3 Day Weekends

Happy belated Memorial Day. This past weekend went by so quickly. On Friday, we went out to dinner with Steve and caught up with him on his travels. On Saturday, we went househunting for a few hours in Alameda, Bay Farm, Walnut Creek, and Rock Ridge. Nothing really to note. We realized that we didn't really like Bay Farm. It has good schools, but it is right by Oakland Airport and it was just too isolated. Walnut Creek is nice and has good schools, but kind of far from SF which would probably make the commute a little long. Alameda has some good parts and we were told that it has recently become more active because they opened a Starbucks and Peets Coffee. It generated a lot of foot traffic which has increased small businesses. Then, we went to visit Kai, Jamie, Kaori, and Maika in San Mateo. Kai is already looking so different.

On Sunday, Edwin went surfing and I went shopping. I was so bummed when I scratched my car. I was trying to get into a tight parking spot in the garage across the street from Macy's when I decided it was too small, I tried to get out of it and that's when it happened. It's only an inch long and I have plenty of other dents and dings, but this is one that I caused which made me feel horrible. And I just got it waxed last weekend! Then, we dropped off a carload of stuff at the Salvation Army. It feels good to get rid of junk. Though you wouldn't be able to tell that we got rid of anything from our apartment! We also saw Pirates of the Caribbean 3. It was entertaining, but long.

On Monday, we did some more househunting in Alameda and found 2 properties that we were interested in. The first house we saw is a craftsman that has a lot of cool wood detail. It's a 2 bedroom, 1 bath place that needs a lot of renovation though we could move in and live there for a while. The owners are not living there and it is a trust sale which is similar to a probate sale, but better because there is no judge or bidding. It's probably someone who is too old to sell the house and has someone selling it for him. The floors would need to be refinished, but it is in good condition. The kitchen would need to be redone (it's all yellow and has an old push button electric stove), but I'm not sure what could be done because it is a rather long, narrow space with a breakfast nook and counter. The second bedroom has a narrow closet, but is a good size. The master bedroom is large, but there is no master bath. The only bathroom is pink. All pink- sink, tub, tile, etc. However, it is a good size with both a tub and separate shower. Though it technically has one bathroom, there is also a bathroom in the basement outside. It's just a toilet and sink on a concrete floor, but it does the job. The outdoors is very nice with a mature orange tree and has a patio with an outdoor bar. The garage has lots of storage space. The neighborhood is very nice and walking distance to a park and restaurants and great access to a bus that goes to SF in 35 min.

The other property we were considering was a townhouse. It had great high ceilings and spacious rooms. The kitchen was small, but functional. The only shared space is the floor because it is a top unit. It was very quiet and had nice views of the marina. The HOAs were high at $400. It came with a garage and had 2 balconies, but Edwin noticed that the balconies were full of bird poop from all the ducks and geese that wander the property. Both bedrooms were huge and the 2 bathrooms were decent as well. The neighborhood is located near a shopping strip, but is kind of isolated. It was in move-in condition.

Such different properties, but they were priced around the same. We think that the older house is overpriced, but seem to like it more even though we know it will be more work. We're thinking about putting a low bid on it just to see, but want to do more research on loans and read up on the disclosures. Fun fun! I went into Citibank today to talk to them about their mortgage products. Their eyes just lit of when then heard why I was there. They were very eager and kept telling me how mortgage brokers are no good and online offers can't be trusted. It made me feel like I was talking to some used car salesmen. I totally thought that the wedding industry was bad about trying to take all your money, but I'm starting to realize that the housing industry is just as bad! Will it ever stop?

So glad that this is a short work week! Bummer that our Tivo seems to be on the fritz right now. Hope that it doesn't die on us because I think it's the best invention ever! Though it's over 5 years old and it can't last forever, right?