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MANmom
ParticipantThere is a good guy at ERA in PQ, his name is Jim Smith. I know him personally, although I did not use him. I used to be an appraiser, in my purchase, I basically did my own homework-found the house, went to the open house, researched everything, and my mortgage guy who is also a broker did all the paperwork (and gave me a rebate on 1/2 his commission for additional down payment). sdmove, there are some bargains in PQ, right now the interest rates are so low, you might be surprised at how much you can afford. Have you gotten pre-approved for a loan? That might help you in your decision. I simply went to SDlookup.com, I would look every day, that is where you can see “today’s changes” on the list after you input the zip code. You can see what comes on the market daily. If I really wanted to see a house, I would call my broker or the listing agent directly and go and see it. We did go to open houses, but in hot markets, the houses have several offers by the time you go to the open house. If you see a property you like you have to be ready to go. We put in offers on only two houses, one was a foreclosure, and the one we bought. The foreclosure sold for $30,000 more than we offered, it had some issues, so I wasn’t too upset. It needed at least $30,000 worth of work. This house we happened to know the owners, so we didn’t want to insult them, but we did offer the lowest end of the range and had a list of repairs to be done prior to us taking it. It is hard buying from an aquaintance that you know when they are in financial trouble. I am able to seperate business from friendship, I don’t really know if they were, but that is not my concern. They have avoided us since…
Yes, it is a big house, we have three kids, and may have to take in grandparents soon. I also teach music in my house and am an artist, so I needed a big studio. I have converted the living room into an art studio/teaching space, it works great. No one ever uses a living room anyway when there is a big family room. I rented a house once from a Chinese man, he always said “biggest room in house, no one ever go there…strange American custom!”.
ParticipantThere is a good guy at ERA in PQ, his name is Jim Smith. I know him personally, although I did not use him. I used to be an appraiser, in my purchase, I basically did my own homework-found the house, went to the open house, researched everything, and my mortgage guy who is also a broker did all the paperwork (and gave me a rebate on 1/2 his commission for additional down payment). sdmove, there are some bargains in PQ, right now the interest rates are so low, you might be surprised at how much you can afford. Have you gotten pre-approved for a loan? That might help you in your decision. I simply went to SDlookup.com, I would look every day, that is where you can see “today’s changes” on the list after you input the zip code. You can see what comes on the market daily. If I really wanted to see a house, I would call my broker or the listing agent directly and go and see it. We did go to open houses, but in hot markets, the houses have several offers by the time you go to the open house. If you see a property you like you have to be ready to go. We put in offers on only two houses, one was a foreclosure, and the one we bought. The foreclosure sold for $30,000 more than we offered, it had some issues, so I wasn’t too upset. It needed at least $30,000 worth of work. This house we happened to know the owners, so we didn’t want to insult them, but we did offer the lowest end of the range and had a list of repairs to be done prior to us taking it. It is hard buying from an aquaintance that you know when they are in financial trouble. I am able to seperate business from friendship, I don’t really know if they were, but that is not my concern. They have avoided us since…
Yes, it is a big house, we have three kids, and may have to take in grandparents soon. I also teach music in my house and am an artist, so I needed a big studio. I have converted the living room into an art studio/teaching space, it works great. No one ever uses a living room anyway when there is a big family room. I rented a house once from a Chinese man, he always said “biggest room in house, no one ever go there…strange American custom!”.
ParticipantThere is a good guy at ERA in PQ, his name is Jim Smith. I know him personally, although I did not use him. I used to be an appraiser, in my purchase, I basically did my own homework-found the house, went to the open house, researched everything, and my mortgage guy who is also a broker did all the paperwork (and gave me a rebate on 1/2 his commission for additional down payment). sdmove, there are some bargains in PQ, right now the interest rates are so low, you might be surprised at how much you can afford. Have you gotten pre-approved for a loan? That might help you in your decision. I simply went to SDlookup.com, I would look every day, that is where you can see “today’s changes” on the list after you input the zip code. You can see what comes on the market daily. If I really wanted to see a house, I would call my broker or the listing agent directly and go and see it. We did go to open houses, but in hot markets, the houses have several offers by the time you go to the open house. If you see a property you like you have to be ready to go. We put in offers on only two houses, one was a foreclosure, and the one we bought. The foreclosure sold for $30,000 more than we offered, it had some issues, so I wasn’t too upset. It needed at least $30,000 worth of work. This house we happened to know the owners, so we didn’t want to insult them, but we did offer the lowest end of the range and had a list of repairs to be done prior to us taking it. It is hard buying from an aquaintance that you know when they are in financial trouble. I am able to seperate business from friendship, I don’t really know if they were, but that is not my concern. They have avoided us since…
Yes, it is a big house, we have three kids, and may have to take in grandparents soon. I also teach music in my house and am an artist, so I needed a big studio. I have converted the living room into an art studio/teaching space, it works great. No one ever uses a living room anyway when there is a big family room. I rented a house once from a Chinese man, he always said “biggest room in house, no one ever go there…strange American custom!”.
ParticipantThere is a good guy at ERA in PQ, his name is Jim Smith. I know him personally, although I did not use him. I used to be an appraiser, in my purchase, I basically did my own homework-found the house, went to the open house, researched everything, and my mortgage guy who is also a broker did all the paperwork (and gave me a rebate on 1/2 his commission for additional down payment). sdmove, there are some bargains in PQ, right now the interest rates are so low, you might be surprised at how much you can afford. Have you gotten pre-approved for a loan? That might help you in your decision. I simply went to SDlookup.com, I would look every day, that is where you can see “today’s changes” on the list after you input the zip code. You can see what comes on the market daily. If I really wanted to see a house, I would call my broker or the listing agent directly and go and see it. We did go to open houses, but in hot markets, the houses have several offers by the time you go to the open house. If you see a property you like you have to be ready to go. We put in offers on only two houses, one was a foreclosure, and the one we bought. The foreclosure sold for $30,000 more than we offered, it had some issues, so I wasn’t too upset. It needed at least $30,000 worth of work. This house we happened to know the owners, so we didn’t want to insult them, but we did offer the lowest end of the range and had a list of repairs to be done prior to us taking it. It is hard buying from an aquaintance that you know when they are in financial trouble. I am able to seperate business from friendship, I don’t really know if they were, but that is not my concern. They have avoided us since…
Yes, it is a big house, we have three kids, and may have to take in grandparents soon. I also teach music in my house and am an artist, so I needed a big studio. I have converted the living room into an art studio/teaching space, it works great. No one ever uses a living room anyway when there is a big family room. I rented a house once from a Chinese man, he always said “biggest room in house, no one ever go there…strange American custom!”.
ParticipantNo REO, owners were in financial trouble and downsized. It is 3831 sf., the previous owners didn’t take care of anything…I replaced three of four flappers on toilets-how can they stand toilets running all day??? Replaced kitchen faucet, repairs galore, but none were huge. A little paint, wallpaper teardown, we are almost there. We are at the end of Carmel Mountain Road, a place called Villa Panacea, and yes, NO homeowners! Some of the homes back to the freeway, ours is one of the farthest from the freeway, but you can still faintly hear the freeway, especially when it is clear and the Santa Anas are blowing. Other than that, it is barely noticeable. We accepted that fact due to the large lot, large house, ammenities, and High Schools…my kids all go to Westview, so we needed a house in this district. We love it more every day, which is what you want in a home purchase. Great house, great area.=)
ParticipantNo REO, owners were in financial trouble and downsized. It is 3831 sf., the previous owners didn’t take care of anything…I replaced three of four flappers on toilets-how can they stand toilets running all day??? Replaced kitchen faucet, repairs galore, but none were huge. A little paint, wallpaper teardown, we are almost there. We are at the end of Carmel Mountain Road, a place called Villa Panacea, and yes, NO homeowners! Some of the homes back to the freeway, ours is one of the farthest from the freeway, but you can still faintly hear the freeway, especially when it is clear and the Santa Anas are blowing. Other than that, it is barely noticeable. We accepted that fact due to the large lot, large house, ammenities, and High Schools…my kids all go to Westview, so we needed a house in this district. We love it more every day, which is what you want in a home purchase. Great house, great area.=)
ParticipantNo REO, owners were in financial trouble and downsized. It is 3831 sf., the previous owners didn’t take care of anything…I replaced three of four flappers on toilets-how can they stand toilets running all day??? Replaced kitchen faucet, repairs galore, but none were huge. A little paint, wallpaper teardown, we are almost there. We are at the end of Carmel Mountain Road, a place called Villa Panacea, and yes, NO homeowners! Some of the homes back to the freeway, ours is one of the farthest from the freeway, but you can still faintly hear the freeway, especially when it is clear and the Santa Anas are blowing. Other than that, it is barely noticeable. We accepted that fact due to the large lot, large house, ammenities, and High Schools…my kids all go to Westview, so we needed a house in this district. We love it more every day, which is what you want in a home purchase. Great house, great area.=)
ParticipantNo REO, owners were in financial trouble and downsized. It is 3831 sf., the previous owners didn’t take care of anything…I replaced three of four flappers on toilets-how can they stand toilets running all day??? Replaced kitchen faucet, repairs galore, but none were huge. A little paint, wallpaper teardown, we are almost there. We are at the end of Carmel Mountain Road, a place called Villa Panacea, and yes, NO homeowners! Some of the homes back to the freeway, ours is one of the farthest from the freeway, but you can still faintly hear the freeway, especially when it is clear and the Santa Anas are blowing. Other than that, it is barely noticeable. We accepted that fact due to the large lot, large house, ammenities, and High Schools…my kids all go to Westview, so we needed a house in this district. We love it more every day, which is what you want in a home purchase. Great house, great area.=)
ParticipantNo REO, owners were in financial trouble and downsized. It is 3831 sf., the previous owners didn’t take care of anything…I replaced three of four flappers on toilets-how can they stand toilets running all day??? Replaced kitchen faucet, repairs galore, but none were huge. A little paint, wallpaper teardown, we are almost there. We are at the end of Carmel Mountain Road, a place called Villa Panacea, and yes, NO homeowners! Some of the homes back to the freeway, ours is one of the farthest from the freeway, but you can still faintly hear the freeway, especially when it is clear and the Santa Anas are blowing. Other than that, it is barely noticeable. We accepted that fact due to the large lot, large house, ammenities, and High Schools…my kids all go to Westview, so we needed a house in this district. We love it more every day, which is what you want in a home purchase. Great house, great area.=)
ParticipantWell, we finally pulled the trigger and bought a property in PQ…I have news for you, almost everywhere in PQ you can faintly hear the freeway (even in Park Village when there are santa anas). We bought a distressed property on 1/4 acre with NO HOMEOWNERS (woohoo!) and very small Mello-Roos. It only took us 7 years of looking! Well, only 4 years of serious looking. We love the area, yes, we can hear the freeway faintly during certain weather conditions, but it is not nearly as bad as some of the houses we looked at. The important thing is that we have a bedroom suite downstairs perfect for either of our parents, which may come in handy as my husband’s mother has been having strokes just this week. We also lucked out that it has a killer back yard for entertaining, a pool, a “man-cave” room for my men…I have my sons’ friends over all the time. If you can be patient, you can find that gem, we did. The homes we are in were selling for at least 25% more than we paid for it, we plan to be here 12 years, so barring economic armageddon, we should make out alright in the end…thanks to the great advice from all the piggs here! I love my piggs…and my ducks!
ParticipantWell, we finally pulled the trigger and bought a property in PQ…I have news for you, almost everywhere in PQ you can faintly hear the freeway (even in Park Village when there are santa anas). We bought a distressed property on 1/4 acre with NO HOMEOWNERS (woohoo!) and very small Mello-Roos. It only took us 7 years of looking! Well, only 4 years of serious looking. We love the area, yes, we can hear the freeway faintly during certain weather conditions, but it is not nearly as bad as some of the houses we looked at. The important thing is that we have a bedroom suite downstairs perfect for either of our parents, which may come in handy as my husband’s mother has been having strokes just this week. We also lucked out that it has a killer back yard for entertaining, a pool, a “man-cave” room for my men…I have my sons’ friends over all the time. If you can be patient, you can find that gem, we did. The homes we are in were selling for at least 25% more than we paid for it, we plan to be here 12 years, so barring economic armageddon, we should make out alright in the end…thanks to the great advice from all the piggs here! I love my piggs…and my ducks!
ParticipantWell, we finally pulled the trigger and bought a property in PQ…I have news for you, almost everywhere in PQ you can faintly hear the freeway (even in Park Village when there are santa anas). We bought a distressed property on 1/4 acre with NO HOMEOWNERS (woohoo!) and very small Mello-Roos. It only took us 7 years of looking! Well, only 4 years of serious looking. We love the area, yes, we can hear the freeway faintly during certain weather conditions, but it is not nearly as bad as some of the houses we looked at. The important thing is that we have a bedroom suite downstairs perfect for either of our parents, which may come in handy as my husband’s mother has been having strokes just this week. We also lucked out that it has a killer back yard for entertaining, a pool, a “man-cave” room for my men…I have my sons’ friends over all the time. If you can be patient, you can find that gem, we did. The homes we are in were selling for at least 25% more than we paid for it, we plan to be here 12 years, so barring economic armageddon, we should make out alright in the end…thanks to the great advice from all the piggs here! I love my piggs…and my ducks!
ParticipantWell, we finally pulled the trigger and bought a property in PQ…I have news for you, almost everywhere in PQ you can faintly hear the freeway (even in Park Village when there are santa anas). We bought a distressed property on 1/4 acre with NO HOMEOWNERS (woohoo!) and very small Mello-Roos. It only took us 7 years of looking! Well, only 4 years of serious looking. We love the area, yes, we can hear the freeway faintly during certain weather conditions, but it is not nearly as bad as some of the houses we looked at. The important thing is that we have a bedroom suite downstairs perfect for either of our parents, which may come in handy as my husband’s mother has been having strokes just this week. We also lucked out that it has a killer back yard for entertaining, a pool, a “man-cave” room for my men…I have my sons’ friends over all the time. If you can be patient, you can find that gem, we did. The homes we are in were selling for at least 25% more than we paid for it, we plan to be here 12 years, so barring economic armageddon, we should make out alright in the end…thanks to the great advice from all the piggs here! I love my piggs…and my ducks!
ParticipantWell, we finally pulled the trigger and bought a property in PQ…I have news for you, almost everywhere in PQ you can faintly hear the freeway (even in Park Village when there are santa anas). We bought a distressed property on 1/4 acre with NO HOMEOWNERS (woohoo!) and very small Mello-Roos. It only took us 7 years of looking! Well, only 4 years of serious looking. We love the area, yes, we can hear the freeway faintly during certain weather conditions, but it is not nearly as bad as some of the houses we looked at. The important thing is that we have a bedroom suite downstairs perfect for either of our parents, which may come in handy as my husband’s mother has been having strokes just this week. We also lucked out that it has a killer back yard for entertaining, a pool, a “man-cave” room for my men…I have my sons’ friends over all the time. If you can be patient, you can find that gem, we did. The homes we are in were selling for at least 25% more than we paid for it, we plan to be here 12 years, so barring economic armageddon, we should make out alright in the end…thanks to the great advice from all the piggs here! I love my piggs…and my ducks!
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