House Hunting

Chris and I started house hunting about a year ago. We were comfortable in our two bedroom townhouse condo in north Austin, but we knew that in the next few years we would start to outgrow it. We thought it would be better to buy another place sooner than later since interest rates were so low and also because it would be good to take care of renovations before getting pregnant. Also, we were getting increasingly dissatisfied with the property management for our condo community’s HOA and thought it would be best to sell and move on (avoid Pioneer and Paul Meisler - contact me if you want reasons why). Unfortunately our home search dragged on for quite awhile since everything within our price range was either too small, too far away from things, too rundown, or in too undesirable of a neighborhood. Luckily our realtor was super encouraging about us taking our time as he put up with our super tight search constraints and our endless changes in what we wanted. In fact, if you ever need a realtor in Austin, I highly recommend Yusuf Johnson.

We actually met Yusuf and got to be friends with him long before we even thought about moving, but it would be hard not to befriend this guy. He’s just so genuinely warm and personable. But on top of that, he’s very good at what he does. I was amazed at how low-stress and low-pressure the whole process ended up being for us. Also, he was super accommodating of our busy schedules and last minute plans. Before I get too carried away in raving about him though, let me tell you about our search.

The biggest problem Chris and I ran into was that we wanted to live in a cute neighborhood near central Austin, but we also wanted a suburb-sized family house (4 bedrooms + loft+ study + open floorplan + garage). Unfortunately, all of the homes that fit that criteria cost at least three to four times more than what we were willing to spend. It didn’t help that we also wanted to be near a park or a trail and in a good school system. Time and time again we got frustrated with the search, finding that the only places we could afford required absurdly expensive renovations. And even then, most of them lacked the open floor plan I wanted since they were built back when boxy homes were the norm. Before I got pregnant, we almost put an offer in on a home in Oak Knoll, but didn’t follow through after we realized that the immediate upgrades the home needed would cost more than what we had in savings. Every few months we’d throw in the towel and drive up to Avery Ranch to talk to the builders there about custom homes. But with each time we visited Round Rock, we just got that much more frustrated because the base prices were so inflated. On top of that, we knew that with anything we got custom built, we wouldn’t see a return on for a very long time since builders in that area can offer way more incentives than an owner trying to sell. And the new construction in that area isn’t going to stop anytime soon.

June 23, 2012: Chris and I decided to pick out a lot in Avery Ranch. Yes it wasn’t ideal, but it seemed like the only remaining option. All of the houses in Oak Knoll that we’d been looking at for the past year needed a LOT of work. Everything a reasonable distance from work and downtown was also in the same shape. Now that I was pregnant, it was really important that we get a newer home since I was in no condition to be working on major home renovations. Unfortunately the Avery Ranch development we liked best had starting prices that were unreasonably high, so we went down the road to a less expensive development and started looking at lots with no backyard neighbors. We thought we had an okay lot picked out, but we soon realized that we wouldn’t be walking distance to a park or trail. The only reason we initially considered living in a subdivision like this was to have easy access to a community pool or some area where you could meet other young families. But because this location didn’t have any of those things, on top of being a needlessly far drive from central Austin, we sadly admitted that this just wasn’t going to cut it.

That afternoon when we got home, I declared that it was over. I said to Chris that we’d have to stay put to raise the baby because what we wanted didn’t exist. I was sick of looking and was tired of wasting our time. I also couldn’t stop stressing over the fact that our condo was worth much less than what we paid in 2007 before the housing market crashed. We would have to pay a large difference to the bank if we were to sell it. As I fumed about the situation, Chris got back online and resumed browsing Redfin. I thought it was pointless, but within minutes, he said he found our new house.  When he talked about it, it sounded too good to be true. It was a brand new construction in Wells Branch, just the right size and price, located less than 2 miles from our condo.  It backed up to a 5 mile running trail and was less than a block from the community center, pool, playground, and sports fields. The mortgage would be something we could handle on one salary if I needed to stop working, and we wouldn’t ever have to be house poor. On top of that, it only added a minute or two in drive time to the places we frequently went to.

We went to see the house the first thing the next morning and Yusuf told us that unfortunately there were already two other offers pending on this house. The realtors were going to review the offers that day, but Yusuf asked for them to wait until we had visited the home. Just minutes after we walked around the place, we were sure that this was the only home that could work for us. We told Yusuf that we were ready to bid and he asked us countless times if we were sure. We were.

Over the course of that very same day, Yusuf got everything set up for us. We decided to bid over the asking price so we’d have a better shot at getting the house. In a whirlwind of emails, pdf contracts with digital signatures, and cell phone pictures of checks, we had submitted the offer without leaving our house. That very night, Yusuf called and let us know that our offer was the one that was accepted. The closing date was set for July 25. We were in disbelief! Just the day before, I was convinced that we wouldn’t find a place. And now, less than 24 hours after initially seeing the listing online, we had a closing date! We were excited that we would be moving in a month, but also a bit concerned because that would leave a very short amount of time to figure out what exactly to do with the condo!

More details on the new house and the old condo to follow…