(OT) Woo-Hoo! Time to look for a garage!

[nomov8sho]

And maybe a house attached to it for the family to live in! My 90-day "probationary period" at work finished out today, and now I am a "permanent, full time" employee...

:woo-hoo::woo-hoo::woo-hoo:

...At least, as permanent as anything these days.

Time to get pre-approved for a home loan. Anybody on the list have a recommendation for a local lender? I'd far rather get my loan from someplace that has an office I can go to in person.

I'm leaning towards "horse property" type places where I can construct at least a 4-car shop if there is not one there already. My wife seems on board with this. More to follow once the search begins.

-Josh

 

[SHOmethewayhome]

congratulations... I miss my car.

that is all.

 

[03CopperBusa]

New Garage

And maybe a house attached to it for the family to live in! My 90-day "probationary period" at work finished out today, and now I am a "permanent, full time" employee...

:woo-hoo::woo-hoo::woo-hoo:

...At least, as permanent as anything these days.

Time to get pre-approved for a home loan. Anybody on the list have a recommendation for a local lender? I'd far rather get my loan from someplace that has an office I can go to in person.

I'm leaning towards "horse property" type places where I can construct at least a 4-car shop if there is not one there already. My wife seems on board with this. More to follow once the search begins.

-Josh

If you think the four car garage size is what you want, then consider making it a little bigger if you can afford it. It seems like the extra space always is needed for projects and storing stuff. I can see where that would have been what I should have done, but adding onto mine now is not an option. Just a thought, but good luck. A man's garage is his castle.

 

[ChuckD]

What side of town do you work in? Thats gonna be the kicker so you wont be tied up in traffic all the time.

 

[Philthy]

After having looked at horse properties for the last 4 months before mostly giving up, this is what I learned.

Irrigation - this is a must if you want pasture. Shoot for SRP canal irrigation, pump water (Sunburst Farms) is expensive.

Maintanence - contrary to what your teenager thinks, grass doesn't mow itself, buildings don't paint themselves and repairs don't magically happen. And since the newest horse property you will find is gonna be 30 years old, they need some repairs.

You don't always get what you pay for, but you usually pay for what you get - Horse properties are expensive. The cheapest we've found (typically in Sunburst Farms) are still $200+k for a 3/4 acre and that's with a fairly run down house. If the house is nice, expect to pay more, if there are out-buildings, expect to pay more, if you need to live in Tempe, Gilbert, Central Phoenix, expect to pay more.

This is just from my experience, which because of my family size, is a little unique. If you fit in a 3 bed/2 bath/2 car garage, you may find things different or cheaper. Also, we didn't look in Mesa much, things may also be different there.

 

[Sirnose]

If you haven't hooked in with a lender yet call Kathy Rhubottom at O'Dowd Mortgage - 602-248-4200. Unless you have some credit issues she's the only one I recommend. She's not the fastest at giving answers but it's because she'll do a full check and run it past an underwriter if she has questions - there won't be any changes or surprises after she gives you a yes.

And if you don't have an agent already I'll do what I can to help. I don't normally work with buyers anymore - I'm a listing agent for the #1 residential agent in the state - but I'm happy to help and you won't get any bull. I'm lurking here most days so PM me if you have questions.

Good luck.
Bill

 

[nomov8sho]

Been off the list for a while. Holy jumping @#$^& we've looked at a lot of houses. We have an offer in right now on a short sale- the sellers accepted Friday but we still need the OK from the bank so we are hoping we get a "yes" in the next 2 months.

It's got a 3-car garage, split level, 3 bed 2-bath, nice. Paradise Valley over by the Harley store on Cave Creek road. Plenty of extra driveway and off-driveway space, no HOA. I'd have preferred at least a 4-car detached, but I'm really hoping this works out, 'cause I am SICK of looking at houses. We've looked at over 60 in the past 2 months. Thought we had it set about a month ago, but we found out some bad stuff at the inspection and backed out on that one. At least this one should have room for all the cars I have now, once I haul 'em out from Florida.

 

[lowc]

congrats hope you get what you are looking for

 

[Sirnose]

That area can be tough to comp but if it's the house I think it is you should be ok on the appraisal even with septic not sewer. The existing loan looks like a refi but if it's the only loan in place - no 2nd mort - then it may not be a problem unless there is a mort insurance company paying off on the loss. They are most likely to cause problems.

Short sales can happen you just need to know who the players are, how many and what type of loans are involved. That looks like a nice place, I hope it comes together for you.