We're looking for a place. I'm posting the message I sent to a realtor in case someone has any special information that could help us zero in on something. We also have a couple other ideas, but this message outlines what we have in mind for an existing home.
Hi, Lisa. Thanks so much for getting back to me. We are first-time homebuyers, and pretty small-time as well, and are looking for a place to be our residence for the next five to ten years. We are not considering this property to be an investment - our goals are different - but will be looking at additional properties as investments later.
Our family contains 3 adults and 2 children, and we need space for a computer lab, which need not be any separate room, but can be loft space, a former dining area, workshop, etc.
Here is the target.
Price range: $100,000 to 180,000
Bedrooms: at least 3
Bathrooms: at least 2
Space: at least 1600 sq. ft.
Territory: Delray Beach and southward as far as Ft. Lauderdale. We'd rather not wind up any further south than Atlantic in Ft. Lauderdale, but for an especially good deal, we might consider it. We certainly don't want to wind up as far north as Woolbright. East is better than west - we are not timid about properties east of 95.
I know those combinations are a bit of a challenge, but there are also special considerations.
Schools: Irrelevant - we homeschool.
Neighborhood: Highly flexible - any or mixed ethnicity. Aesthetics are irrelevant. Essentially, we do not want drug busts or stray gunfire to be a factor.
Homeowners association: We prefer none at all, but a liberal one is tolerable.
Noise: Irrelevant. We are happy to look at hard to sell properties next to industries, railroads, firehouses, that sort of thing.
Frills: Irrelevant. Things like fireplaces, pools, hot tubs, etc. hold no allure.
Big flaws: Let's look at these as opportunities. For instance, there is a neighborhood in Pompano where all the streets are being torn up. The neighborhood is mostly rental property, and since the owners now can't rent out the units, they are unloading them to forestall losses. Torn up roads mean nothing to us because we are taking a longer view. This neighborhood may have ideal opportunities for us.
I hope it will be fun for us to work together, as we can look into properties that you might not usually even consider for other families.
Thanks again, and have a good day.
Spring
