California Dreaming
A few months ago DJ and I decided we were tired of living an hour away from the action.
You see, we live an hour north of the town where he works (running the family business), the town where Dylan is in preschool, the town with the good schools, the town with the good shopping and restaurants, the town with the college girls who make really good baby sitters so Grandma doesn’t have to do it all the time, the town with, well, everything our town doesn’t have.
Not that we don’t like where our house is. But, really, we need to be closer to where we LIVE.
So we decided that, come hell or high water, we’re going to figure out a way to move down there sooner rather than later. We pledged that we’d get our asses in gear and get our house finished up so it’s ready to be rented out, at a premium, because, DUDES, the housing market has kicked our ass in the past six years.
But I digress, because this is about me and my high falutin’ ideas.
We were originally discussing renting a house in Santa Barbara. You know, because that way we don’t have to have a down payment. Those can get expensive, especially around these parts.
But then we started noticing a few homes near Dylan’s preschool. They’re gorgeous Craftsman style houses and there are about five of them available. The catch? The builder ran out of money half way through the project, so they’re all unfinished. As in, only one of them has siding and a complete roof, and they’re all no further along than stud framed rooms on the inside. Which, yeah…
Because they’re foreclosures they’re being offered at a decent price, and because of the current state of the housing market, they’re an even better deal. Santa Barbara is one of the most expensive housing markets in California, so as soon as home prices start to increase, the value on these babies will go up. A lot. And fast.
So, not being able to help myself, and being someone who could spend DAYS tromping through model homes and open houses, I called a Realtor and made an appointment to go look at them tomorrow.
I’m either not going to like the floor plan, which will effectively end my house worship (because let’s face it, I’m picky), or I’m going to LOVE it and spend days and days and days trying to figure out how to come up with a down payment*.
I know I’m insane, and I’m totally torturing myself. It’s a curse. It really, really, really is.
But can’t you see the possibilities?
Don’t let the fact that it’s unfinished scare you off. The thought of being able to pick out floors, cabinets, appliances and otherwise decorate the entire inside of a house makes me positively giddy.
*In an effort to come up with a down payment the *easy* way, I bought a lotto ticket yesterday. I didn’t win the $11 Million dollar jackpot, but I did get 3 numbers, so I won $10! That’s enough to get me into the next draw. Please keep your fingers crossed for me. Also please pray that I haven’t just become addicted to buying lotto tickets.
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nic @mybottlesup on 02 Aug 2009 at 8:23 am #
dude, i hear ya… i’m the visionary between paul and i. when we bought and flipped our house in jacksonville, florida (which we still own and are renting out), he was like “you wanna buy THIS?!?” (meaning… this piece of shit).
but, we saw two different things… he saw old electrical sockets, a busted airconditioning system, a need for a new roof, and a shed that was 1/2 falling over….
i saw our home.
good luck love!
nic @mybottlesup´s last blog ..anticipating change (again)
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Stephanie Stearns Dulli on 02 Aug 2009 at 8:24 am #
I can see the possibilities! Sigh. I would love to move home and pick out floors. I hope it works out.
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ali (adil320) on 02 Aug 2009 at 8:29 am #
You sound like me! Once I get an idea (good or bad) into my head I don’t let it go. We are working on buying a house and I alternate between being OK with the fact we can’t do it for another year or two, and spending every ounce of spare time finding a way to make it happen NOW.
Good luck! The whole house thing is so annoying.
ali (adil320)´s last blog ..Follow Friday
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Patty on 02 Aug 2009 at 8:29 am #
Meghan, Good luck on these housing plans, it sounds like a great deal! I’m rooting for ya on the lotto thing, but I gotta tell ya, it hasn’t gotten me anywhere with all my hopes, dreams and prayers about it! I totally see the “addiction” to it though, I guess I should be happy I’m so poor that I can’t afford lotto tickets, cuz if I had two pennies to rub together (or in this case 4 quarters!) I would probably spend them on lotto tix as well thinking I HAVE to be the one that wins cuz I neeeed it so! But now I digress! I see lots of potential in the house and think that if you can do it and want to do it after you see the floorplan, than it would be fantastic and really make your quality of living (being so much closer to where you actually LIVE) so much better!
Patty´s last blog ..A day late and a dolla short!
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Catriona on 02 Aug 2009 at 8:41 am #
I love it!
My husband and I lived in Oceano for 5 years before his job transferred us back home to Oklahoma. I would move back in an instant! But anyways. The rent we paid for our small, very small little apartment was crazy but on the bright side we could see a tiny little speck of ocean. So it was worth all $1300 we paid every single month.
I still miss California.
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kris on 02 Aug 2009 at 10:49 am #
I hope it’s everything you want and that things work out. It’s a cute house! BTDT with yards and finish work – it’s not fun, but for the right price, you’re crazy not to at least try. Good luck!
kris´s last blog ..Photostory Friday – Golf 101… Ishee style
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Z on 02 Aug 2009 at 10:56 am #
GOOD LUCK!!! I hope this works out for you, since I will totally be living vicariously through you when you do the house decor thing! (because NYC housing markets are just as bad as Cali ones… so no house for me in the near future. GAH!)
Z´s last blog ..Mabel
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cindy w on 02 Aug 2009 at 11:44 am #
Dude, go for it. We found a new development in a similar situation here, and we loved the floorplans and we were totally going to buy a house there… until we found out that the neighborhood was built on top of a drained swamp. So, um, no. (I tend to think that nature has a way of self-correcting, so if it had been under water once, it probably would be again.) There’s a little more risk in buying in a newer development like that, but if it’s your dream house, it’s probably worth the risk.
Best of luck. Can’t wait to hear what happens.
cindy w´s last blog ..the not-really-a-vlog
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Cara on 02 Aug 2009 at 11:45 am #
I hope it works out for you! We just bought our 1st house a few months ago & I remember the “we could do this & this & make it look like this” battle I fought with my husband after almost every single house we looked at. Good luck!
Cara´s last blog ..Follow Friday
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Headless Mom on 02 Aug 2009 at 3:15 pm #
Good luck! I’m dreamin’ with ya, just not the California kind.
Headless Mom´s last blog ..BlogHer 09-The People
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Grandma Pam on 02 Aug 2009 at 4:14 pm #
Meg: I think there is no harm in trying. If anyone can figure a way to do something, you are! I read the article about the UCSB babysitters! They are expensive. I don’t mind watching your darlings but it is good to have someone for a couple of hours in the evenings if you want to go out to dinner or to a movie.
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AmazingGreis on 02 Aug 2009 at 5:40 pm #
If you get the house I could totally move out to your side of the country and be your live-in Nanny. Just sayin’…
Good luck with the house hunt and the lotto tickets. I totally need to start playing again. Cause quite frankly the only way to win is to play, right?
AmazingGreis´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday – The BlogHer ‘09 Edition
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Erin on 02 Aug 2009 at 10:12 pm #
Good luck with all of that! It’s a pain I am sure….We looked in that area as well and settles 45 min south in Thousand Oaks!
I hope it all works out in your favor!
Erin´s last blog ..I’ve come to the conclusion
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Nicole on 03 Aug 2009 at 6:27 am #
Hey i totally hear you, we got moved into our “new” house in October of last year after working on getting it remodeled for over 2 years. We worked our asses off (not to mention working ourselves BROKE!!) on that house. It was my hubby’s childhood home, so it’s pretty cool that we are living there now. We still have somethings that need to be done, stripping and painting the porch, getting new shutters, GETTING A DISHWASHER!!! (ahem….sorry…lol) Your right about the market though, if there is anyway you can swing it, its a GREAT time to buy. Heres to a winning lotto ticket and falling in love with the house!!
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amy d on 03 Aug 2009 at 6:56 am #
Good luck to you girl! My family is in a similar situation at the moment. Looking at houses, but not really ready to buy because we’re saving up for a down payment. So when I see houses I LLLOOOOVVVEE there’s no chance it will be available when we’re ready. bummer.
In the meantime, we’re living with my inlaws, which is…yeah…you can about imagine.
amy d´s last blog ..Kangaroo’ing…
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Manic Mommy on 03 Aug 2009 at 7:36 am #
You’re so right about getting in at the bottom of the housing market! Think of it as an investment! Not to mention how very, very cool it would be to finish it yourself!!
Prices have dropped somewhat around here (MA) but finding the balance between getting a good price for our current while finding a new house at a steal is hard work!
As is convincing your husband the time is right to buy!
Manic Mommy´s last blog ..Flashback Friday
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Sara on 03 Aug 2009 at 7:57 am #
Two things, maybe three depending on how poetic I can be.
First, ain’t nothing wrong with lotto tickets!
I have to tell myself this every week since my husband is CONVINCED we are about to hit the big bucks. And if by some tragedy we don’t get a ticket, we still check the numbers because he is also POSITIVE that will be the week our numbers come up. And then we will just be shmucks.
Second, I love, love, LOOOOVVVEEE watching all those flip this house type shows. I would absolutely love to be able to buy a house and remodel it however I chose. But we are NOWHERE close to being able to.
Ok, I guess there are three: I also scrounge in my brain for where money is going to come from to get a downpayment large enough that in any other state would buy a whole house from.
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Kesler Crew on 03 Aug 2009 at 8:26 am #
Good luck with the looking and lottery….I have a feeling that if the “right” place comes along that you will be able to make it work out. You’re awesome at putting your mind to something and making it work! I love your determination. We’ll be thinking of you guys.
PS – Thanks for the “shout out” on your AllMediocre site.
Kesler Crew´s last blog ..Rainy days, won’t keep the Kesler Crew indoors!
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melissa on 03 Aug 2009 at 9:01 am #
DAMNIT…for a moment there I was excited about winning $3 on my ticket. I’m all about making a home your own and although I haven’t experienced it myself I imagine the warm happy feeling one gets after seeing their hard work laid out in front of them.
I say go for it!
ps. if this house has a pool, I have an electrician I would be totally willing to pimp in trade for good weather & a much needed vaca
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Noelle on 03 Aug 2009 at 9:21 am #
If it’s in a great, safe neighborhood that you love, then go for it! It would be so exciting to design a house exactly the way you want it. Especially if it’s affordable! (Or “if it’s in your price point” as they annoyingly repeat over and over on House Hunters
As for the lottery, they don’t have one where I live so we drove to Idaho yesterday to buy some (under the guise of “Let’s go to Bear Lake!”). Good luck to you and me!
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Laura on 03 Aug 2009 at 12:25 pm #
Wow, that house is pretty. Has sooo much potential. It would be fantastic!
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Bridget on 03 Aug 2009 at 9:30 pm #
there’s LOTS of potential here! I love the window space above the garage and the asymmetric, but complementary roof line. You could totally turn this into something spectacular! Good luck!
Bridget´s last blog ..One step at a time…
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Issa on 04 Aug 2009 at 7:46 am #
Since I’m always a day late…how was it? Did you love it or hate it?
Issa´s last blog ..The time has come, the walrus said…
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AMomTwoBoys » Damn It, I Liked It on 04 Aug 2009 at 9:11 am #
[...] Part of me was hoping we’d hate the floor plan, hate the smell, hate SOMETHING about the house. [...]
Kellyn on 10 Aug 2009 at 8:46 am #
I love house shopping. We looked at a foreclosed unfinished house, it was AMAZING. I wish we could have afforded to finish it. It would have increased by 300% in two years.
Now I am drooling again.
Good luck!!!
Kellyn´s last blog ..Oh Boo…
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