Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Real estate wish list

Our real estate agent asked my husband and I to come up with a wish list for what we want in our new home so she could start doing MLS searches. Here's what we've come up with:

+2 bedroom (or 1 bedroom + den)
+No high rises
+No garden units
+Edgewater neighborhood (Or similar neighborhood. Must be close to Red, Brown or Metra trains and within walking distance to a grocery store.)
+Cats allowed
+Wood floors
+Central Air
+Control over heating and cooling
+Balcony/deck space
+Dishwasher
+Washer/dryer (hook up in unit or in building)
+Basement storage
+Newer windows

Our agent told us that our list was very realistic and thought we could get most of the stuff on our list. She warned us that she always tells her clients you will have to compromise on at least one item on your list and you won't know what that is until you walk into your new home.

We met with her over the weekend and talked about all the nitty gritty steps that go into buying a home. It was incredibly informative, a little overwhelming, and very exciting all at the same time. (I'll be writing up a post on all these steps shortly.)

Our next two steps are:
1. Talk to a mortgage broker.
2. Start looking at condos!!! (My personal favorite step of the process!)

5 comments:

B said...

I just posted on the sacrifices you have to make in looking for a condo yesterday. I'm sure with your eye for design, you'll consider it, but my husband and I didn't put the need for lots of natural light on our list and really miss it after leaving a very sunny apartment. Nonetheless, we're still overjoyed with what we have.

Katie said...

Oh good tip on the amount of sunlight! Right now our apartment is north facing and the two buildings on either side of us are rather close, so we don't get a ton of good light during the day. One of the condos we looked at was at the front of a courtyard building with a ton of windows. We saw it on that glorious sunny, 80 degree day a few weeks ago and the light was just pouring in! I was in heaven. It made me realize how much I miss that.

Unknown said...

Maybe you want to buy our condo? We are looking at new places too. We love our place but just want another bathroom and air. We are on Montrose and Racine with a huge sunroom, vintage built-ins, near Wilson red line, near lake. 3 bedrooms, 1 bath. But, no central air or garage.

Anonymous said...

That cjlubbers was me. Forgot to sign in as my user with web link.

If you by my place, we will leave a bottle of limoncello in the freezer for you :)

Katie said...

How crazy would that be Caroline! A blogger real estate connection! Love it! Oooo, sunroom and some Limoncello! Yum!

Central air might be a non-negotiable for my husband. He's sick of putting in the window ac units. But we'll see!