House hunting! (Gladstone, Overland, Leawood: for sale, real estate, townhouse)

[sparksharp]

So...this weekend was non stop with house hunting! We were out with a realtor on both Saturday and Sunday from 10:00am till about 6:00pm! Whew! I'm exhausted!

On Saturday we looked around in Johnson County all day long!!!! I will say that there are some really nice homes in Southern Overland Park / Leawood area, but it's really hard to find the right house on the right lot! Either the house is lacking something we really want or the lot is "pasture housing that's been bulldozed and has nothing but baby trees on it! LOL! We did find one house in Olatha that we really liked that was woods on one side of the back yard and overlooked a golf course on the other side of the back yard! It was very nice and remains in the running on our "possibility list"!

Sunday was spent in the Northland and it was much, much easier to find a wooded lot, or a house that backed up to a greenspace than it was in Johnson County! We found a house in Embassy Park that we really liked that backs up to a greenspace and it remains on our "possibilities list" as well. So, we have two to choose from so far.

The Northland is much closer to the hubby's work and that's an issue that we keep addressing in our search! The Olatha house was 36 minutes from Fairfax, while the one at Embassy Park was only about 13 minutes away. Both were priced very close to each other, but the house in Olatha was bigger. However...I really do like the whole Zona Rosa area in the Northland!!! Oh decisions, decisions!!! LOLOLOL!!!!!

We're gonna keep looking and working with our real estate agent until we get an offer on our house in Tennessee...hopefully that won't be too much longer! Both areas are still in play.

[misplaced1]

It can be exhausting but I love house hunting. Although it is exciting after you find "the one" it is still kinda sad to be done looking. Good luck to you.

[kcmo]

I'm doing the same here in the DC area. Consider yourself lucky . I'm looking at 3-4 different counties, each of which has close to a million residents and where a nice "townhouse" will cost you 400k.

[sparksharp]

Originally Posted by misplaced1

It can be exhausting but I love house hunting. Although it is exciting after you find "the one" it is still kinda sad to be done looking. Good luck to you.

Yep...exhausting it is...but I also like looking at the different features each house offers too. I don't think I'll be sad at all after the hunting is over though...I'm gonna be relieved! Totally! LOL!

But...we just started looking this past weekend. I know there's still a lot to come trying to find "the one". Thank you for the good luck wish!

Originally Posted by kcmo

I'm doing the same here in the DC area. Consider yourself lucky . I'm looking at 3-4 different counties, each of which has close to a million residents and where a nice "townhouse" will cost you 400k.

It sounds like you're gonna be searching for a while! Sounds like you're covering a lot more ground than we are!

[OneKC]

I just finished house hunting. It is fun, although I'm quite shocked at how some people present their home when they are selling it! Clean it up!

It is rewarding when you find that right one! Best of luck! Let us know when you find that right one!

[sparksharp]

Originally Posted by OneKC

I just finished house hunting. It is fun, although I'm quite shocked at how some people present their home when they are selling it! Clean it up!

It is rewarding when you find that right one! Best of luck! Let us know when you find that right one!

Congratulations on being finished with all that running around!

I'll keep you all posted on our house hunting progress!

[TabulaRasa]

We were lucky in that we found one that was exactly what we wanted (our first home, closed last month) relatively early on in the process. One of those "when you know, you know" situations. Good luck!

[skrizzle]

Originally Posted by OneKC

I just finished house hunting. It is fun, although I'm quite shocked at how some people present their home when they are selling it! Clean it up!

It is rewarding when you find that right one! Best of luck! Let us know when you find that right one!

I know! My girlfriend and I bought our house last year and we looked for nearly a year at homes (we werent' in a rush). I will tell you by far the houses that people had cleaned up and laid out looking like they were from HGTV, they sold quick (we would eyeball them for a week or so then find out they sold) and they sold for higher prices even with less space.

It really is worth it to sellers to clean up and set up a nice layout for their home.

[skrizzle]

Sparkshop, as something that may interest you in the Northland area... along North Oak KC splits for a bit and becomes Gladstone... there are several restaurants and places here that still allow smoking in them, specifically one that comes to mind is Margaritias if you like Mexican... and you can smoke anywhere in Gladstone that allows it.

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by skrizzle

I know! My girlfriend and I bought our house last year and we looked for nearly a year at homes (we werent' in a rush). I will tell you by far the houses that people had cleaned up and laid out looking like they were from HGTV, they sold quick (we would eyeball them for a week or so then find out they sold) and they sold for higher prices even with less space.

It really is worth it to sellers to clean up and set up a nice layout for their home.

I argue with my DH about this all the time. We aren't planning to move anytime soon but we sometimes talk about the possibility. We live in Prairie Village and he says that just because our house is in PV, people will be DYING to buy our house and we wouldn't have to do anything to it to sell it. Well, we only have one small bathroom and it is badly in need of remodeling. I tell him we should put another bathroom in the finished basement and remodel the upstairs bathroom. He says it is fine. I tell him if *I* were looking for a house, I would not buy a house that needed the bathroom remodeled, and anyone who would buy it like that would expect the price to drop to allow for that. He says I'm wrong. I am NOT wrong, but he can't get that through his head. I know if it ever came to the point that were going to sell, a realtor would tell him the same thing.

What I am talking about is more than just cleaning up the house, but yeah - why would I want to buy someone's cluttered, dirty house that they didn't clean and take care of when I'm bound to see others for sale that are clean and taken care of?