Soooooooo many factors to consider when looking through hundreds and thousands of Zillow postings for THE ONE, The Forever Home.
Deal killers abound both pro and con – steps are out, as are any HOA fees, but a walk-in shower, kitchen pantry, and high-speed internet are absolute must have items. (I’ll still be working, remotely, from home, so that internet isn’t just so that I can stream Real Housewives of Sheboygan any time I want!)
Other things are more fuzzy getting plugged into the decision tree. Solar panels? Really, really nice, but we can always add them later if we really need to. A trash compactor? Not a problem if it’s not there, we have one in this rental house and we’ve never, EVER used it.
A pool or jacuzzi? They’re not uncommon out here because of the climate and they fit into the price range and home size that we’re looking at. I would guess somewhere between 25% and 33% of the houses we look at have either a pool or a jacuzzi, and of those most have a combination. We had a jacuzzi at the Pomelo house for almost 30 years, but we didn’t use it more than a couple times a year (at most!) and sometimes it would go for a couple years at a time without being used, usually due to maintenance issues.
I could live without the expense of a pool and/or jacuzzi, but I do see where they would be nice to have. So it’s neutral to me – I wouldn’t mind having one and if we do get a house with one I’ll probably make an actual effort to use it more regularly. But if we find a nice home without one, that’s just dandy as well.
The one shown here is at a house in Lancaster that we looked at today. Nothing that I absolutely am in love with, but it would be acceptable if for some reason we had to pull the trigger on Monday (God forbid!) and be moved in 30 days (just kill me now). On the other hand, it’s better to have a Plan B and not need it than to need a Plan B and not have it.
As with so many things in life…
We Love The Stars Too Fondly 