House Hunters, Lu Edition

I said that I had put the whole house thing on the back burner. I needed a break, and whatever happens is largely out of my control, so I needed to stop putting so much energy into it. For the most part, I still subscribe to that belief. But, my better half tracked down a couple new listings with some major potential, and it got me all involved in the house hunt again. Furthermore, we found out that, if we needed to, we could buy a new house before our current house was under contract. This changed a whole lot in terms of our timeline and our motivation to find a house. I'm not sure if owning two houses at once would be the best idea. After all, making two hefty mortgage payments seems extremely stressful. It would be outrageously expensive, and we would have no idea when our house would sell. On the other hand, renting a house is very expensive, and moving twice is a major headache, to say the least. So, it will probably be worth it to buy a house, sell ours, and just work a little harder and tighten our belts a bit to make ends meet in the meantime.

So, with that, I solicit advice from you, my readers. All three of you! Before I go any further, I want to just put it out there that the odds are good that we'll end up in neither of the houses I'm going to present to you here today. However, I know a lot of us out there can appreciate an episode or two of anything on HGTV, and I'm very wrapped up in and excited about this process.

House #1.

The house is on 82nd and Cholla. This is primetime location. It's WHERE I WANT TO BE. We're moving for location, right? The house is zoned for the perfect trifecta of schools...Cochise, Cocopah, Chaparral. Minutes from every freaking thing I do, and like two seconds from the Scottsdale Airport. Remember that other house that was perfect with the ugly backsplash? That was also on Cholla. That street is the ticket, I tell you. (Some lucky devil snatched that up for a price under our max budget. If I was a person who cried, I would have probably cried about that at least a few times.)

This is a flip house, so obviously someone is out to make a profit. However, the finishes are nice, and I LOVE the retro look. It's quirky because old houses are quirky. (We will probably live in an old house no matter what happens because of our other priorities...location, lot size and budget. I'm good with that...old houses have tons more character, anyway.) It's a great size at 2,800 sq. feet. I told you that I'm looking to minimize and downsize, right? It's on an acre lot in a bomb neighborhood. Some neighbors' houses are valued at upwards of $2 million. That would be a very good thing for our home value (which is wayyyyy less than that).

The problems with this house add up to be a deal breaker for Dylan. But, I'm still pushing for this one because I love it. First, it doesn't have an enclosed garage. The trailer could fit in the carport, and the lot is huge enough that one day we could build a garage. In the meantime, we'd have to get a storage container for our bikes and other garage stuff. Also, getting groceries into the house would be a pain because you'd have to walk around to the front door from your car. Next, there's no good spot for a dining table. My remedy to that would be to build a table off the island. It's a thing people do, and it looks good. (I've done a lot of research. Thanks for the idea on that, Kristin!) The master closet is bare of rods and shelves, so we'd have to get a contractor in there to do some work. The office off the entrance is dark and kind of non-functional, and we'd want to explore tearing down a wall or two to open it up to the living area. (Maybe a great spot for a dining table?) But, with four other bedrooms and three full bathrooms, we'd be in good shape. The master bath is nice but very small. It doesn't even have it's own water closet. Dylan is worried that I'd complain too much if I'm in there showering and he needs to use the restroom or something. To that, I say the house has two other toilets. (First world problems, am I right?) It has the perfect bedroom for the boys, and so much more that I love. This is my vote, but nobody else is on board, so we'd have to look at a significant price reduction to make it worth our Dylan's while. I'll hold out for that because we would have to put some money into modifying it. But...I have a feeling someone else will realize the value of location and snatch it up very soon. Sigh.

I love the exposed beams and the brick!

The yard needs some dressing up, both back and front, but it's super low maintenance. The kitchen windows overlook the golf course. I'm in love.

House #2.

This house is in a location that I keep telling myself would be great. It's 64th and Thunderbird and steps from the elementary school. It is zoned for Horizon High School. I'm trying to open up my mind to the idea of a change of scenery. It could be a good thing. It's just that I've lived in Scottsdale my entire life, and though this is a Scottsdale address, it's in the Phoenix city limits. I'd be shopping and working out and sending my kids to school in unfamiliar places. But still, everything important to us is in close proximity. We would be two seconds from Kierland and the Scottsdale Quarter...not exactly a foreign country. I could adjust, and I'd probably get to know people who are a little more my speed than the Big Dawgs of Scottsdale. I really do think I would end up loving it.

The house itself would be perfect for us. Again, it's a flip home, but the layout is great and free of quirks, and they did a fantastic job with it. The finishes are all super high-quality. The exterior is nice and new, though the style is not my favorite. It has a new roof, new A/C units, new wiring, new plumbing, new floors and everything. It's basically a brand new house. They built out a 3-car garage, and we could also have room for our trailer in the side yard. The master bath and closets are perfection, and the kitchen is fantastic. It has two pantries, a big laundry room and two huge master closets. We could also put the boys in a room on the other side of the house from us, which is obviously optimal. Again, it is 2,800 sq. feet with four bedrooms (which includes the office) and 3 full bathrooms, which is just right. When the boys are teenagers and want their own rooms, it will probably prove to be a logistical puzzle. We'd have to look at combining a guest room with the office or something. That's like 10 years from now, though, so whatever.

The lot is a 1/3 acre, but we don't actually need any more than that. The only major drawback (besides getting on board with the neighborhood) is that it is the nicest house for miles around. The price per square foot is outrageous. For resale value, it's a very scary thing. We don't plan to move again any time soon, or ever. But as we all know, life happens. So, again, we need to see if a price reduction comes into play after the house has been on the market for a little while because we're not comfortable with the current price. The house is fantastic, and I know we'd be happy in it. For the record, Dylan is completely on board with this one. Gavin is upset that the pool has neither a slide nor a diving board, but I think he's just excited at the promise of water, no matter the house we buy.

The kitchen and living areas are super awesome. The breakfast bar is that wooden thing off the island. It's unique, and I love it. The ktichen also features a giant wine fridge and wet bar. So cool!

Okay, I want to hear your opinions! We won't be around for a couple weeks and will probably put the house hunting to rest for a bit. In the meantime, these houses will both go under contract, I'm sure, so that will be that. Anyhow, thanks for tuning into today's episode of House Hunters, Lu Edition. We'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming soon, which promises to include lots of photos of the boys in their underwear, as usual.