My best friend and I went window shopping for houses today, visiting several open houses and model homes. We learned a couple of things: new houses show a lot better and are more affordable than a year ago, pictures can't accurately represent a house online and we should definitely wait to make a purchase. The new homes we looked at included Sheldon Farms, Laguna Point Condos and Laguna Oaks condo conversions. Sheldon Farms was the most attractive with nicely laid out one-story plans in the $350,000 range. Still out of the price range of a single girl with a modest income, but still more affordable than a year ago when the same house would have fetched maybe 20K more.
The condos were a cheaper alternative. The two bedroom condo floor plan at Laguna Point had huge rooms and an added walk-in closet for each room, a nice touch. The front door, however, opened directly into a steep staircase up to the second floor. Instinctively, it didn't feel welcoming and was definitely a no-no in feng shui. I don't know many Asians who would buy a home with that layout. The other floor plans at Laguna Point had cramped bedrooms that felt claustrophobic. Laguna Oaks condos were nicely renovated from apartments into condos in the low 220K range. Definitely affordable, but with 216 units to be sold, we didn't feel the rush to purchase one. The salesperson said that the low price was only for the initial offering and may rise as time goes by. I doubt it and will check back in a year to see if it pans out that way.
The open houses we toured were in the Pocket area: three halfplexes and a house. The interesting point is that a halfplex that didn't look that inviting turned out to be our favorite while another halfplex that looked wonderful online was disappointing. It just honed in the fact that one needs to feel the physicality of a space to get a proper sense of whether it's a contender.
Oh, and one more thing we learned. If you want to have a successful open house, don't perfume your house with an overpowering scent. The last open house we visited had an strong odor, a scent candle or something, that practically drove us out at the door.
2 comments:
The overpowering smell thing really does turn you off. We have noticed it in many places we have looked at. Sometimes intentional (like air freshners), and sometimes unintentional (bad kitchen smells).
Yeah, it was such a huge turnoff. It smelled like a chemical bouquet, though I'm sure they must have thought it was a summer bouquet.
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