Mr Young, speaking as exactly the kind of person you’re looking for (renter looking to buy, enough cash to pay down a sizeable deposit etc)…..here’s some thoughts:
Yes, its custom.
But, for me and my husband its too big. We’d rattle around in that place like peas in a drum. We’d probalby be more happy in the 3-car garage!
Wierdly enough, I’ve never been one of these people that equates new with better. Over here in earthquake-prone LA, older is often better – at least you know the house stood up to temblors.
No knowing what’s going to happen to a new place when The Big One comes..
And, custom for whom? Custom implies that it was built for a particular person/family. Custom for them, but not ‘custom’ for me.
How much does it cost to heat/cool?
Granite countertops are lovely, but if I’m paying their replacement value every month in power bills then all the granite countertops in the world aren’t going to help.
I’d relocate in a hearbeat if I could find a city that has the kinds of jobs we do. Unfortunately, we’re both in the Games/Film/Postproduction business, and we live here because that’s where the jobs are.
How far would we need to travel to jobs (assuming they exist at all) of the kind we both do now? This is isn’t taking into acount the considerable paycut we’d expect by moving away from the West Coast, making your home even less affordable.
How near are the stores? Do I need a car to go and buy a quart of milk?
Explain to me how your house is better than a comparable house in South San Fernando Valley (Encino, Sherman Oaks, etc..), where prices are already steadying (and in some cases droppping) and we can commute to work in less than 30 minutes? And still see our friends and relatives?
Sorry, don’t mean to be cross, but I feel I’m being taken for a Greater Fool.