A Grump goes House Shopping
Recently, Jen and I have been checking into moving out of our apartment. It's a long story that involves our cats, some shoddy record-keeping, and our new apartment managers. So we've been looking at renting or maybe buying a place here in town, but everything we've seen so far has been pretty discouraging. Our search did take us to a new area, a place we hadn't visited before: Lake Wenatchee State Park. The rental property was about 10 miles from the state park, but it was pretty crummy, and really far from Wenatchee--about 50 miles or so. We didn't realize it would be that far. After visiting the lake, we began to think that maybe the long drive wouldn't be that bad, because of how gorgeous it is up there. Of course, the drive would be particularly nasty come winter--back along a mountain canyon on snowy, two-lane roads--and so we nixed it in the long run.
Yesterday, we decided to look into buying houses. It was really depressing, though. In order to get anything half-way decent (as in over 1,000 sq. ft., 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, in move-in condition, in a decent part of town) we're looking at prices in the $180,000 range. To give you an idea, $100,000 buys you little more than a single-wide. Even houses that were around $175,000 were absolute dumps with serious code violations, needing major remodeling projects or had postage-stamp rooms. We're talking closets turned into second bathrooms. We're talking light switches on ceilings. Floors that physically bow when you walk across them. Basement stairways with steps that are 5 inches wide. Ceilings so low I bump my head on light fixtures, ceiling fans that would slap me in the face. Capital "P" problems.
In all, we learned that you can buy nicer houses in Naperville or Waukegan than you can in Wenatchee for $150,000. Who would've guessed that Wenatchee was one of the highest-priced real estate markets in the nation?
I suppose things will work out eventually, but right now it seems that the light at the end of the tunnel is pretty faint.
posted by Brad Smith at 10:57 AM
4 Comments:
Brad- Sorry to hear it's been tough finding a place. Wenatchee home prices have really gone up dramatically in the past few years. For 4 quarters in 2007 Wenatchee led the country in home price appreciation. Good news for home owners, bad news for home buyers. I guess the silver lining is that if you do buy a place and fix it up, in a few years it will probably be worth more than when you bought it. You may not be able to say that about other parts of the country that are seeing depreciation and feeling the recession or near recession more than we are. The other silver lining is that the Wenatchee market has cooled a little and you have time to make a decision. A year ago if you saw what you wanted you had to act fast to grab it- it was a little crazy.
Hi Geordie,
Thanks for responding, and thanks for the encouragement. Jen and I moved to Wenatchee about 3 years ago. If only we would have bought then... But we had our reasons, I suppose.
I'll keep an eye on your blog. It looks like you've got some great advice for home owners and home/condo buyers.
Hey Brad,
Sorry to hear about your apt/house hunting woes. I can sympathize. Ken and I have been looking for a simple house or apt to rent in Iowa and have had horrible luck. Every place that accepts cats is a dump with a capital D. We FINALLY found a little duplex last weekend that's in pretty good shape and accepts the boys. The only major problem is that it's on a busier street than we would have liked, but we'll adjust. Anyway, just wanted to know I'm right there with you in terms of experiencing the woes of moving. Chin up! Something good will come up!
It's supposedly a buyer's market! I wonder why the prices remain outrageous there. The lake is absolutely beautiful, though, and I can see why you'd be tempted to risk the dangerous winter drive. Of course, with gas prices it wouldn't be financially prudent. Anyway, I'm sure you'll find something to meet your needs.
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