So house-hunting is not really as much fun as I thought it would be. I wasn’t exactly glamorizing the process, but I didn’t expect it to be as stressful as it is. It isn’t the process that’s distressing per se as much as it is the price tag.
Here’s a quick overview for you non-scouting/non-Bay Area folk: a “moderate” 3 bedroom, 2 bath home on the Peninsula of North California (or specifically Belmont, San Carlos, San Mateo area) ranges anywhere from the high $700 Ks to $1.2M (yep you read that right). Now the 700 K homes come typically w/ small rooms, needing a fair amount of repair or renovation, or are simply not in an area you’d want to live in. On the high end, it’s just not something I can swallow too easily. A $1.2M home!!! Do you know what the property taxes are on that alone?
And hence the stress – I feel like you have to make a decision moderately quickly. Bids are taken as they come in, not on a specific date, so I feel like you have to make your mind up fast. It’s kinda scary, especially in the beginning of a search because you don’t really know what’s out there and how to compare. Now, from those of you that know me, you know I like to make decisions fast and I’m generally an impatient. This should be an easy thing for me. Sadly, “No!” You have to make a quick call, but not so quick such that you overlook important details… especially when you’re committing entering into such an obscene loan.
Last week was our first official week of looking. I had house dreams for the first three nights and I’ll just say that I didn’t wake up especially rested or in a good mood the next morning. Tomorrow will be formal Open House day #2. Lets hope the recovery from this one will be faster 
Now, I am discovering an interesting side effect: I’ve grown to despise the show “House Hunters” on the Design Network. Shane loves that show (or at least likes it a fair amount since he records every episode). I don’t hate it because of it’s poor performances, but rather for the homes that people buy. We’re talking brand-new, 5 bedroom mansions for under 500K. I WANT that!!!! I’m honestly starting to consider buying one of those and then purchasing a helicopter. The running cost to and from work would probably be no more than the full loan for a house here, right?
So we move on. We have a good agent, which helps a lot. Wish us luck!
