Ten months ago, when we started the house hunt, I made this list of ten things I wanted:
Detached cottage/bungalow
Off the street
Outdoor space (deck or patio with trees)
Hardwood floors
Washer/dryer (or hook-up)
Clawfoot tub
H studio/guest room
Writing corner for me
Parking
Storage
Somewhere along the line I crossed out clawfoot tub and wrote in VIEW.
That was when I realized we probably couldn't afford Echo Park, and I kept announcing, "If I'm going to leave this neighborhood, I have to have a view."
ha
ha
ha
ha
ha ha ha
Now all I want is a CUTE HOUSE.
Cute.
Is that too much to ask??
(compact beach chalet by studiomama via designboom via Pennyweight)
Yes. You don't see the outside much. Make the inside cute yourself.
ReplyDeleteaka grumpy woman who will never be able to buy a cute house in london.
poo
DeleteHe-Mouse won't live anywhere with carpet. Srsly. He'll be all "why would they carpet such a cute place?!" with a horrified look and everything. Now I agree.
ReplyDeleteI'm concerned that dishwasher is missing from your list. It's the stuff that could ruin a marriage.
ReplyDeleteMy bf and I just moved in together. Our apartment in Brooklyn has a dishwasher. Yes, it is important.
DeleteI feel your pain, love. Hang in there. It took us two years to find our dream farm. We *almost* settled several times for places that would not have been right. The right place is worth the wait!!
ReplyDeletewow. i've even given up on cute.
ReplyDeleteMy wish list started out almost identical to yours...by the end it was pretty much:
ReplyDeleteDetached cottage
Parking
Windows that aren't rotten
Not too many birds actually nesting inside the house
You'll find something and it'll be totally worth it in the end ! Three years later and we've finally finished renovating it to include (almost) everything on our wishlist
house hunting sucks butt.
ReplyDeleteTry the neighborhood of "Monterey Hills" and/or "Hermon", in NE Los Angeles, on the eastside of the 110 from Highland Park. There are some great (and cute) homes with spectacular views for sale right now!
ReplyDeleteIf you don't already have a Realtor, I had an amazing experience with Margaret Arana from Nourmand & Assoc. She specializes in Eastside homes. It was my first home purchase, and she delivered everything on my wish list! I found a 2 story house with a front yard with a mountain view and backyard with a city view, detached garage and patio, for a price that worked on a starving artist's income. ;) www.margaretarana.com
Above comment so helpful, v.good.
ReplyDeleteI live in London and looked at 48 flats before finding one that was liveable. We bought that one.
My list reads:
ReplyDeleteno structural damage
no damp
south facing garden
It helps that all of the houses in the area we're looking at are virtually identical, just in varying states of disrepair.
Newish, functional roof
ReplyDeleteNo mold
Several acres
Hardwood floors
We looked at over 100 houses in Toronto before buying. Our list went from detached, garage, yard, 3 bedrooms in good west end neighborhood. To any sort of home anywhere in Toronto.
ReplyDeleteWe ended up in an old storefront, in a "transitional" neighborhood, with a mix of hipsters and crackheads and we couldn't be happier, but fuck that search was hell.
I knew posting this would make me feel better.
ReplyDelete♥
living in the south, we always imagined that when it time to buy, we'll get a spacious house with a huge lawn..In reality, moved to a big city and the preparing ourselves to love a small condo which is the only thing we can afford right now :) wouldn't even call it cute but it's home! so i guess we are going to enjoy living in it!
ReplyDeleteYou and H will make it cute.
ReplyDeleteYeah, we gave up on the whole list when it became clear that we were insane for thinking we could find anything, cute or not, in our price range.
ReplyDeleteProb silly to ask, but you are signed up to get the Redfin email alerts for your areas/price range of interest, right? I still look at them even though I know it's an exercise in masochism.
dude.
Deleteredfin is my crack.
have you tried the iphone app? you can be driving through a neighborhood and search "nearby homes for sale."
DeleteOh my god. We'll never get anything done on the weekends again.
Deleteyep did you find the "nearby open houses" button?
Deletewe used redfin. we love redfin.
DeleteYeah, you may have to down grade to "house." Floors and bathtubs can be replaced. That will up the cute factor. We're redoing an entire bathroom 2 years after buying a house, because a wall was secretly rotten. But when it's done, it'll be cute. (I hope).
ReplyDeleteIt took almost 200 homes/a year to finally find a home up here. I finally have evenings and weekends free but lol the paperwork hasn't completely gone through and it's the 3rd house I'm putting a bid on so I'm crossing my fingers :S I hope you find something soon!
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree, you will make it cute w/ H!
took us two years and an la neighborhood I would never set foot in (let alone actually throw a boat load of cash at) til we found our little abode. it's out there, just in a neighborhood to the left and south of where you're looking.
ReplyDeleteA cute outside is less enjoyable on a daily basis than a view.
ReplyDeleteA clawfoot tub you can buy yourself, yo! No crossing off necessary. I love mine to pieces. Sitting in a bath reading a wet copy of the New Yorker and drinking bourbon is the most decadent thing in the universe.
we bought a house that had been occupied by a heavy smoker for 30 years, had carpet and about six inches of grime on all of the tiled floors. everything we touch turns to dust and we just had to replace all of the windows. also half of the electrical outlets don't work.
ReplyDeleteit does have a 3x10 ft backyard though, and is at the end of a row of row houses, and the shower only leaked into the kitchen for a couple of weeks.
best idea ever.
wish lists will kill you.
my search criteria is for a piece of shit in a decent area... i've a husband, dad, and brother who're all contractors who'll build my castle from the ground up- and i STILL can't find anything. there are 5, count 'em, FIVE homes for sale within a 60 mile radius of where we'd like to live. each is a POS but not in the right way :/
ReplyDeletehouse hunting is the breaks.
You will find the cutest house, or it will find you!
ReplyDeleteWe are currently addicted to a property phone app for australia, checking out dream homes, and realistic ones. I love looking at houses.
Some DIY always helps if your budget is not as grand I guess.
GOOD LUCK!
Unless you've got over 500k to spend, finding a decent house in a bearable part of LA (not the valley) is tough. If you get really fed up, you might want to check out some lofts in Downtown. I live in the Arts District and it has a real neighborhood feel once you get to know it. There's some real steals out there right now because of foreclosures and this area is only going to go up in price because of gentrification. I've seen incredible changes since my H moved here in '05. Stay for five years and then use your equity to get a place with a yard.
ReplyDeleteHave you thought about Highland Park?
ReplyDeleteHave you thought about Highland Park?
ReplyDelete