!! We're getting a new house !!

[Packy]

WOOHOOOOO! My wife and I have been looking around for the past 3 months at older homes, assuming that was all that was in our budget range. Even then, most of the in-town houses were too expensive for us and not really what we wanted. Last weekend we took a trip out to a new development only 15 minutes out of town in a beautiful wooded area of Springfield, OR. When we saw the price our jaws dropped! We could actually afford a new, two story house with almost a 1/4 acre lot! It's 1420 sq. ft, plus a 400 sq. ft. 2-car garage for $136,000! (this price includes 3 extra windows, extra outlets, carpet and vinyl upgrade, a breakfast bar, maple cabinets, and a dedicated freezer outlet for the garage)

This is our house model, with a few changes.

We get to pick out house color, trim color, custom options like extra windows, our cabinets, vinyl, our carpeting, landscaping options, shingle style, and probably a lot more that I forgot.

Our lot is on a curve, so the backyard gets bigger in the back, and it will be looking onto a field for at least a few years before they build more houses behind us.

We haven't been able to sleep for the past few days! We're going in on Saturday to make everything official! Oh yeah, and we're moving in around mid to late June, when the house gets finished.

 

[mpitts]

That's awesome. My wife and I went through basically the same thing and we wound up with a new house in a new neighborhood. Congrats!

 

[boyRacer]

Congrats...

 

[bleeb]

NICE! Why don't you celebrate by inviting all the ATOT members with FREE jugs of BEER

 

[Packy]

Originally posted by: bleeb
NICE! Why don't you celebrate by inviting all the ATOT members with FREE jugs of BEER

How about beer and foosball?

 

[RossMAN]

That is AWESOME, congratulations!

How far is Springfield from Eugene?

 

[Ausm]

Crongrats...sounds like a very nice house.

Ausm

 

[tarheelmm]

mmmmmm beeeeerrrrr

Contgrats

 

[RossMAN]

I like this $120,900 floor plan (on the right)

Just wish it were in Portland

 

[Quixfire]

Congrats, welcome to property owners club.

 

[Spac3d]

Congrats! It must be so exciting building a new house

I am in the market for a house too, but I don't think I will be so lucky.

Spac3d

 

[Packy]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
That is AWESOME, congratulations!

How far is Springfield from Eugene?

Only about a second Eugene and Springfield are divided by I-5, so technically they're bumped up next to each other. I work at Sony Disc Manufacturing (in Springfield) and live over by Autzen Stadium (Eugene) right now, so the drive to work is about 15 minutes. Once we move into the new place, the best part is that the drive is just freeway driving, so minimal traffic and still only 15 minutes!

I'm originally from Beaverton, but my wife and I decided to stay in the Eugene/Springfield area for a while because of my job. We eventually want to be up in Portland though. What kind of houses have you been looking at in Portland, RossMAN?

 

[Packy]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
I like this $120,900 floor plan (on the right)

Just wish it were in Portland

Same Actually, if you think these are cheap, check out the prices of the Hayden Homes Umatilla development. The same house is about $30,000 less than what we're gonna pay!

The $120k house it the model they have for display at the Springfield development. The ceiling is 9 feet tall, so it's a VERY open design.

 

[Sealy]

Wow! That's great! I totally understand the feeling of finding a new house! We move in to our Townhouse on the 25th!

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Packy

I'm originally from Beaverton, but my wife and I decided to stay in the Eugene/Springfield area for a while because of my job. We eventually want to be up in Portland though. What kind of houses have you been looking at in Portland, RossMAN?

I want a new house and there are few in the area that we want to live in (SE Portland close to downtown Portland). So we'll probably relocate to Beaverton/Aloha, Gresham or somewhere in Vancouver, WA.

I'd love to find a simple yet moderate 2 bedroom/1.5 bathroom home for around $130,000.00 near Portland.

 

[rh71]

Awesome price for all that. Hell we just paid $330k on LI (NY) and we don't even have a 2nd floor bathroom. :|

 

[notfred]

Personally, I like older houses, they seem to be built sturdier, and they're less likely to be a cookie cutter house that's exactly the same as everyone else in the neighborhood's.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: notfred
Personally, I like older houses, they seem to be built sturdier, and they're less likely to be a cookie cutter house that's exactly the same as everyone else in the neighborhood's.

Ours built in 1951, very similar to all houses in, not only the development, but many towns close by. That's LI for ya.

 

[BooGiMaN]

Congrats!!!

Thats a nice looking home.

 

[dabuddha]

wow!! very nice!

 

[BooneRebel]

It's a great time to buy a house! Personally I've yet to convince myself to buy new, I prefer an older home with more square footage (plus, the landscaping has already been done). But if you're going new, here are a few things I've learned:

The finishing is one of the things that will really drive up the cost of the home, look for things like solid wood cabinetry vs. particle board & no name lighting & lavatory fixtures. Another common dodge is off-size (non standard) windows, fireplaces, etc. You might not realize it going in but when you go to buy blinds and have to order custom you'll regret it. Will the interior have trim & molding, or just basic 1x stuff?

See if you can take a look at some of the builder's older projects. A while back the SO & I were just about to sign on a new house and decided to drive around and look at some of the older neighborhoods. The houses were only 10 years old or so but looked much older, basically just falling apart. It's hard to tell cheap materials at first. A fresh coat of paint will make anything look good, but over time the places where they cut corners will show up.

If the older houses look good and the builder has a good reputation in general, go for it. Looks to be an OK price for new construction, ~$100 per sq ft. You won't get as much house for the money, but it will definitely appreciate faster than an older home. Good luck!

 

[alm99]

Congrats!! I wish were in your shoes. But whats with all the cookie cutter homes. I would hate to drive down the road and see the exact same house as I have across the street, its like that everywhere.

 

[rudder]

congrats to you. And congrats to me! The wife just called and we have a closing date on our house so now we can sign a contract on our new home.

 

[Packy]

Originally posted by: BooneRebel
It's a great time to buy a house! Personally I've yet to convince myself to buy new, I prefer an older home with more square footage (plus, the landscaping has already been done). But if you're going new, here are a few things I've learned:

The finishing is one of the things that will really drive up the cost of the home, look for things like solid wood cabinetry vs. particle board & no name lighting & lavatory fixtures. Another common dodge is off-size (non standard) windows, fireplaces, etc. You might not realize it going in but when you go to buy blinds and have to order custom you'll regret it. Will the interior have trim & molding, or just basic 1x stuff?

See if you can take a look at some of the builder's older projects. A while back the SO & I were just about to sign on a new house and decided to drive around and look at some of the older neighborhoods. The houses were only 10 years old or so but looked much older, basically just falling apart. It's hard to tell cheap materials at first. A fresh coat of paint will make anything look good, but over time the places where they cut corners will show up.

If the older houses look good and the builder has a good reputation in general, go for it. Looks to be an OK price for new construction, ~$100 per sq ft. You won't get as much house for the money, but it will definitely appreciate faster than an older home. Good luck!

Thanks for all the tips! We need any suggestions we can get

If you go to the builder's root site and click "The Hayden Difference", they list all of the techniques and practices they use for home building. The reason they do it cheap but with quality is because they do large neighborhoods at once and buy in bulk (other reasons too, I'm sure). The cabinets are solid wood, the framing and insulation is better than needed to meet code, the windows are double-paned and vinyl-framed, the foundation is solid, the walls are done w/ 3 layers of joint compound, the faucets are all Moen-brand, etc.etc. Overall, it sounds like they're building them to last!

 

[StageLeft]

Yaye!