Sunday we looked at two houses. The first we’ve eliminated from the equation; it was a 802 N. Highland in Cottage Homes. I might throw up the pictures of it later, because we’ve ruled it out. It was a cute little cottage, but was too much work to update the interior.
The second house we saw was pretty amazing. It has pretty much everything we have on our needs list, and what’s on our “wants” list also. The drawbacks are:
- Looks like the roof and gutters need work
- The bedrooms are oddly configured and might be awkward for our living needs (the lots of clothes issue)
- It’s just outside our price range (although we’re pre-approved for it)
- Its only the third house we’ve seen
- We’d have to jump on it pretty quickly, because it’s desirable, so it would be a sudden move.
Our realtor is nervous about the house because it’s unusual for someone to settle on a house this quickly — and I freely admit I fall in love with houses way too easily. So we’re looking at more stuff.
But there are some things about this house that really make my heart sing:
- it’s in a quiet, low crime downtown neighborhood I really want to live in. (Most else we’ve pulled up on Mibor is in Irvington. Which is cool — but you can’t get to Irvington from anywhere.)
- The laundry room is upstairs on the second floor, near the bedrooms (sheer decadent heaven!)
- The yard is nice and large for dogs to run around in.
- It’s Victorian, and looks it inside.
- The front porch is huge!
- Oh, yeah, this is funny: It has a murphy bed
I know I shouldn’t be attached to this house, and that we should look at more.
why look at more? you guys have a very good idea of what you want. you’re not first time home buyers. the neighborhood alone is not something to pass up just because you haven’t looked at enough houses.
i have friends who knew precisely what they wanted (much as you guys do), and they literally bought one of the first houses they looked at. they’ve been very, very happy there and never talk about wanting to move.
your list of requirements is not short so that decreases the chances of finding what you want.
hell, if i found a victorian in a low crime neighborhood that i could afford, i’d jump on it!
Yes, it’s good to be cautious, but you have to pay attention to your gut, too. Plus, it’s not like you don’t know the Indy housing market, or haven’t looked at houses before (you’re a homeowner, after all).
We looked at about ten houses before finding the right one. However, we scouted the Garfield Park area for almost two years before we were ready to buy. So we had a pretty good idea of what was available for the money. Of course, our realtor didn’t think GP was a good buy, so he steered us towards Little Flower and Irvington. We drove through those areas, but it only confirmed that GP was where we wanted to be.
We toured our house three times before making an offer. We were the first people to see the house when it went on the market. Another couple saw the house and made an offer that night. It all happened in about 8 days. Anyway, we bought our house for 97% of asking, and we went back for concessions after the inspection. The asking price was already below average, so we got a steal. The longer we live in the neighborhood, the more we feel like we got a good deal.
If you like this house, go back and see it a bunch more times while you keep looking. Our offer was much lower after seeing the house that third time.
i showed the photos to a friend at work and she agrees– jump on it!
BTW, Cottage Homes is a great area. I love the folks over there. The area can get a little congested with traffic from Tech High School, so be prepared if you do find something over there you like. Also, I’ve seen ginormous families of racoons trotting through the streets in Cottage Homes.
A few areas to be watchful:
Windsor Park is north of Cottage Homes. I know the folks who live there really want it to revitalize, but I’m not seeing it. The near eastside is my old stomping grounds, and I just haven’t seen enough improvement to recommend Windsor Park.
There are lots of homes for sale south of New York Street in the Holy Cross area. Some folks like to call that the eastside of Downtown. It ain’t. Many of the properties I’ve seen over there are way overpriced. Plus, the crime is high.
We lived not too far from there for about 8 months before we bought our house. It was complete and utter chaos, especially during the summer.
I think that’s why you see so many fortresses in that area. We didn’t want a house with a 20 foot tall privacy fence. We wanted a neighborhood with sidewalks where we knew our neighbors.
I bought the 11th house I looked at. By coincidence, the area got quasi-historical zoning right about then; apparently I was wise to buy in then, because prices around here are getting seriously stiff.
Hey…you could buy our house. hee hee! We’re putting it on the market in a few weeks to accomodate baby #2 and my need for 4+ bedrooms. Yes, the Berkster will have a little bro in May.
Seriously, good luck with the hunt, my friend. My only tip for you is to use a good inspector when you do find your dream home. You want someone who point out the infractions, not gloss over them because you love the home. It’ll save you mucho dinero in the long run.