Gettin' My Move On: Part 2

Making a List, Adding to it Thrice

Initially my thought process on our next home, though it would be just a rental, went something like this: Large, comfortable, and practically perfect in every way.

Kyle was anxious to take advantage of this buyer’s market and was not really interested in finding a rental home that met very many of our needs. After all, we would only be in there for a handful of months if all went according to plan.

I, on the other hand, did not want to live in something that I was ready to move out of as soon as the fourth box was unpacked. I know all too well that things don't always go "according to plan." So I was ready to sprawl out and get comfy. For our entire married lives we have lived in homes costing considerably less than what we could afford. (My mom still shakes her head at the places we crammed our little family in) It served us well and I have no regets. We were able to save a lot of money and refrain from buying useless stuff because there just wasn't room. I fully respect living within our means and by desiring to live in a large, comfortable home, meant simply largER and more functional than what we've had in the past. Which wouldn't take much. And should the unthinkable happen and we ended up having to live in that rental for a few years due to a change in plans--- which seems to be the rule with us, not the exception-- I would be fine. So, I came up with a list of musts to help aid me in narrowing down the selection:

Must be Safe. Basically just trying to avoid drugs, gang-bangers, thefts. Not too much to ask, right?
Must be near a Good School. My son was starting kindergarten this year. If we could choose where to live, why not choose to live where a good school was? I mean, who would elect to have their child go to a mediocre or not-so-good school if they could help it?
Must have More Space. If even just one extra bedroom than what we need. (I can think of plenty of uses for 3 extra bedrooms, but this was a short term commitment after all.) I liked knowing we can “grow into” something, even if it’s just for a 6-month stint. Having more children is part of the plan. Should that happen sooner rather than later, I do not want to sleep one of my children in the laundry room again, if at all possible.
Must have Two Levels. It was important to me for the kids to have their own space to run amuck. That helps with noise control, which in turn helps with Mommy control.
Must have Ample Storage: Remember that food storage? We also have quite a variety of sleeping bags, mattress pads, and other miscellaneous items “essential for camping.” I wanted to be able to park my car in the garage for once.
Must have a respectable Master Closet. This may go with the Ample Storage Must, but deserves a line of its own. My clothes were tired of battling Kyle’s clothes for wiggle room.

There were other things I wanted, but knew I couldn’t have my cake and eat it, too. I added these items secretly, willing to concede if absolutely necessary:

Cul-de-sac. My kids haven’t had the opportunity to fully appreciate the benefits of cul-de-sac living yet. I wanted to introduce them to this quiet, suburban way of life.
Gas hook-ups. We own a sweet gas dryer. Why should I go out and buy another dryer just to fit electric-only hookups? That would be wasteful. And lame.
View. I didn’t want my yard backing up into someone’s kitchen. It sounds hermit-like and grumpy, but after growing up with a lake view from my bedroom window as a child, and spending our last 3 years in Chicago with nothing but trees, grass, and flowers (and weeds) as far as the eye could see, I just wanted something moderately pretty to look at without feeling like every time I looked out the window I was intruding on Family Night in the Smith’s den.

I began compiling detailed lists and spreadsheets of homes from craigslist and KSL (love KSL by the way, but it needs more than price range to narrow down the home search). It didn't take long for me to feel overwhelmed at what was ahead of me.

A Little Algebra

Remember the obscure little “X” in Algebra class? The magic number that unlocked the solution? That is what we’ll call the limit Kyle set for the very most we’d spend on our rental home. It was a fair amount, and with the housing market the way it was in Utah, it was expected that there would be an ample number of respectable rentals below X. I, being a reasonably financially sound and supportive wife, began sifting through the homes and only considering the ones that were less than X. The shocking truth: there weren’t many that complied with even 50% of my must-have list.

A more complicated, yet constant mathematical mystery is the frame of mind many Utahns seem to have: They think their stuff is worth more than it really is. Houses included. We’ll label that mystery with a “Y.”

During my virtual search of rental homes, it seemed as though all Utah landlords made a pact that they would take the real market worth of their homes, and then add a minimum of $300. And no one would budge. Never mind that there was an astounding surplus of homes on the market which hadn’t moved in over a year.

There were a few Mavericks out there who had the guts (and brains) to price their homes right. Whenever I called to inquire about their home, I always got the same response, “Oh sorry. It’s already been rented.” Surprise, surprise.

Those economic gurus out there well know that when the housing market slows, the rental market picks up. It’s quite an interesting trend. What’s baffling is that in Utah County (my assessment anyway), distressed homeowners who overpaid for their homes knowing they can’t sell their home for how much they bought it for, decide to rent their homes out and ask for their mortgage amount, and often times more! Some may take a hundred or two off their monthly payment and they think they are offering a steal. Then homes sit for 3 or 4 months (at least) before they are rented, usually after a significant price reduction.

We've lived in some of the most expensive housing markets in the country: Bay Area, DC, and recently Chicago. Why was it that Utah County felt it had to compete with the prices of those hopping metropoli?

The result of my virtual finds: Y - X = too many dollars difference to be even remotely encouraged about our next bird's nest.

Something would have to give whether it was our price or theirs. Or about 75% of my list reducing my expectations to small, not very comfortable, and quite less than perfect.