we've found quite a few we've really liked. they're mostly all sold to other people now. i cried over a couple of them. it's kinda difficult because we needs a 3 bedroom minimum, and either a garage/carport, or land space. and preferrably some legal leeway to expand in the future (either up or out). casey is moving his woodshop out here and we need space to set it up - hence the need for a garage. garages aren't all too common out here ...
anyways, i figured i should be documenting this lengthy experience. introducing the past 4 months of our possible, future homes:
the first
in kahuku. the home of a friend's parents. GORGEOUS!
our budget was quite a bit under their asking price and i felt bad offering that little too people i know. and something else a little cheaper came up around the same time (see "the second), so we went after the latter and tried to forget the former. in the end, the first, this house, sold for the amount we were originally intending to offer ... quite a low blow. the best part - my friend's parents didn't lose any money because of some deal they had with prudential realty ... YAY!
the second
in kailua. this house was our favorite. this is the one i cried about. 3 bed 3 bath with a detached studio and 2 car garage, plus a yard and plenty of parking space.
<-- this is the studio
the third
here in hau'ula. i was never that crazy about this one. it's laid out really weird .... when they expanded/added on, they really did a doozy to it. BUT it had the garage and a gorgeous HUGE back yard, and potential.
no offers on it until the day we offered ... awesome. so we were in an "offer battle" which we lost, it seems, because we're young and mormon ?? weird. not legal. oh well.
the fourth
in laie. this one is definitely one of my favorites. there's also definitely something fishy going on with it. 3 bed 2 bath with room to add a garage. HUGE back yard. in LAIE ... hello! PERFECT! sidewalks ... i haven't walked on sidewalks in YEARS.
the first offer we made the realtor didn't even send to the seller because she was feeling "overwhelmed" because she had 5 other offers on the table. oh, but she didn't tell us she had other offers, she just emailed and said, "no". so our blessed realtor nagged her and found our about the other offers, and we decided to submit another offer. ABOVE ASKING PRICE ... because yes, this house is THAT good.
but someone else offered to buy BOTH of the sellers houses (because he happened to be selling this house and another right next to it at the same time) so of course they got it. BUT, and it's a big but, it's still for sale. yep. they didn't accept the offer they told us they accepted ... weird. probably some sort of real estate scam going on up in there.
the fifth
here in hau'ula again. this one's a fixer upper BIG TIME. like holes in the walls, messed up flooring, outside needs to be redone, etc. etc. etc. fixer-upper. 6 bed 3 bath. lots of land. we're excited because we can make it our own. and we did in fact measure the house out and draw up plans to make it our own ... 4 bed 3 bath with a laundry room and a nice master bedroom. with an open 30x30 living/kitchen nook area.
we offered, they said yes to price but counter offered some smaller things: earnest money, inspection fees, etc. we agreed to the majority of their counter offer terms and they wrote back saying, "oh, oops, we didn't mean to accept the offer in the first place. please submit a new offer." WHAT THE .... ??!! you didn't mean to accept the offer??! oh, just a little oops i guess.
the thing is noone else is offering on this. they want WAY to much for it and our offer was quite reasonable considering how much work needs to be done. so we might offer again ... we're undecided.
the fifth b
hau'ula again. this one doesn't deserve it's own number because we're not actively pursuing it .. yet. it's amazing. too amazing really. two separate units (two stories - each floor has a kitchen) 3/2 on top and 2/1 on bottom. the thing is it's in-between ownership and foreclosure or something. basically it's not actually on the market, and the seller would have to do a lot of paperwork to put it on the market, so it would take months.
but it's gorgeous and amazing and i think i would pee myself it we ever actually got it. (ha. yeah right.)
so that's what i've been up to and why i'm probably not the most pleasant person to be around lately. i'm always thinking about house and worrying about offers and counter-offers and searching for a future home for our little bit of heaven on earth AKA family.
14 comments:
Man, what a hunt! We have just been looking casually, but I guess if we really want to buy something we will have to get a little more serious! Good luck, and keep us posted!
Wow what a story! That's crazy all the back and forth you've had to deal with. I hope it works out for you soon.
BTW- Those homes are GORGEOUS!!!
Wow those homes looks amazing. Tell you what after buying a home i NEVER EVER want to do it again. such a pain, with the realtor thingy and communication is a joke. I think you should all just sit in a room hammer out the price and get it over with done deal or no deal in one day. NOPE they drag it all out for months. Anyway good luck, I guess its worth it in the end, but now I am so OVER i mean so OVER, fixing up this house. I just want to sit back and relax in a lawn chair
oh geez. house buying + hawaii just sounds like a headache. I can't imagine the run around you must be getting at times.
GOOD LUCK! I WISH aaron and I were anywhere near buying a house here....I'm jealous!
How fun!! I mean I'm sure it's a lot of work but it looks really fun! The houses look great! Looks like you have found the best picks around!
Good luck with it all! :) Excited to see more!
i think it will happen when you least expect it, stef. but i am sure that things will work out for you guys. and i cannot wait to see it when it happens!
man! i cant believe that someone i actually KNOW and talk to is doing something so grown up and cool!!!! i feel like we were in a similar boat a year ago and i guess it was good it didnt work out for us since the job got all messed up- but i know the back and forth drama and it can be SO HARD because you get all invested and you picture YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR LIFE and how can you not get emotional??? anyway, i hope something great ends up working out- i know it will!
yuck. reality in hawaii sucks. it just does. sorry about all the crap, that is so annoying! we have been doing some of the same things and looking at some of the same places and it's just annoying. i don't even like to look at stuff for it, although now is the time right? ugh.
good luck sista. i feel for ya and hope something will work itself out for you guys soon!
good luck finding a home. I hope to be at that point soon...
The home are beautiful!
Hi,
I found our blog through Megs. THanks so much for separating the veggies! Maybe we can trade off separating every couple of weeks... and trade off with the paying in full if you want! Thanks again! :)
Jonna
wow!! Good on you guys!! I would love to buy a home in hawaii. Maybe in 4 years. GOOD LUCK!! All gorgeous homes.
whoever said buying a house was fun was on some serious stuff! good luck!
everyone is buying houses. what a crazy thing to do! and, esp in hawaii! sounds like a headache, but i know you will land a sweet one! :D
how cool would it be if you lived down our street! it really is an awesome house. all of them look great. i hope it works out for you guys. i bet it is such a pain. but you seem to have a great attitude about it. keep it up. it will happen.
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