Showhomes

Last night Michael, Logan and I went to look at some showhomes in the Riversong area (a new development in Cochrane) just because. They are 3 bedroom homes starting at 279000 which is potentially in where we'd like to be as far as a home purchase goes. Anyways, certain elements of the homes were beyond wonderful (like it seems they really focus on the kitchen/dining area in all of them which is crucial in my future home) but I actually was overall disappointed in every single one of them. My favourite ones were the larger ones of course and they are 320K at 1600sqft which isn't -awful- BUT they all come with unfinished basements! I have HUGE issues with unfinished basements. Frankly, it seems that the unfinished basement is the most commonly used area of the home!

Let me explain that.. so there are 3 bedrooms upstairs and then on the mainfloor there is a kitchen, dining room, sitting room and bathroom. Okay, did anyone see where I mentioned playroom space? or space to put toys? How about where do I put my computer? Or my piano? The rooms are too tiny to fill with all their toys, and I definely do not want toys in my living room because then it just looks cluttered and for me, clutter is EVIL. I could put my computer in a corner of the living room, and I suppose my TV, but then there's no space for a piano, etc. 1600sqft is plenty big but I don't feel they've maximized these starter homes to fit a -family- lifestyle! So, my favourite one was 320K (already going over budget), which I don't think included all the taxes, then on top of it all we'd need to finish the basement. The builder quotes 30-33K to finish it but said that if we're handy pepole it's possible to do a basement for 12-15K. But even still, that's 12-15K more than I don't have!

So as lovely as it seems to buy a brand new home, I personally think that I would still want to find an older home. For one, I know this sounds crazy but I want a 4-5 bedroom home! I want 3-4 bedrooms available for kids should it be needed, then I would want an office room to set up my sewing, my Bowen and my computer, then it'd be realy nice to have a spare room! Who doesn't have guests over? In those starter homes they'd be put in... you guessed it, THE BASEMENT! sigh.. I just don't understand why a tiny little home costs so much and is incomplete.

Anyways, that's my little rant :) I've been watching MLS and Kijiji, and there are older homes in the same price range that meet my criteria which is hopeful for the end of the year when we are actually serious about buying a home. Oh and another reason I would want an older home is that then it's in a nicer neighborhood! I have huge issues with these 'cookie cutter' neighborhoods. I love the neighborhood i'm in because it doesn't feel so squeezed in, it's got nice wide streets, lots of developed parks and not every house looks the EXACT same.

The home we are in is WAY better then the ones looked at. We fit lovely in here, we have TWO sitting rooms, all three rooms are huge and it's just all around wonderful. My only complaints is I would really love that 4th room space without having to cut down our living space in the basement portion of the home, I'd like an updated kitchen and I would like a front hall closet. It's interesting this smaller space is more functional then the showhomes which have an entire basement space that we don't have..