Mortgage Monday: Scanning The Market

Every once in a while I go on some of the real estate websites to see if there is anything new on the market in our area and how much people are asking for those properties. In one regard this is simply a habit that started a few years ago when we were still in the process of finding our first house. Now it is more of just trying to see what the market is doing around us now that we have found that place to call home. In some ways what I am seeing is kind of surprising but at the same time it is an expected trend that I started to see develop during those initial months of searching years ago.

When we first saw our home come on the market we knew that we had a tremendous opportunity right in front of us and we moved fast. It was meant to be as earlier in the week a deal that we had on another property fell through. Since the day we signed the last of the mountain of papers and accrued a new mountain of debt, I have watched the market slowly rise and the inventory evaporate. While much of this can be attributed to the season, it isn’t the whole story as this particular market did not react the same way in previous years.

Now there is nothing on the market and prices continue to climb even faster than I had expected based on the market evaluation just prior to settlement. Heck, in a matter of months it may get to the point where we would have been priced out of the market had we not found our home when we did. It has been a great feeling seeing the hard numbers both for the obvious financial security but also because it shows that we were right in selecting the growing community in which we now live.   

And that second half of the equation is the most important part for me as we are not in this for the financial gain… we purchased our home for the permanence and potential of never having to move again. This is now our home and our community and we were lucky to have found this property when we did because I don’t know where we would have ended up had we waited for another year. As I watch the market continue to develop and rise, I doubt that we would have been able to find the space, the land, or the price that we did when we found this house.

Exploring Other People’s Homes

With costumes filling the racks, bags of candy piled on the shelves, and dark shows and movies dominating the television stations it is impossible to look around and not realize that Halloween is quickly approaching. I remember when the treats and decorations would just now be getting put out for sale but these days we have been walking by them for weeks. The preparations and time from may have changed but some things have not.

I think back to those nights after school walking up and down the streets of developments thinking about what treats may be hiding behind the door. However, what I remember more are those moments when the doors opened and I could see the recently cleaned entry to the home. It was an interesting evening to peek into the homes of others and see where they lived. What was even better was when we were invited in to the foyer so that we were able to see just a little bit more of the house. It’s interesting to think about those times years later.

As I scroll through the pages on the real estate websites I get that same feeling of peering into the homes of others. Sometimes you see a beautiful home from the outside but one you open the doors, or click on the additional pictures, you can see that someone took great pains to polish a turd. Other times, the outside looks a little run down but the interior is spotless and looks nearly brand new. It is the same experience that I remember having when I was going house to house with my friends on Halloween night.

Things are a little different now both in the digital wall that now exists but also in my perspective. Things are no longer good and bad. Okay, maybe there are a few exceptions to that rule. Most of the time it is either discovering the aspects that we would want in a home or trying to see the potential in the property. It really is a balancing act between what you want to have in a home and what the realistic expectations that we have for our first home.

Of course, sometimes it is fun going through neighborhoods and peering into the homes we will most likely never be able to afford. That is the commonality that has transcended the decades… opening the door and stealing a glance at the homes of others. Some things don’t change.

The Reality of HGTV

More and more I find my mind wandering during the day. Sometimes it is because I am working on and jumping between projects constantly which gets to the point when my mind needs to take a break. Other times it is the exact opposite when I am just sitting there listening to a conference call or presentation when my thoughts just go on a little jaunt around the block. Admittedly I think about other work projects during this time knowing that I am not under deadline with them… the enjoyable kind of work. Other times I am thinking about some of the pieces missing in the genealogy and I brainstorm how and where I might fill in those gaps. Lately, I have been relaxing by going online and looking at real estate on Zillow or Trulia (sometimes other websites).  

I have written extensively about the issues with our current apartment so this new habit should not be a surprise. At the office, when we have a little bit of time to take a family lunch we always have fun offering our commentary during the various HGTV real estate shows and this is kind of the same thing that I do when looking at listings. It adds a little fun given the fact that all of the properties are within the area to which we will eventually consider moving. It is a long way off but it is fun to see both the reality of the market and the outrageousness of certain areas.

It really is amazing to see the variety that is on the market both in terms of location and size as well as quality and price. But I guess you could say that I am still in the luxury of criticism state so that I can pick and pick at all the little ‘flaws’ in a property until there is nearly nothing left. The real problem is that the one that I can’t find those little items they usually have one huge issue… price. But I guess those properties fit into the time of day when I am looking at them as they will be little more than a day dream at this point.

Regardless of what we find down the road, I am looking forward to having a home. Whatever it is we can change things that need to be changed, customize to fit our needs, and make it our own. After all, that is really what we want so sometimes picking a property apart is simply a matter of looking past the present. So, until the day we find our home (and probably after) I will continue to day dream about what can be done the only difference being that right now I don’t know what the starting point is going to be.

Why Am I So Tired?

After a longer than expected evening at the lodge (for good reason), I headed back to the apartment only to find that the fire department was using the front driveway of the building as a parking lot. It’s kind of sad, but this happens so often that I didn’t think much of it as I walked across the parking lot and opened the door. However, as soon as I put down my work bag I knew that it was going to be one of those nights. Within moments of walking through the kitchen and pulling the strap off my shoulder, the fire alarm began blaring.

Both from living in the building and working the front desk, I knew that this wasn’t going to go away quickly so I headed to the lobby to try and get some additional information on the situation. Can’t say that I was surprised when no one really knew what was going on at first and the president of the board refused to do anything beyond sitting in a chair and holding out her hand so the passersby could more easily kiss the ring. 45 minutes later and a couple of culprits emerged, neither of which involved smoke or fire.

As it turns out there was a faulty sensor in the pump room and some dust also got into the detector in one of the hallways 6 months finally getting drywall replaced 6-8 months after the bust pipe. With my wife only a few minutes away after her long day at work, I was glad that things seemed to be getting resolved. I really should know better!

Having not had time to eat before the debacle, I made a small snack as we talked about all that had happened during our days and the mess that was unfolding in the building. We got into bed around 11:00 and began slowly settling into sleep since we both had a long day ahead of us. With our eyes nearly sealed for the night, we jumped out of bed at 11:30 when the alarm began blaring again. Keep in mind that this was not for the whole building, just our apartment as they were testing the system.

We walked up to the front desk, quite perturbed by this point, and tried to figure out what was going on especially since the fire department was no longer present. Turns out that the fire department forced them to turn off the boiler until they could get the sensor problem figured out. They decided to continue working on the sensor issue so that they could turn on the hot water by morning.

I didn’t sleep well during the night. I would later find out that the alarm continued to go off throughout the night just long enough to wake us up but not long enough for us to realize what was forcing us to open our eyes. However, I was wide awake when the cold water hit my head in the morning. So, after little quality sleep during the night it was a cold shower in the morning. Just the latest thing to add to the list and that much more incentive to find somewhere else to live by the time our lease is up… I’m already looking forward to spring!

Last Chance To Find An Apartment

Throughout the week my wife and I kept scanning the maps on Trulia and Zillow with the hope that a new listing would pop up. While there were plenty of listings that came to market during the week, there was nothing that fit the criteria that we were looking for, most importantly, the price. With nothing to show for our efforts and our MIL Realtor not having any better luck, we did not make it out this weekend to tour some other spaces.

In an owner’s market, this just hasn’t been a good time to try and find an apartment within the budget that we set for ourselves. I guess we will be staying where we are for now with the hope that we can build up our bank account enough to get a nice starter home around this time next year. The other part of this year long project will be to improve our credit. It’s not that we have bad credit, it is rather good in fact, but there is always room for improvement and it would make things a bit easier when the time comes in trying to secure financing. The basic game plan is simple… build up our bank account, pay down debts, and continue being successful in our jobs (i.e. promotions/raises). How we achieve all this is also simple… work hard and work smart.

So, when the day comes, what will we be looking for in a starter home? The list is a little longer than a rental but, in an ideal situation, here is what the check list would look like:

1. 3+ bedrooms
2. 2+ baths
3. 2+ acres
4. Office
5. Basement (finished or unfinished)
6. Good schools
7. Montgomeryville/North Wales/Lansdale area (there is a little flexibility there for the right place)
8. Reasonable commute time to work (under 60 minutes for me, under 45 minutes for my wife)
9. Garage
10. Not on a main road  

I know what you’re saying… that is why it is called a wish list not a list of requirements. Some of the things are reasonable, some may be fantasy when considering that we will not have much to put into the home but it is a start and it is nice to have a goal.

The most important thing that we need to do now is to make do with what we have and the space in which we currently live. The basic translation of that statement means that we have to clean and organize both of which we have been putting off for way too long. We have a good spot at the moment, not ideal but it is a good apartment at a good rate. And while we may complain at times about various things relating to the building, location, people, and variety of other aspects we have a plan of action and we are better off than most. We have gone through a lot in recent years and we can make it through some more knowing what awaits us just on the other side of the hill.

So, until next year, the hunt is over.

Another Weekend Apartment Hunting

Today was an interesting day of apartment hunting as my wife and I drove around our target area quite a bit. We left the apartment around noon and made our way to a development that we had already seem two apartments in before with no previous success. They are nice apartments, condos actually, and we even demonstrated interest in one of them before the owners pulled it off the market in favor of selling. This time around, the place met most of our needs but it was priced above our comfort level. It would be possible to pay the rent but it just wasn’t enough to motivate us to move.

From North Wales we headed over to Lansdale which was actually closer to Hatfield to take a look at a two story townhome. The price was right if not a little high but, again, it wasn’t a place that motivated change. It was a solid home but it was at the top end of our budget, too far out, and wasn’t really an increase in usable space over what we have now. Time to move on and go a little further away from where we started our search and look at a house in Hatfield.

Driving up to this next location you could see the potential that the property clearly has but once we entered we both could tell that this was not going to be the place for us. With ragged furniture still scattered throughout the main floor from the evicted tenants, the owner was in the back of the house cleaning the kitchen area and slowly moving the overflow out the door. Heading upstairs, the ‘second bedroom’ was unusable as the roof got in the way of being able to actually utilize the space (turns out that there was no head up there either). So, after looking around, this would have given us a lot more outdoor space but would have been a downsizing in living space and a higher price over where we are now.

One more chance and one more trek across the area as we drove from Hatfield down to Dresher to take a look at the last property of the day. The converted farmhouse offered a lot of the quirks that make 150 year old properties interesting but it was the smaller of the two units in the old house. Perched above a busy street and across from an old hotel it was rather quiet for the location. It was clean and the layout was pretty good but, in the end, the square footage was lacking and the storage space was nearly nonexistent.

We managed to see four properties throughout the day but nothing that would meet our needs. It is looking more and more likely that we will end up renewing the lease at our current apartment building. Again, not the ideal, but after to failed attempts to secure a new place and numerous tours this seems like our best option at this point. We still have another full week and weekend to find a place but we are fairly certain that there will be no move this year.

Again, not ideal but we knew that this was a possibility when we started this weekly search. It also makes me more curious to wonder where we will be next summer. Maybe we can save enough to buy a house. I guess we will have to just continue waiting and see how things go but I am guessing that we will end up having better luck finding a rental this time next year. By that time we will really be ready to find a new place.

Real Estate Round Two

For the second weekend in a row my wife and I got in the car, headed north, and met with my mother in law to see a few places. While we both would prefer to move when our current lease is up at the end of May, we are still trying to find the right place that would fit all (or most) of our needs while keeping us within budget. We found one such place last weekend but were quickly rebuffed when the owners of the spacious apartment decided to pull the rental off the market and put the unit up for sale. With the past week still fresh in our mind, we headed out with some understandably lowered expectations.

Our first stop in Lansdale justified our curbed enthusiasm as both the neighborhood and the property were the complete opposite of what we are looking for to gain greater comfort in our surroundings. We could tell that this was a possible reaction based on the listing but pulling up to the house and walking in the door confirmed every lackluster expectation. Put it this way, it was so bad we didn’t even bother walking upstairs, we walked around the first door, around the chair holding the back door closed and met back at the front door where the sunlight was scattered by the cracks in the windowpanes.

House number two was a bit on the older side but was a solid standalone home with nearly an acre of land. The house met many of our needs and even had a single car garage as a bonus. However, it was at the top end of our budget and had many uncertainties regarding utilities. In the end, I think it would be a great first small home if we were looking to potentially buy (no ideal but solid) but it was a little too much of s stretch with regard to renting.

The final showing of the day, which we found thanks to Zillow, was a little bit further out than our original target area but still within a reasonable distance from both our jobs and the major arteries running through the area. It was the next county over but checked off many of the things that we were looking for in a new place. However, what really motivated us to go a little further and consider the apartment/condo was the fact that, after factoring in the additional expenses, it would be the same monthly cost as our current apartment but with more space, a better layout, and a little outdoor area for ‘relaxation’. Moving would still be a little financially tight but this at least seemed to be manageable.

So, after discussing the this last showing over a late lunch and running through the pros and cons when we got back to our current apartment, we decided to put in an application and see what happens. Actually, I will be sending the application in the morning as I have long since blocked out how involved this whole process can be and pulling together all the necessary information is proving to be more work than I wanted to add to my weekend. Once this is sent in, it is then out of our hands. I guess we will have to wait and see what happens… again!