adventures in real estate, take 1

[jaeclectic]

So I met my realtor this evening -- actually one of two partners, gay male couple, both realtors and in business together as well as parents of two toddlers -- he's a very charming guy, which I suppose is par for the realty course, not to mention only what I would expect of someone recommended by Karen. And he's red-haired and barely taller than me. We had various adventures together, including going the wrong way down a one-way street in Chinatown (he was driving), and almost breaking the lock at one place because we got the wrong keys out of the wrong lockbox (since we weren't warned that there might be more than one lockbox, and the correct one was attached to a window a foot above either of our eye-level). So I'd say we've bonded :)

He took me to see 4 places: two units in a building in downtown Oakland, a loft in west Oakland, and a place in Adams Point (the other side of Lake Merritt, near Fairyland). The first two were interesting partly to see what would make two condos of the same size, same layout, on the same floor of the same building differ in price by > 15K. The answer seems to be: beautiful wood floors. Neither unit was all that bad, but the building didn't appeal all that much, and there was a lot of street / freeway noise.

The loft was very nice indeed, and of course I liked it best because it was the most expensive place we saw, right at the absolute top of my price range. It was a very quirky, odd-shaped space but I actually kind of like that (although with mild worry that fitting in my actual furniture might prove painful). Would need to go back in daylight and wander around the neighborhood and decide how I'd feel about living there (there == Grand near Market).

The last place gets full points for neighborhood charm, low points for style, but was also the cheapest place. Beige carpets, view of the next building's roof, sticky kitchen cabinets, and so on. At least the closet doors weren't mirrored.

My head is swimming, really.

Comments

[bulieb.livejournal.com]

Wow -- that is overwhelming. My inclination would be to pick the place that has the best surroundings, with the idea that you can (eventually) replace cabinets and floors and even mirrored closet doors. (And by the way, those will be back in style in, oh, eight years or so -- don't turn your nose up!)

How fortunate that you found such a pleasant realtor -- and a redhead! Very auspicious, I think.