion about the land before you buy. His class took a field trip driving around the valley and the professor helped them see the yeses and nos and whys of building on certain types of land... They even saw a house that had to stop in the middle of construction because it was literally falling off of the mountain. Their conclusion was that inorder to get quick money and expand a very closed-in unexpandable area, they are building on dangerous unsound land. Not that I know a geologist, but you could maybe get some hook-ups through BYU if you wanted to buy on the hill built more recently.

On a different note...Did I miss a post or something? Because the house selling is COMPLETE news to me! I feel very out of the loop here! Congratulations, Emily. Good luck in your search!

P.S. In the southern part of the valley, I heard about a housing community that once it was built by all of the owners, they found out that their was a high chance of mudslides on the hill where they were built, putting their homes in danger. The argument the builders had was, "Well the chances are only one in fifty years of that happening" What! Not a chance I'd like to take!
abby said…
Yes! Sound of Music mansion! Good call, c jane.
Anonymous said…
#1
Emily said…
Catherine, #1 is next door to the Binghams.
Emily said…
#2 is two doors down from Steve and Bobbie.
Suzie Petunia said…
"a" and remodel ASAP

And get a handle on those crazy run-on sentences. They made me dizzy. :)

Popular posts from this blog

Look what the storm blew in

It's a revelation thing

Hello, I love you. Won't you tell me your name?