New Build?

On Christmas Day we went to look at a site where we could potentially buy a plot and build a new home on the eastern edge of Eugene. We've viewed the house plans and it's within our budget, but until the house is built it's so hard to be sure exactly what you're getting for your money. There are no houses in the development at all at the moment, but all the roads are down and services are plumbed into each plot.

Our feeling now we were standing on the site was that despite the beautiful location the size of the plot might not leave much garden, so your neighbours could be looking right into your windows, and the noise from the I5 down in the valley, noticeable even on Christmas Day, could be intrusive.

With a new build on the back burner, we took a fresh look (online) at the 40 or so currently available houses that fit our search criteria, and selecting five possibles, drove round to take a look. Now we're living in Eugene it is of course much easier to view possible houses as soon as they are listed, and you can only tell so much from an online listing.




Of the chosen five we very quickly three rejected from an on-site inspection due to non-existant gardens or undesireable neighbourhoods, but this one did take our fancy, and we happened to catch the lady of the house for a chat. The house is on a cul-de-sac, backs onto a creek, and is at the current northwest corner of the city, so it's a quiet location, but still only ten minutes drive from all the shopping areas.

The house is about 2,500 square feet in the main building, but also had a third garage with a spare room above, so it's plenty big enough for us. We're having a look inside tomorrow, at the owner's invitation, and she is aware that we aren't in a position to buy until our London house is sold, but the house has been on the market for several months with only one other person showing interest so we may be lucky.