Bought a House (Louisville, Prospect, Island: rental car, for sale, rental)

[Croce]

Well, I finally made it to Louisville. After a week of intensive house hunting I bought a place in Glen Oaks. Or let me say, I made an offer that was accepted. It should close in 30 - 45 days. It has a Prospect mailing address and is in Jefferson County. As much as I would have liked Oldham County - we have no school aged children and it appeared to me that you can get a little more house for your money in Jefferson. Also, just about every house in Oldham has a playset in the backyard - so the good schools there are attracting families with kids, lots of them.

I like the house we bought because it's close to Costco and Lowes as well as a bunch of shopping and dining. The area here seems to be growing with Norton Commons across the road and down a bit. Thanks to all the folks on this forum that supplied me with a lot of the answers to my questions and helped me. I want to especially thank TOMOCOX who not only helped me with a lot of housing info, but also hooked me up with an auto dealer.

The hardest thing about the house hunt was the sheer inventory of houses on the market. Using the internet and a tomtom navigator stuck on my rental car window - I was able to visit the ones that interested me most. It's pretty amazing, but you can eliminate over 80% of the homes you think look good on the internet just by driving by and looking at them.

The realtors here are very professional and courteous. I tried not to waste their time and asked questions about their house prior to requesting a showing. This eliminated some of the homes I thought would work, but didn't meet our criteria. Since most of the homes have basements, I wanted to be sure there were no water problems. Walkout basements in particular can have these water problems and "forced walkouts" are especially susceptible. I talked to the neighbors and went back to the houses at night to just listen to the noise levels. Many homes are pretty close to the expressways.

After I got a few houses on my "short list", I ranked them by desireability and made an offer on the first - it was accepted. Had it not been accepted, I would have made an offer on the second. The seller provided a CLUE report and homeowners warranty which is normal.

I really look forward to living here in Kentucky. It has so much to offer and the home values are better than most places. The property taxes are very low as well. And above all the people here are friendly and honest. I left my car keys on the bench outside my hotel accidently. They were turned into the front desk.

I did all this without a realtor representing me and I think I did ok. It took a lot of time and work, but in my opinion is doable. I know realtors don't always agree with this approach. It is presently a buyers market, however if you don't have the time or don't desire to do the grunt work then a realtor like tomocox would really be the way to go, in my opinion. I also have an attorney to review all the paperwork through to the closing - however it's pretty standard stuff.

I found plenty of houses in every community except Paramont - where there are only two for sale. If you can afford it there, it's worth a look.

Well that's it. Thanks again all.

[missymomof3]

Croce I hope things work out well for you! Good luck!

[movingoutofCA]

Croce, I'm happy for you. You're living my dream.

[Off Topic]

That is a very nice area. The Summit shopping center is primo.

Be sure and visit Henry's Ark! 7801 Rose Island Road in Prospect.
Private Zoo's Creatures Great, Small And Exotic - Free Preview - The New York Times

[Peter1948]

As far as suburbs go, that is probably one of th prime locations. The reason is is that Norton Commons is going to be an award winning community when it is mostly complete by 2020. I predict NC will really draw people in as it already is. If you must have "new" or suburban, this is the spot to be. Glen Oaks offers a traditional new country club subdivision within walking distance of the "towne center" of Norton Commons.

[virgo]

Well, congratulations to you! Enjoy!

[missymomof3]

Originally Posted by Off Topic

That is a very nice area. The Summit shopping center is primo.

Be sure and visit Henry's Ark! 7801 Rose Island Road in Prospect.
Private Zoo's Creatures Great, Small And Exotic - Free Preview - The New York Times

Henry's Ark is so nice! Make sure to take some veggies to feed the animals!

[Off Topic]

Originally Posted by missymomof3

Henry's Ark is so nice! Make sure to take some veggies to feed the animals!

But don't feed the goats!!! They'll follow you around and head-butt you.

[Cattknap]

Croce - I'm just curious - why did you forgo having a Realtor represent you? Is it cheaper to have an attorney look over the paperwork and do without a Realtor? Just wondering - we will be buying next year.

[missymomof3]

Originally Posted by Off Topic

But don't feed the goats!!! They'll follow you around and head-butt you.

The Donkeys scare me lol