Progress on the Home-buying Front

Well, the house we were trying to buy didn't work out.

We had it inspected and learned that it needs serious foundation work, as well as a lot of electrical work and some plumbing. We had hoped to fix it up with a 203k loan, but that won't cover foundation work, and with all the problems the house has, we wouldn't have anything left for cosmetic work or appliances. On top of that, Citibank, which owns the house (a foreclosure) was fighting us every step of the way (asking for much more than the standard amount of earnest money, not giving us much time for inspections, etc.). After a few weeks of alternating between stress and excitement we finally decided it was best to walk away.

We were really disappointed when we began to realize that fixing up this cute 1904 house on a corner lot was a pipe dream, but just as we were coming to a decision we found another house in the neighborhood for sale in our price range. It's a bit more expensive and on a less desirable lot, but it's in a better location (closer in and in easier walking distance of a lot of businesses). We made an offer the day we viewed it and it's been accepted!

We had it inspected last weekend and it will need some work, but nothing like what the last one needed. The 203k loan will cover new windows, roof repairs, exterior paint, and some electrical work. Our biggest worry is that the root of a tree made a hole in one of the walls of the basement. The owner agreed to repair it before closing, but it's looking like the repairs may cost more than the estimate he had gotten, which may mean we'll have to renegotiate. We should be hearing back about the cost sometime today. Some other people have made offers on the house, so we're nervous about the outcome.

If we do get the house we'd like to do more to it in the long term (floors, maybe put an extension where the back deck is, so we can have a bigger kitchen and have basement access from inside the house; maybe eventually finish the attic), but with just some minor work it could be a very livable space for us.

The other piece of the puzzle is coming up with some more money for the down payment. We've spent hundreds of dollars on inspections in the past month, so we're a little shorter than we expected to be at this stage. We've been very good about not eating out or buying anything unnecessary, but it's still been tough to save. Fortunately summer is the busy season for both of our jobs, so we should be able to manage.

We're hoping to close before the end of July and be moved in by the beginning of August.

We've both decided that we really like the neighborhood and will continue looking around there if this house doesn't work out.

My aunt and uncle who've been giving us lots of advice and moral support bought us brunch at Bar Carlo a couple of times. While we were there we ran into a friend of my cousin's who lives nearby and is about to open a new bar on Foster, as well. We've also gotten a good vibe from the neighbors we've met.

My commute to work will still be an easy bus ride (just slightly longer than the ride from our home in Kerns). It will be a big change for Robert, though. We currently live just a mile from where he works, so he can easily walk or ride his bike when the weather's nice on days when he doesn't have to get across town for evening classes. From Fo-Po it's about 4 miles, which he'll have to travel at rush hour. The fastest bus ride is 45 minutes. I don't see him getting up early enough to do that on a regular basis. I think we'll both need to get better bikes if we're going to ride longer distances to work, and that won't be in the budget any time soon.

Could Foster-Powell Be Our New Home?

A couple of weeks ago we made an offer on a house in Montavilla, but the listing agent seems to be pretty disorganized and hasn't been able to tell us if anyone's even looked at it yet. We know that there were a couple of offers ahead of ours, so we're more-or-less giving up on that one.

Over the weekend we viewed a house we liked in Foster-Powell and have decided to make an offer on it.

We had not given much thought to moving to that neighborhood, but a few houses in our price range had popped up in our searches and we decided we should at least check some out. I wrote down a couple of addresses and debated whether or not to include a third that was further southeast. I decided we might as well give it a chance, because it was bigger than most things in our price range, and it turned out to have a lot of potential. It's definitely a fixer, but much cheaper than many of the places we've looked at and on a very nice lot. It will definitely need new floors and windows, and we will want to do some major renovations in the finished attic and turn the unfinished basement into a usable space. It would be a lot of work, but we're excited about the prospect of getting to shape it into the kind of home we want. I was relieved to discover that I can still get downtown on just one bus, too!

Last night I was reading about the neighborhood online and learned that the Foster-Powell Neighborhood Association had its May meeting today, so I decided it was the perfect opportunity for me to go learn more about the area and meet some community members and find out if it was a place I could really imagine living in comfortably.

While there are a lot of charming houses and some nice parks in the area, I couldn't help wondering whether the area still sometimes referred to as "felony flats" had transformed into a vibrant community, and if it had, whether it was a place where a young childless couple would fit in or if we would feel isolated and find the neighborhood boring.

Upon arriving at Sweetness Bakery I was pleasantly surprised to see how many people had turned out to attend the meeting (I'd say around 25). Everyone was friendly and welcoming and I was relieved to see a wide age range, including a few people who I'm pretty sure were younger than myself.

It quickly became apparent that while the neighborhood is certainly not as hip as Kerns (where we currently rent a house) and lacks some things that we desire in a neighborhood, that the residents are actively working towards making Foster-Powell a more lively, walkable, safe, and attractive part of town.

Like the house we hope to soon call our home, Foster-Powell needs some work, but is full of potential. I am pleased to know that the first and perhaps most difficult step, establishing a group of people committed to working towards a common goal, has already been achieved.