OT: Home buying

[jazzfan1971]

So, the wife and I have been looking for a new house for a while now. We finally settled on something about 5 minutes from her work. Right now it takes her about 40 minutes to commute, and that was just too much.

So, we search, search, search. Put a bunch of low ball bids out on short sales.

finally hit one.

Got the appraisal done. It only appraised 5k more than we're paying. What a letdown that was. I was hoping for like 50k in instant equity.

Well, in a couple of weeks we'll be east siders. I've been a West side boy all my life. Kearns high grad. I'm not sure I'm gonna fit in over in Cottonwood heights. Do you have to stick your pinky out when you drink from your big gulp there?

Anyway... Anyone else in the market for a home? Personally I think it's the perfect time to get in. Rates are low and prices are still depressed. And if you can take advantage of the first time buyer stuff, wow.

[DelaneyRudd]

Cottonwood Heights is only hoity toity if you live near Walker Lane or by Tuscany. The rest is quite nice and normal. Be sure to go to Lone Star Taqueria often. Anyways, my commute is 40 minutes and 35 miles each way.

[rick333]

I agree with the Lone Star recommendation. Porcupine Grill by the mouth of Big Cottonwood canyon is always good too. I grew up in Sandy and went to Brighton. I think you will enjoy Cottonwood Heights. A lot less diverse, but not a bad place at all.

[jazzfan1971]

I don't know the area at all. We'll be walking distance from the rec center though.

[carrottop12]

I agree with the Lone Star recommendation. Porcupine Grill by the mouth of Big Cottonwood canyon is always good too. I grew up in Sandy and went to Brighton. I think you will enjoy Cottonwood Heights. A lot less diverse, but not a bad place at all.

My wife went to Brighton, what year did you graduate?

[DelaneyRudd]

I don't know the area at all. We'll be walking distance from the rec center though.

Then the whole upper Ft. Union area should be your main stomping grounds. Porcupine and Lone Star are your places. Liquor Store is a bit further west. There's a Jimmy7 Johns there too, which is my favorite chain sandwich place. You live in probably the best spot out of all non-Salt Lake City parts of the county. Murray is your best direction for wandering if you get the urge.

[jazzfan1971]

I look forward to trying these places. There is a cafe walking distance from the house we tried the other day, cottonwood heights cafe. They had a terrific meaty omlette and my wife liked the chocolate chip pancakes.

[hoops4life]

Sweet. That is really cool. Good news for you. I really like that area. My Grandparents lived kind of in that area.

[thorian]

I grew up in that area as well. Went to Butler Elementary, Butler Middle and Brighton High ('88). CH is a nice area and the schools are top-notch. I moved back to CH about 11 years ago by the mouth of Big Cottonwood canyon. I like the area's close proximity to the canyons and easy freeway access.

The Cottonwood Rec Center is great for swimming, working out, racquetball, tennis, ice skating, etc. Porcupine Grill is great. Canyon Inn and The Huddle are decent bars. Tuscany is a fantastic restaurant (no longer owned by Mark Eaton as of a month or two ago). Franck's next to Tuscany is fantastic as well. For more casual dining, Trio is nice, and there is a new place called Zuppas? next to Trio that is very good.

[jazzfan1971]

Zuppa's is about my wife's favorite spot.

[LjJazzman]

Ive been putting in a lot of really low offers on places around as well. Shorts sales are the way to go right now if you can find the right one. Thats how I bought my current house.

[rick333]

I agree with the Lone Star recommendation. Porcupine Grill by the mouth of Big Cottonwood canyon is always good too. I grew up in Sandy and went to Brighton. I think you will enjoy Cottonwood Heights. A lot less diverse, but not a bad place at all.

My wife went to Brighton, what year did you graduate?

'99

[rick333]

Zuppa's is about my wife's favorite spot.

La Cocina, off of Ft. Union and 2300 E I believe, has free virgin margaritas on Tuesday and Saturday after 4pm. Haven't been there in a while, so I don't know about the food. It's just East of the Lone Star mexican joint previously mentioned.

[xstockholmsyndromex]

I agree with the Lone Star recommendation. Porcupine Grill by the mouth of Big Cottonwood canyon is always good too. I grew up in Sandy and went to Brighton. I think you will enjoy Cottonwood Heights. A lot less diverse, but not a bad place at all.

My wife went to Brighton, what year did you graduate?

'99

I know a few people who graduated from there in 99....hmmmmm

[hoops4life]

You would probably know my cousins then. They graduated in 98 & 97. I think that everybody has a cousin that went to Brighton.

[ColdBlue]

JF71,

I bought a short sale condo up in the PC area about 6 months ago. It's a great time to buy, but I'm not expecting any equity for a number of years. I think the Utah market will struggle for a while... there are still a lot of foreclosures that are going to hit.

[jazzfan1971]

Update: Deal nearly fell through twice now.

1st. Our lender didn't include mortgage insurance on his disclosure the first time. When the went with the final disclosure it was therefore higher than the other. The new law says that if it's more than 1/8th of a percent higher you have to wait 3 days. We didn't have 3 days as the offer expired before then. We were able to bypass the law by signing a letter saying that the 3 day wait would cause us great hardship. Still, a scary pain in the butt. Not real happy with my lender, who claims it was a computer glitch... Sure it was...

2nd. After we had gone to closing and signed for the home on Friday, this Monday we learn that the entity that held the 2nd mortgage and had agreed to the short sale settlement had subsequently transferred that 2nd mortgage to a 4th party (us, seller, 1st, 2nd, new 2nd) I guess that got ironed out today, but, there was a real threat that the whole deal was going to collapse due to that.