[quote=applejack]Thanks for all of the comments! Regarding my personal feelings towards the house — well, initially I liked it. Then I started to think about all of the impractical things about it, mainly the layout and the schools in the neighborhood. Also, the finishes in the house aren’t “perfect”. (Meaning, eventually I would like to redo the bathrooms and paint the house and change the trim.) My husband never thinks about the practical side of things, lol! My husband really loves the house. My family feels that it is really expensive, and they don’t see the appeal of living in the urban neighborhoods. They think we could get more for our money and find a more practical house in the suburbs. I was really shocked when my family had the negative reaction to the house. I thought they would walk in and be really excited about the “uniqueness” of the house, but instead they were opnely negative and it really shook my confidence. The problem is that I don’t know what I want anymore, I am sick of thinking about house buying and want to focus on getting this baby out and into the world![/quote]
applejack, I understand that you need to focus on the impending birth of your baby right now and that is what you should do.
You state you liked it until your family interjected their opinions and your spouse loves it. However, you will be living there with your spouse and not your family, I presume? The items that you want to redo are not very big projects, in the big scheme of things. Owning property and living in an area such as Hawley Ave is truly something to be proud of.
Is your family aware of how much Mello-Roos bonds cost in newer construction tracts? Some, especially in tracts with $650K and up properties, can be exorbitant ($5K or more per year) on top of your property tax. These bonds last from 25-40 years, depending on when the tract was built and how many years are left to pay it. When you add these bonds to the cost of an outlying suburban or exurban newer home, it adds a SUBSTANTIAL amount to your purchase price.
You stated you opened other recent escrows which did not close. Was it because you decided you didn’t want to buy the property or your spouse didn’t want to buy it . . . or was it because of defects in the property?
Is there any possible way you can increase your contingency period for Hawley Ave 2-4 more weeks by stating you need to bring other inspector(s) out, just to buy some time to have the baby?
