Some of you may know this already – if you happen to be FB friends and have seen some of my recent posts – but Wayne and I have decided to go on the hunt for a new home. We have now been back in California for almost 6 years, and in our current rental for over 51/2 years (longest I’ve ever lived at one address in my adult life!). I think we’re here to stay. Wayne has tenure, I love where I am, and the schools in Castro Valley are top notch.
We’ve limited our search to just Castro Valley – Jonah absolutely loves his school (Jensen Ranch) and of course has made some great friends. Although Wayne and I both survived moves ourselves while in elementary school, we figure if we don’t have to, we’re not going to make Jonah move schools, just because we want to buy a house. There are no guarantees from the school district that he could stay at Jensen Ranch if we move to another Castro Valley community, but they were pretty certain. Even so, we’ve been trying to stick to our community, Palomares, or others close by.
I don’t remember the exact time we started our look (although I bet Wayne could!), but I think we started thinking it could be a reality somewhere around last July/August when we saw a 2000+ sq. foot townhouse in our neighborhood come on the market $300k LESS than a similar unit sold for when we moved here over 5 years ago. Wow, maybe this can happen for us! So, the hunt began. Wayne had some free time on his hands a few days ago, and reported to me that between the 2 of us, we have seen close to 50 homes since that time. Some real doozies, that’s for sure!
We made our list: amenities we MUST have, we’d LOVE to have, and then deal breakers. For the most part, Wayne and I seem to agree on what we’re looking for. Neither one of us is really looking for (or up to!) a fixer-upper, but we’ve agreed that for the right house, we’re willing to put up with ugly paint, tile counters in the kitchen, 80′s lighting, and other cosmetic issues – and fix them along the way – the way we want!
Well, after months of looking, we thought we found the house for us – 2000+ sq. feet, HUGE lot, large living area, excellent location, 3-car garage (Wayne’s wishlist item!), etc. After thorough research from our agent, we put in a fair market offer, was told by the seller’s agent that a counter offer would be coming…. we waited…. and waited… and waited. 4 days past our 24 hour deadline, we were told they went with another offer 
Didn’t even give us a chance to come in again. Oh well – there are better deals out there, right?
The next day we toured a house just up the street from that one – some of the same qualities, although slightly smaller living space. However, this was a ‘flipped’ house and I’m thinking the ‘flipper’ has a thing for kitchen. This place had custom everything in the kitchen. Viking appliances that probably totaled at least $30k. Tile floor, 6-burner stove, 3 ovens, wine refrigerator, etc. WOW! We started arranging furniture in our heads, talking about how we could re-do the backyard, etc. – only to find it was off the market the next day Thwarted again.
Don’t give up, right?! Well, 2 days later (which is just this past Sunday), we get a call from our agent that a house that was listed as a short sale and went ‘pending’ 2 days after it was on the market – is available again. The buyers waited and waited and waited for the bank to respond – 53 days. Nothing. They got antsy and backed out. Were we interested in seeing it? Heck yeah! This house, just a few years ago, likely appraised for close to $1m. It’s now listed for almost half that. Seriously, for a house that size, in OUR neighborhood, on a large lot – it’s a steal. Of course, it’s also a short sale. Are we up for it? Sure, why not!
I know this post is a bit rambly, but did want to bring folks up to date about where we are. We’ll be putting our offer in tonight at the same price the previous buyers went in at. The sellers will accept and then it’s off to sit on some big banker’s desk… for how long, I have no idea. The other slight twist in this is that we’ve ‘heard’ that this is a divorce situation – and not a pleasant one at that. While we did get a chance to get in to see the house, it was a complete mess. Stuff all over the place, no signs of them moving any time soon, woman was there and seemed eager to get us out quickly. I’m sure we’re in for a wild ride. I’ll try to post updates as we move along in this process to let you know what’s happening!
Any words of wisdom are welcome 
This is the short sale house we're hoping to get!
Posted by santinapitcher 
