Monthly Archives: July 2011

July 27, 2011 · 1:04 pm

A Learning Experience

Purchasing a house is quite a learning experience.

I have learned that not everyone is looking out for your best interests all of the time.  I have learned that you need to establish your credentials as an individual educated in the building trades and as a design professional as early as possible.  And I have learned that no matter how much planning, looking, research or preparation you do in advance, somebody will screw something up at some point in the process.

Fortunately, these lessons were learned without much physical harm to us or our purchasing process (yet). But it is very apparent that if you identify yourselves as first-time home buyers and look even remotely young, you will be battling for control over the process every step of the way. In these situations it has been our research, past time spent looking, and strategically placed connections with individuals in all manner of building trades and banking positions that have saved us some headaches.

Experimenting with paint colors in the likley case of the bank appraisal requiring exterior painting.

It is my sincere hope that the majority of home buyers are genuinely not as ignorant as the real estate agents seem to treat us.  On a positive note, it has been quite amusing to catch them in their little “white lies” or stumble them up on a technical question to an issue they are trying desperately to glean over while displaying an air of understanding.

I am sure not all real estate agents are this manipulative, we will just be more careful with our selection process next time.

So, now that that is out, an update: the purchase offer was accepted, the contract was signed, the engineers inspection was completed with no surprises, the radon test said we are safe, and the mortgage application has been delayed because the guy filling out the paperwork made a mistake. The final contingency is the bank appraisal and the lawyers negotiating the final details of the contract before closing.

We took a break this past weekend from wrangling greased-up mortgage brokers and pompous real estate agents to partake in a day trip to NYC.  My father-in-law, home briefly from his job overseas, wanted to take the whole family to see the New York Yankees play at the new Yankee Stadium.

Our seats were high enough to be in the shade, a welcome respite from the oppressive heat, but if you squinted your eyes it looked like the players were miniature toys.

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July 18, 2011 · 1:11 pm

Breaking News!

At the end of the week last week, as I gazed at the upcoming weekend with no exciting plans to speak of, I was concerned there would be no inspiration for an early week blog post this week.  I was wrong.

As part of our continuing house search, we toured a few homes Saturday, decided to lob an offer at one of them Sunday, had the offer accepted, and almost exactly 13 months after The Wife and I said “I do”, we had signed a contract to purchase a home.

It has been less than 24 hours since we received the news of the accepted offer, but already I have learned an immense amount about the inspection process, the mortgage process, and in some respects, the true character of some individuals seeking business deals.

Obviously, the contingencies of the contract have yet to be satisfied, but the process has begun in earnest and the closing date is set.  Baring any major complications, before long there should be a whole lot more projects for me to track the progress of on this blog.  Once the transaction is finalized I will release more details about the house, as I am sure the process of customizing the home to our unique personalities will dominate the content here for quite some time.  For now though, I need to call some home inspectors.

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July 11, 2011 · 1:13 pm

It’s Been a Busy Summer

But I won’t waste time aplogizing for lost time. Nor will I bother to make excuses or promises going forward, only to say thank you to those who have expressed an interest in these musings.  It makes it much easier to carve out the time to write when you know there are people willing to read.

Enlarge for effect

This Monday morning felt like a good time to get back into the blogosphere as The Wife and I share a joint rejuvenation from our brief trip to the Adirondacks this weekend.  There must be something about the transition between the phases of dripping sweat while marching up and down a mountain to cooling off in a calm, cool lake that clears the mind and allows a greater sense of focus.

We have been meeting with a Realtor and searching for a house.  Despite the apparent abundance of housing stock in the city of Rochester we continue to be incapable of finding one that suite our particular requirements on our more particular budget.  A direct response to this familiar scenario is a continual change in priorities and locations.  We have widened our search so drastically that it is difficult to decipher exactly what we are looking for now.  It was perhaps a result of this bewildered mentality that caused us to begin considering the proposition of purchasing land and a cabin in the mountains of the Adirondacks and resolving ourselves as renters in Rochester for the near future.

The thought hasn’t fully permeated yet, and while there are many attractive prospects to the proposal, there are many complications as well.  But these are the sort of radical ideas that flourish between the shallow lakes and tall mountains in the great park.

As we have received a substantial amount of advice on the issue of purchasing a home to this point, we are not adverse to collecting a bit more. What do you think?

Should we get our heads out of the clouds and settle for a quaint suburban ranch and quarter acre like the vast majority of other first time home buyers?

or shoot for the stars and jump into a “vacation property” and worry about a home later?

or stick it out with the knowledge that at some point a unique home that suites our personalities will come along within reach of our grasp?

B.T.W. if you were interested in the post I did about the Mushroom House in Perinton last year, you will be interested to know that it is again on the market, currently a steal at $1.1 million. Listing Here.

Also, the photos found above are from other exploits from the beginning of the summer: Visiting Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, a foggy overlook at Ohiopyle State Park, PA, and an all-time highlight for the summer season, cooking over an open fire.

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