Monday, May 08, 2006

The Realistic Dream House

Didn't I say this whole idea of getting pre-qualified is going to get me in trouble? I don't want to buy a house for a year, yet I'm already looking. Okay, well not really, but I got this "oh so tempting" listing for a great house in a great neighborhood at a VERY good price. So good I had to take a look. Well, like the old saying goes, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. This house was on a big hill. BIG hill with lots of trees and rocks above it. Uhhh, no thanks. The last thing I need is a rock fall problem. So it got me thinking, with my current income, what kind of house do I really want? I wrote a while back on my dream life. Some of it was dreamy and some more realistic....Realistic because it's sort of within my means...You know? A dream life would be making millions of dollars through passive income and having two huge mansions one in Hawaii and one in Whistler. Okay, make that 3...one in Vegas too :). Right now it's just me and my dog. But looking forward, waaaaaay forward, I would like something for a family as well. I would also like to be able to generate some passive income while living there. So here's my dream realistic house: ~ 5000-10000 sqft lot size ~ 1200-1500 sqft living space - A decent sized yard, with a portion fenced off for Brownie to run around. - Early mail delivery. Yes, I like having my mail delivered early! - Hands free faucet in the kitchen. - Target price of around $500-650K - Off major streets - Level lot - 2 car garage - Fairly up to date electrical system, if not then the ability to upgrade easily. - 10' ceilings - 4 Bedrooms (Maybe a split, two level house, so I can rent one and live in another) - Wired for CAT 6E. I'm pretty sure this is something I'll have to setup myself. - I would like a location about 15 mins from town. - Friendly neighbors...who wouldn't want that! - Decent amount of street parking - Breezy and cool location - Fairly close to freeway Is that asking for too much? By the way, can you tell where I live? I live on Oahu, in the state of Hawaii. I guess it's kind of important to know that since I could probably get a lot more house somewhere else. Yeah, housing is expensive here. The cost of living in such a beautiful state I guess.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

The first time I read through your list, I thought "5,000-10,000 square foot home in Hawaii for $500k? Someone's really dreaming..." ;)

freedumb said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
freedumb said...

Ahhh, I see what you're saying...I better edit that...5000sqft house would be a little big for me and my dog...although he'd probably enjoy it quite a bit...

Anonymous said...

I've also started to look for a place on Oahu. I'd love a house with a yard but I'm 5 to 10 years from realizing that dream. I hope prices here start to come down. Anyway, good luck with your search. I'll be interested in reading more about your experience.

Here's a monthly report that a local realtor compiles from the MLS listings. I'm sure you'll find it interesting.
oahure.com/stats.html

freedumb said...

Eric,
Thanks for sharing that link...great info there! I hear you on the prices coming down...it's hard to be real excited because I know a bunch of friends that just bought...It hurts no matter which way the market goes. I'm thinking by next year, we should be able to see some kind of trend. I'll definitely be sharing my adventures...Thanks for reading!