Chapter 5: Kate gets picky

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Our favorite house hunter and guest blogger, Kate in the Valley, has been house-hunting for six months. Is she growing desperate? Not a chance. Here’s her latest:

‘Some of my friends have suggested that maybe, after six months of fruitless house hunting, Mr. Kate and I should consider expanding our target neighborhoods to include less expensive areas. ‘Have you ever considered Northridge? Or maybe Chatsworth?’ they say. ‘You can get so much more house there!’ To their surprise, we have done the exact opposite. And, if you look at the market, we aren’t alone.

‘Maybe you read the L.A. Times story about SoCal housing sales hitting a 14-year low? While I was reading the article, it started to dawn on me that my own house-hunting drive has declined right along with the market. It’s not that I don’t want a house anymore, it’s that my standards have gone way up. Before I wanted almost any house at my price point. Now I want a very particular house at my price point.

‘When we started our search, we couldn’t believe how expensive everything was. We began rushing out to see little 2 bed/1 bath fixers because it was all we felt we could afford in our target neighborhoods, and such listings were few and far between. We would stand in the itty bitty living room (usually on a rust-colored high-low shag carpet that smelled vaguely of cat) and try to talk ourselves into liking the shabby little shack before it flew off the market within days of listing.

‘But last month I saw a first: three such fixers on the market simultaneously. This month two of them are languishing on the market, and two more have been added to keep them company. Mr. Kate and I aren’t even going to see them. We can do better, I think. Rather than expand my target neighborhoods, we have literally narrowed it down to particular streets, floor plans, and even lot sizes. And we have not increased our budget by one thin dime. Maybe that sounds like we are petulant 9-year olds who are taking our ball and going home. But so what? You want our money, don’t you? Show us something worth buying.’

Thanks, Kate.
Read Kate’s very own blog here.