Limiting My House Search

Sometimes it's so frustrating to be in a transition phase....all I want to do is buy a house for my family and we are far from being in the ideal position to buy one. That last house that I showed you sold for $125,500 on October 28th. It's hard not to play a "what if" game with myself because my husband and I have been through so much in the last few years and if we had realized where our life would take us, we surely would have changed how we spent and saved our money so buying a home would be possible when he gets out of the Marine Corps next year.

I know I shouldn't be envious of homeowners because owning a home isn't always a nice little dream especially when you find out problems due to faulty construction and prior owners who cut corners on renovations. I, however, have pretty much wanted my own home my entire life. Since we have decided to put military life behind us, I want our daughter to grow up in one home and have all those memories of living in one place, having a large group of friends, and having a place that my husband and I can age into instead of having to sell when age related health concerns limit our mobility.

As we were discussing homes recently, I decided to reign in our neighborhoods of interest. I have considered my husband's interest in Gilbert since it's an area he's familiar with and my desire to have proximity to good schools and our shared desire to be close to his parents. He wants to stay above the 202, which works for me since he doesn't desire to live close to the reservation or have our daughter attend school down in the Coolidge area. The neighborhood I am most interested in has six homes that are all fairly similar and range in price from $114,900 to $137, 888. The home I'm most interested is one that I've already posted here on the blog. It's on the "Homes at the Lower End of our Price Range" post for $125,000 (4 bed, 2 bath) with the split floor plan. It was listed back in July so I know I shouldn't get emotionally attached to it since it's likely to sell before we're able to buy. I know we'll be done paying off our other debts as late as 2014 and earlier if I can find a good job after graduating. I am almost done with college, which is a nice thought, but now I have to battle every other person out there looking for a job in a depressed economy. Wish me luck!

Potentionally a Contender

So....I found a home and I think it could be "the one" for us. I have since passed the information for said named house to my mother-in-law who will take a look at it for us. Now, I know what you're all thinking, I keep talking on and on about how we're not financially in the market for a home but I'm working on getting to that point. I was crunching some numbers and if we can get a certain number of debts out of the way within say six months we just might be able to get this house. I know some of you, in particularly current homeowners, are probably laughing (maybe inside your head) that a home isn't just going to sit on the market for six months. Well this one has been on the market for 387 days already. I don't know if there are any major issues with it or maybe people down there are skeptical of getting into a short sale and having to wait months on end for said named home. I, however, am willing to believe it's the latter because from the images you'll see below the home seems to be builder grade quality and the current owner has not done any upgrades (not evening painting the walls)!

My big "push" for trying to get into this home now rather than later has much to do with my husband departing the Marine Corps. I know with him serving eight years it puts us in a better position on paper to qualify for a loan than if we wait until he gets out and I'm the only one putting relatively new income (once I find a job) into a house hunt. I know many banks will also see me as not being a good enough source with a fresh job and no "steady" income on his side since he'll be going to school and will get G.I. Benefits that don't receive the same value when looking for a home.

After scouring many properties online and debating between one story and two, 1,800 to 2,00 sq. ft, three bedrooms versus four, I have compromised on our list of home attributes to come up with this property fitting us best. Anyways, I won't keep you long today so here's what I hope can be our future home.

Gilbert, AZ
3 bedroom, 2.5 bath, two story, two car garage
$110,000 1,879 st ft home
3,825 sq ft lot

What My Kitchen Will NOT Be

The kitchen is the heart of my home (I know it's a cliche but for me it fits) but in my current home, it's anything but heartwarming. It's a real quick, fast fix kind of mess that irritates me every time I think about it. The cheap (cleverly left out word) landlord of mine really did a number putting in some low grade fixes and put things all backwards. For example, when you look at the photos the dishwasher is now located where the refrigerator used to be who knows how long ago. Not only is the dishwasher not located conveniently next to the sink, this area is now a big gaping hole in my kitchen. It's like looking at the big space between Condelezza Rice's teeth. She may be perfectly fine with her "imperfections" and more power to her, but this eyesore grates on me. My landlord obviously has no idea how to create an efficient and attractive work triangle in the kitchen, but he's pretty good at bungling up the entire kitchen layout.

Here's some other things that drive me crazy about it:
-windows that don't seal properly and are old and worn out
-There is no backsplach (anywhere)
-The fridge is now located by the doorway and with the kitchen cart in the kitchen if the fridge is open, it blocks the entrance into the kitchen
-lack of counterspace
-minimal natural light
-galley style (this only works well if the kitchen is larger than mine, in my opinion)
-lack of cupboard space/sufficient pantry
-ugly faux rope woodwork on cupboards
-"Barbie Doll" sink...dubbed this name by my in-laws because it's so shallow you can barley put any dishes in there
-low faucet, which causes water to splash while washing dishes
-closed off to the rest of the house
-track lighting...it's ugly and outdated
-linoleum floors...I don't like linoleum

So here's some photos of our kitchen. I do think it's a sufficient space for a family that doesn't entertain or cooks simple meals, neither of which describes my lifestyle.

Look at this sad window Skinny isn't a good thing to when it comes to a
kitchen




See how the fridge blocks everything when it's open...grr
This window leaks the most in our
home



Open Pantry Closed Pantry



My tiny little lazy susan drawer

Outdoor Spaces

I've mentioned a lot about interior design and what I love about houses, but I haven't yet mentioned what I want the outdoor space to look like in our future home. We haven't completely figured things out because a lot will be dependent on the size of the space, any HOA issues, and the layout of the yard. There are a few things we are considered however and they are as follows:

-an outdoor kitchen/entertaining space
-artificial turf (because we are not the kind of people who find enjoyment in mowing a lawn)
-xeriscaping (if we are going to live in Arizona, I don't want to spend a ton of money keeping plants alive)
-a reasonably sized pool (I'd like a salt water pool) and/or spa (either would be in-ground)
-possibly a Trek deck (I love that they are made out of composite recycled materials)

Cape Aloe Jacaranda tree

Eucalyptus
Desert Willow

The Lower End of the Budget Home

Thomas decided to show me homes that were on the super low part of the spectrum (think $99,000) and I wasn't particularly crazy about them so I went back and found homes in the middle of our future price range. The house listed below is one that we could both agree on; although it's not as big as I would like, I know that the open layout makes it something that would live "larger" than it appears. Right now it seems really small (visually) because the photos show the over sized furniture that is in the rooms.

Here's the details:

Gilbert, AZ home
-4 bed, 2 bath home for $125,000 (1,525sq ft)
-Built in 2002, split floor plan single story with fruit trees in backyard

Homes in Arizona

As you all know me, I am constantly on a "house hunt" even though I'm not currently looking to a buy a home. We are looking at options down in Arizona since that is our target area once Thomas is out of the Marine Corps. So far, these are the options that I like best. If we can find something similar to these homes I'd be pretty happy purchasing a preexisting home than having us build our Mediterranean dream home. I think we'd be able to save money going this route and then could upgrade the home as our budget allows. The factors we'd most like in a home and the land it's on are three bedrooms, two bathrooms, sizable kitchen, and located on a corner lot. We don't mind builder grade since we'd be able to put in all the touches we want and aren't paying for those items in the purchase price. So here's the options:

Home One
4 bed, 2 bath (2,171 sq. ft, built in 2003)
-$163,900 (builder grade everything located on a corner lot)

Home 2
4 bed, 2.5 bath (2,933 sq ft built in 2005)
$176,000 (3 car garage, corner lot, Spanish style home with artificial grass)

Home 3
4 bed, 2 bath (1,833 sq. ft built in 1998)
$175,000 (mostly builder grade, amazing curb appeal, cactus in front yard, tankless water heater)

Home 4
4 bed, 3 bath (2,562 sq. ft built in 2006)
$176,000 (3 car garage, St.Barbara/Tuscan front, walnut cabinets)

So this is how I've been spending my free time. We have considered that any home we do buy we'd like to update the kitchen right away and then do the other rooms as time and money permits. I think one big room or two small rooms a year would be very doable and that way we can see how the house fits our needs. We have also considered updating any backyard with a patio/deck, probably a pool, and some xeriscaping and artificial turf.

The Dining Room

(the middle color-Benjamin Moore Castledon Mist)

So I've been thinking (well before starting this blog) about a logical way to tackle this project but I've realized the order doesn't matter. Honestly, I've just had to find items I like and work my way around from there. I'm a very disorganized planner who likes organized space, if that makes any sense. Here's some of the items I've been looking over recently for the dining room space.

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-Ceyland Tufted Back Dining Chair $229 (sale $179)--Homedecorators.com

(six chairs=$1,374 or $1,074 (on sale))

-Pedestal Salvaged Wood Round Table 60" $1,995 (sale $1,795)--Restorationhardware.com

-Fez Autum Rug 3'3" by 9'10" $107.88--Flor.com

-Minka Lavery Raiden 6 Light Chandelier $459.90--Lightinguniverse.com

-Benjamin Moore paint (Castledon Mist)

The New Dream Home Plan

I originally posted another plan to my Facebook page but after some consideration my husband and I realized that it wasn't really our dream home. We spend more time in our kitchen than we honestly should and the other plan had a tiny kitchen like the one we currently use. As well, we have no need for a gigantic bonus room; we need a place with rooms that will be used all the time. Why waste our efforts with a "catch all" room that many homes utilize? As we've seen these often sought after rooms end up being repositories for every random item that doesn't find a home in other rooms and so it becomes the "clutter room". I don't know about you but I don't want a clutter room. I want a peaceful, well organized house that has the visual appeal of a model home. Here's the new home anyways. I know it's a little hard to see but it's a 2,500 sq foot single level with three bedrooms, a den, an open kitchen with a breakfast bar and the layout utilizes a couple of interior archways which I think helps gives the different areas the feeling of being different "wings" to the home. You can click on the floorplan to see a better view of the individual rooms.

I plan on posting images of the furniture and home accessories I would like to use to decorate. This blog is going to be my fun reprieve from being a stay-at-home mom because let's be honest, this dream is going to take awhile to become a reality. However, why not have a little fun with it? I think I'll post each and every fun little item that I find along the way that I like and see how much it all would cost. Then I can evaluate just how realistic my dream home is and show off my decorating tastes. I welcome plenty of positive comments; I love everyone's insights but I hope to avoid hearing how expensive some of these items might be. I have expensive taste when it comes to some things and I don't mind. I'm not looking to salvage every little thrift store item because some things make me cringe because I have no idea how the previous owner may have treated those items. There will also be inexpensive items too because there's some things in this world that aren't worth spending tons of money on because they sustain enough use that inexpensive is the way to go. I hope to post some of the cute little home good items I've had my eye on here soon. As well, since I know I'll get this reaction, I know all these items might not always be available. However, my intent is to showcase the sort of items I like because I do know that interior decorating styles tend to be go in cycles like almost everything else in this world.