Homes

Well, as of today, we will have put offers on 4 different homes- crazy! But time is on our side and I think I would feel more nervous once one of our offers get accepted and we have to decide, yes, this IS the one we want and we have to let go of all the others ones. The thing with the market out here in Utah is that 80% of your homes for sale are short sales. That means that the banks are swamped trying to figure all of them out and their response time is ridiculous (2 months in most cases)! Today I was told that its usually the patient one that gets the house and that 85% of the time its the second or third best bid that wins. So I guess the trick is just to wait... of course we have more time than money, so it all works out for us in the end!

This is the first home we put an offer on. It has an open floor plan, 5 bedrooms and only 2 baths with 2,200 sq. ft. We love the area and it has a fully fenced large yard. This house has the least amount of work in it- maybe some painting but that's about it. The downstairs family room is large and Billy loves that it is already wired for surround sound while I appreciate the central vac system.
http://www.trulia.com/property/1064995893-798-N-300-W-American-Fork-UT-84003

This one is a fixer-upper. Its the oldest, built in 1959. It has an updated kitchen- but everything else is old old old. It has hardwood floors about 2,600 sq. ft. with 5 beds 2.5 baths. We offered $20,000 less on this one because it needs so much work and doesn't have a garage, but has lots of potential and we really like the area.
For more pics: http://www.orphomes.com/fine/real/estate/home_view/883896

This is the one we put an offer in today. It is the best yard with nothing to do but maintenance! It is 5 bed, 2.5 bath. It has large bedrooms, about 2200 sq. ft. and only a few blocks away from the other two in AF that we put offers on. The biggest downside: NO AC!! Ahhhh! But I guess I can live without it for a year... besides that, there are government incentives on everything right now and they pay for 30% up to 1,500 for the conversion until 2010.
For more pics: http://www.orphomes.com/fine/real/estate/home_view/884908

This one is in Saratoga Springs. It is the home that has the most space to grow into with an unfinished daylight basement. Once the basement is finished, we would have nearly 3,000 sq ft! I also think it is the best investment because once it is finished (with 2 more beds and a bath) my realtor had the opinion that in today's market it would sell for about 270,000! It has awesome views and is down the street from the golf course. Still, I think it is the one I am least excited about because its a 15 minute drive into American Fork and a 20-25 minute drive to Billy's work (whereas the other were all less than 10)

For more pics: http://www.orphomes.com/fine/real/estate/home_view/883019