Shopping for homes…

Today Vanessa and I decided to start going to Open House’s. Just to get an idea of what is available at different price levels. We went into 8 different homes in Yorba Linda and Placentia. The listing prices varied from $649,000 to $1.3 million. Which I am guessing is $200,000 to $900,000 out of our price range. It is interesting to see what you can get for about the same amount of money.

One looked brand new and was on a golf course ($689,000), one is in terrible condition about two blocks from the first one ($649,000), another was amazing at first glace, but the cabinets were cheap and uneven and the walls were wavy ($940,000).

It was a fun day, but then we came home and I looked on the internet at homes that are in our price range. Ugh. Talk about a letdown. If I only had another $400,000. Anyone? Anyone? No? Okay…

I’m going to keep waiting and hope for the market to plummet. Even if prices drop 15% I would be happy with that. Someday…

Back again?

Maybe. I feel a rant inside of me that has been eating away for weeks. Maybe even months. Which car should Vanessa get? About 3 months ago Vanessa mentioned to me that she would like to get a new car. No rush, but sometime within the next year. She’s currently driving a 2003 Honda Accord. It’s been a great car and there really isn’t anything wrong with it. On the other hand, I got a new car and she really likes it. So, she would like to get something that has some of the features my car has that her car doesn’t (navigation, dual climate, voice recognition, etc). So I started looking and started compiling a list.

As I started making suggestions I realized just how bad this was going to be. My thought was… (insert dreamy, wavy effects here). She wants the comfort items, but she doesn’t need great performance. We have a sedan, so it would be nice to be able to haul stuff around. We will never own a minivan… I know! An SUV! Perfect!” Vanessa didn’t seem to agree and that’s putting it gently. She says she doesn’t think they are safe and doesn’t want to be up that high. It didn’t matter if I showed her the NHTSA test results on safety and rollover ratings, she has that perception in her head, so that killed that idea.

She said that what she really wants is the same car I have. I can understand that, since it’s the same car I picked out. The problem is I keep getting a picture in my head of opening the garage and seeing the same car, in the same color. So then I asked her if she just wants my car and I will find something else. She said that would work. The problem is… I love my car. Not like, love. I can’t imagine getting something else I like that much. But then I thought, I’ll give her my car and I will get an Acura MDX (SUV). It has the same features as my car, but it’s just bigger and a little slower.

Well that didn’t go over well either. I think the exact quote was, “I don’t want an SUV, I won’t ride in an SUV, and I won’t own an SUV!” That pretty much killed that idea. If I get a car, then I will want something better. Since I think my car is the best car for under $45,000 (just my opinion) then this can get really expensive. So this is about 1/10th of the tennis match going on. I will bring something up, she will shoot it down, I’ll get frustrated, and then I will say, “Just get whatever you want.” Then I’ll start thinking again.

I think the problem is that I am so interested in cars and have so many thoughts and opinions and Vanessa’s opinions on cars are 90% different. I can’t stop thinking about the subject and I bet Vanessa only thinks about it when I bring it up. It’s driving me NUTS!