House hunting

[cinmell]

Well, we've been looking for a house for about two months now and still nothing. We've seen 22 houses with one possibility. I did find out while looking at one house that I'm allergic to cats. Within five minutes of being in the house my throat felt like it was going to close, my eyes were watery and itchy, my nose was itchy and I couldn't stop sneezing. They had a white cat with long hair and I couldn't get out quick enough. We don't have pets but I've been around them in the past but never had this reaction before. There was white long cat hair all over the cushions, rugs, etc.

I've also found out that people don't like to keep their houses clean. I like a clean house, especially if we are expecting people to come over. Obviously not the case for people out there. They know people have appts. to see their house or that they are having an open house, why not make it look neat? Anyway, I hope this ends soon and I'd like to be in a new home by Christmas!

 

[Pop Daddy]

dirty houses show so much more character

 

[Lynn CC]

Have you ever watched House Hunters on HGTV?
They give you a lot of tips on how to find the perfect house. It's on weeknights, 7:30 pm Eastern Time.

Good Luck with your search!

 

[cinmell]

Originally posted by Pop Daddy
dirty houses show so much more character

Well then, I've seen A LOT of character .

Lynne,
I've never heard of that show. Thanks for the tip.

 

[mtemm]

ugh, isn't it a pain? What should be a somewhat fun experience isn't always. We finally settled on a house because in the area we were looking there was just nothing on the market. We liked the neighborhood and the town, but the interior of the house needs a lot of work. I wish we could have built, a lot of that going on, but time wise it just wasn't going to work for us. I still think maybe somehow we could have swung it, but hey, we close this week so I just have to make my to-do lists on the one we bought.

This is our third house. I'll never forget how depressing our first house hunting experience was. Our budget wasn't very high and we were seeing a lot of dumps. But some were small but very clean and well kept...that was nice. But the second house we looked at was filthy. I'm talking I smelled like a mens room that had never been cleaned. Then we went into one bedroom and there was porn all over the walls. I'm talking graphic, oh my god stuff, plastered everywhere. Thank god I was only pregnant and didn't have a young child with me!

One of the houses we looked at this time around was filthy. That and the people were there. I just can't look at a house with the people in it. Of course, the multitude of Jack Daniels bottles laying around and filth strewn everywhere didn't help in this case, either.

Some people just don't get it. My house was always spotless when we had it for sale.

Good luck! I hope it gets better!!!

 

[cinmell]

Originally posted by mtemm
\But the second house we looked at was filthy. I'm talking I smelled like a mens room that had never been cleaned. Then we went into one bedroom and there was porn all over the walls. I'm talking graphic, oh my god stuff, plastered everywhere.

Are you serious? You would think the realtor would have told them or at the very least advised them to take it down. My husband's coworker was selling her home and the realtor wouldn't show it until they had repositioned the furniture the way she wanted it, I don't think that realtor would have touched the house with the porn!

 

[jamsmom]

When Jim and I were looking, we looked and looked and looked.....now I may be looking solo. What I will be able to afford makes me scared of what I may see after reading this thread!!!

 

[disykat]

We ran into this stuff too - I even found out I was allergic to cats the same way! We've been through it twice and both times we ended up with a great house about the time we thought we'd never find one. You'll find it - it's out there!

 

[mtemm]

Originally posted by cinmell
Are you serious? You would think the realtor would have told them or at the very least advised them to take it down. My husband's coworker was selling her home and the realtor wouldn't show it until they had repositioned the furniture the way she wanted it, I don't think that realtor would have touched the house with the porn!

absolutely one hundred percent true story. I was completely peeved at my own realtor because she wasn't phased at all by it. Not for nothing, but I was surprised she didn't say anything about it, and brushed it off when I did. Who knows, maybe she did contact the sellers agent though and let them know.

There is a great show on now called Sell This House. Wish we had seen it when we put ours on the market! Basically a team of "experts" spend a couple of days an under $500 or thereabouts to make a home more saleable. Some of the homes start out so cluttered and horribly painted. They always make them very neutral so that buyers can envision themselves at home there.

 

[Beauty]

We were really lucky, the first house we looked at was perfect! It was not clean...they had VCR tapes everywhere and dust everywhere but we looked at what was under all of that. We went on to look at about 10 more houses but came back to the very first one!

Good luck! Oh and House Hunters is such a good show! I watch it on Tuesdays and Thursdays...they show you everything from very inexpensive small homes to large gorgeous homes!