Microwaves? (Austin, Taylor: for sale, apartment, to rent)

[Runemaster]

In looking through the vast number of houses for sale and rent in and around Austin, it seems like houses with built in microwaves are definitely in the minority. We only really look at houses that are less than ten years old, so it's not like the house was built before the microwave was invented.

I was actually thinking non-built in microwaves were going the way of the VCR.

I've looked at homes all over the US in the past ten years and Austin seems to be the only place where I've seen this. Are microwaves really that scarce in Austin?

[Trainwreck20]

I think all the houses in our neighborhood are built by one of three builders in the last 12 years, and although I have obviously not looked in all of them, I have never been in one that does not have a 'built-in' microwave. Is there some discrepancy in what you are considering built-in and what the MLS is considering built-in? Ours is mounted on the wall above the oven/stove and has cabinets to the left, right, and above. We had to replace our MW recently and there are options for venting through a built-in vent system (which we have) or venting through a filter into the room if you do not have a exterior vent installed. This is the same as our neighbor - we are Newmark, they are David Weekly, both mid-range builders.

[shankaupas]

What price range are you looking in? For alot of builders, especially in the sub $200K range, a built in microwave is usually an upgrade option that the buyer can choose to buy from the builder when the house is being built. Or the buyer can add it themselves after the house is built.

[intmd8r]

Well, we're looking to rent for awhile first and have been looking in the $1,200 - $1,500 range. A lot of the finishes do seem lower end than we're used to (such as countertops and flooring, etc.) but we can certainly live with that while we rent. But living without a microwave is a totally different deal.

[XLadylawX]

The microwave issue is a real pet peeve of mine here in Austin. All the houses I look at have an oven on bottom with a "built in" microwave on top. Really, all it is is a gasket glued to cheap cabinet facing which will accomodate any old microwave (See Drees and Taylor Morrison for fine examples). It gives it a faux double oven look. I hate it. It looks exactly what it is, a cheap builder trick. They can glue that gasket on and throw in a $50 microwave and put a $50 hood over the stove instead of putting a $300 microwave/hood combo above the stove.

GRRRR.

I'm really surprised you are not seeing the same. Don't let it get you down that you don't see them though. A modern microwave with all the bells and whistles can be had for less than $100. Or you can personally install a lovely micro/hood combo above your stove yourself. It is super easy to sub out a crappy hood for a microwave.

[Runemaster]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Ours is mounted on the wall above the oven/stove and has cabinets to the left, right, and above.

That's what we're used to seeing, but in many of the photos we look at, the kitchen simply has an exhaust hood over the stove and no microwave in sight.

I honestly thought it was just standard issue to have built in microwaves these days.

Originally Posted by XLadylawX

The microwave issue is a real pet peeve of mine here in Austin. All the houses I look at have an oven on bottom with a "built in" microwave on top. Really, all it is is a gasket glued to cheap cabinet facing which will accomodate any old microwave (See Drees and Taylor Morrison for fine examples). It gives it a faux double oven look. I hate it. It looks exactly what it is, a cheap builder trick. They can glue that gasket on and throw in a $50 microwave and put a $50 hood over the stove instead of putting a $300 microwave/hood combo above the stove.

GRRRR.

I'm really surprised you are not seeing the same. Don't let it get you down that you don't see them though. A modern microwave with all the bells and whistles can be had for less than $100. Or you can personally install a lovely micro/hood combo above your stove yourself. It is super easy to sub out a crappy hood for a microwave.

I can certainly install one, no problem, it's just for a place we'll be renting for a year, I'm not interested, nor do I want to purchase a microwave and then a year later buy a house that has one built in. I'd also prefer to not have one sitting on the counter, taking up space. Either way, we can't live without a microwave. We rented an apartment years ago for a few months while our old house was being built and the first night we went out and bought several microwave meals for dinner, and went home to eat and watch a movie. We got there and realize there was no microwave. LOL. So, we were stuck waiting over an hour to cook TV dinners in the oven (after scraping the food out of the plastic container into a casserole dish).

Granted, if it's under a $100 for a nice one that's not a real big deal, but still, it's $100 we could spend on something else, like a star for the front of the house.