As I’ve mentioned, we’ve been house hunting. We’ve been on the hunt for 3 months and still we have not found a new place to call home.

When we began our search we thought that finding a house would be the easy part of Operation: Move. We expected that renting our Condo at a price that covered our expenses would be the challenge. Boy, were we wrong. It took us less than 30 days to rent our Condo to a nice couple. They signed the lease and are moving in on July 15th. Yes, you read that right – in one week!

This weekend we will be packing up our stuff and next Thursday we’re moving everything into a moving pod for safe keeping while we figure out where we’re going. Oh my goddess!

Where might we be going, you might ask? Well, we’ve considered a few things.

1) Staying with my parents: This sounds nice because they have a lovely home with plenty of room for us. And we like their company, too. The downside is that they live 35 minutes North of the city and that’s without rush hour traffic. We’re pretty sure this may cause us to have 90 minute commutes each way. Ew, but not out of the question. At least temporarily.

2) Staying with R’s parents: This is a nice option because they live closer to the city, have a lovely home and we also like their company. The challenge is that there are lots of people already living at their house and even more people always coming and going. We believe this could cause some challenges for Jack’s sleep schedule, which is already inconsistent.

3) Signing a 6-month lease: Well, ok, this would keep us closer to the city, but it’s a commitment for 6 months and what if we find a house during that time? We would then be doubling up on monthly expenses and that defeats the whole plan entirely.

4) Moving into temporary housing: Sounds great! Furnished, month-to-month lease…but it’s so over-the-top expensive it makes us feel sick to waste the cash we could save for future house projects.

We will probably end up choosing option #1 – Staying with my parents – because a commute sucks, but it’s temporary. Hopefully.

To share a little bit more detail with y’all and to illustrate our house hunt, here is a rundown of the seven, yes SEVEN, houses we’ve made offers on in the last 3 months. (This isn’t too boring is it? I just thought I’d write about something other than my baby for a change).

First, there was MAPLE ST…

A cute 1920s cottage with 3 bedrooms, a garage-converted guest house and a pool. It was a hot mess and needed major love even before you could move in. We figured if we could get it for the price we wanted to pay we could turn it into something special. And with the guest house being tenant occupied, the rent collected from there could offset the cost of housing projects. Perfect! However, the owner wouldn’t come down in their asking price at all and since it was at the top of our price range, we would have been left with no dough to begin the update process. Boo.

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Second, there was COSTELLO AVE…

This was a very interesting property with so much potential. It was technically a 2 bedroom, however it had two bonus spaces (again, the garage had been converted into a living space and there was a studio apartment in the back of the property which could have been R’s office). It had lovely details in the main house and a pool. There were some oddities, but we decided we could get creative and live with it. It was also in a cul-de-sac. Sadly, other people also thought it was a cool property and we were priced out.

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Third, there was GRIFFITH PARK DR…

I loved this house! It was a 3 bedroom and ready for move-in. The curb appeal was lovely, the back yard was beautiful and the garage had a bonus space off the side for tools, office, gardening, whatever. The only thing that was remotely wrong with it was that it didn’t have a built in spot for a dishwasher, but add a portable one in a random corner of the kitchen and it’s not a problem. It was slightly further North than we originally thought we’d like to be (read: close to the Burbank airport), but we were ok with it. You can’t have everything. The market agreed with me and it went to an all-cash buyer for above the listing price, which was already a bit of a stretch for us.

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Enter heartbreak and disillusionment. But we are resilient and bounced back quickly!

Fourth, there was SHADYGLADE AVE…

A totally updated, turnkey property with 3 bedrooms on a corner lot. Unfortunately the garage had been converted into the master bedroom’s closet and a bonus office space/laundry room, but we decided we could live with it. This house didn’t have what I would call character, but it was done and we could move in without much more than some paint in the bedroom that had a princess scene painted on the wall. We were ready to make a deal, but the owner wasn’t and we do not believe the house will assess at the price they want to get. Sure, we want to find our house, but we’d also like to be making a good business decision. The owner would not assure us he’d negotiate if the house didn’t asses. We walked away. And then I started to realize I cared more about a having a garage than I originally thought.

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Fifth, there was FAIRVIEW ST…

The great thing about this house was that it had a light-filled kitchen and 3 bedrooms with several hall closets and a garage. On the downside, it was dated, had popcorn ceilings and didn’t have central air/heat (that is not nice in Burbank as it gets hot, hot, hot). The price, however, warranted making an offer because we figured we could add the central air and make everything else work. The house, however, was owned by an investment company and they were hard bargainers. We lost interest when we started to feel like the house was going to turn into a money pit.

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Are you getting tired yet? Yep, us too.

This brings us up to date with our current offers. Yes, offers, plural. Yesterday we made offers on 2 different houses!

On one side of town…
The sixth offer was on MURIETTA AVE…

This is a charming little house, with 2 real bedrooms and a den space that could eventually be converted into a master bedroom. For now, an office/tv family room. It’s dated, but has vintage details that I like, not to mentioned well-kept hardwood floors throughout. The kitchen is a hot mess. It has weird layout, funky colors and a built-in breakfast nook, but it’s livable for awhile. This house also has a pool and is at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac. Sure, it needs some attention and updating, but if we do the updates over time, the house will almost certainly appreciate in value. And a pool, in the Valley, where it’s hot in the summer, mmmkay? We think we have a shot at this one as it’s been on the market for awhile and the owners are getting ansty.

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On the other side of town…
The seventh offer was on PEPPER ST…

This house has been totally and beautifully updated and made into a 3 bedroom that maintains good flow. It also has 2 full baths and is located on a corner lot. All it needs is some street privacy help in the back and side yards. Major downside? It’s very close to the airport. Luckily all the windows have been updated so the sound from inside is minimal and from outside the planes move quickly out of earshot. And hey, it’s not LAX, so the frequency is bearable. This house was listed above our price range, but has been on the market long enough to warrant our offer within our price range. We understand that our offer may not be too far off what the seller might accept.

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Have you made it to the end of this post without needing a nap?

Wouldn’t it be crazy if, after all this disappointment, we would end up having our choice of the final two houses?

If we did end up with a choice, which one would you choose in our position?
The modern turnkey house with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths near the airport?
Or…
The charming, vintage 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath house with hardwood floors and a pool that needs updating?

Stay tuned for the next chapter of House Hunt 2012.
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