Leduc Update

I started writing this on Monday...then Tuesday...and now here we are on Friday with my third attempt LOL Tyler, Dexter & I went to Leduc on Sunday and looked around. We had made appointments to look at two houses on the market and then we went to a couple showhomes for builders in the area.

We started with the showhomes, the first one being Jayman builders. With it being Superbowl Sunday it was very quiet so we had the saleswoman's full attention (good & bad). Price wise, are comfort level is to buy for $300,000 or less and we want to try to get at the least, a home that is equivilent to ours. Equivilent being 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms & 1500 square feet. If we build new, we'll have to have a two storey than so I also want a main floor laundry. Jayman's lowest plans were starting at $296,000 and that's with all the basics (carpet/lino). We also couldn't make any custom changes so basically we'd be stuck with whatever the spec floor plan was. Jayman does have a pretty good reputation and they boost lots of 'built green' features but they are at the top of our budget and give us the least choice.

The next place we went to was B&H Homes. Their showhome was a split level, which Tyler & I personally don't like much, but they had a beautiful kitchen and hardwood floors. We found out that their base price includes hardwood for the living spaces (carpet for bedrooms) which is a great bonus. I told the saleswoman what we were looking for & she passed me a floor plan for 1457 square feet in a two story. It had a main floor laundry, an open kitchen, dining room, living room space and the ensuite we were looking for and the base price was starting at $267,000. Then we asked if we can custom the house and she said yes. The base plan was very close to what we would want but there is also about $30,000 room for us to get some more of our upgrades we are looking for (dual vanities in the ensuite, full height cupboards in the kitchen, rough in for central vac, and maybe even partially finishing the basement). As an added bonus, the cupboards were maple which is an upgrade from the oak we currently have. So B&H was way ahead of the building race.

We went to another show home & they had a minimum 1900 square feet for their homes with attached garages...starting at $380,000. Way out of our comfort zone for this point in our lives.

Then we met Cynthia, a friend of my family and a realtor. She took us to the two houses we wanted to look at. The first was okay, but was smaller than ours and didn't have as nice of finishes (a.k.a. was built cheaper). And it didn't have the nice open floor plan on the main floor that we like. The second house was again smaller, didn't have an ensuite upstairs, and had carpet through the entire upstairs. This house move we have decided that we are going to have all laminate/hardwood/lino but absolutely no carpet as it just doesn't keep with our pets. Both houses were about $290 or 299,900 so again very close to the top of our budget but needing upgrades.

So the verdict is that we like Leduc. It seemed to have the amenities we're looking for (Walmart Super Center, Safeway, some restaurants, an indoor & outdoor pool, recently renovated rec center), a smaller size community but with Edmonton a reasonable distance away if we really wanted to eat at the Olive Garden or hit a nicer movie theatre.

We are very much leaning towards building again as we have a better chance of getting what we want for our money. However, Cynthia suggested that B&H Homes might not have the best reputation so we still have some researching to do. It's also possible that we may not be able to start the building process until we sell this house money wise so that delays what we can do. Building will take about 6-8 months so we would have to rent somewhere or couch surf in the interim which we are okay with. If we do have to wait until we sell, then we might just keep looking at houses on the market in case something comes up that we would be happy with and make a decision when we need to. If we can get started building, then we might just go ahead with that plan.

As for selling, well so far we haven't had any viewers. Red Deer's market is a little bit slow at the moment, but I'm confident that it'll just take someone coming to see our house for them to like it! I'm not sure if the pictures aren't doing it justice or what's going on...maybe we just need to positive think!

If you haven't looked yet, check out our listing at www.mls.ca and our number is CA299208!