Building the Foundation

We went by our lot on Saturday and it looks like the gravel has been smoothed out and waiting for the concrete pour.  Hooray!



Other Angles.

We're pretty excited!  We are hoping to document our progress each week!  

In the next couple weeks, we'll be picking our flooring and other options.

 

From the path at the back of the house!



Some Background: Our Search. Part 2

Where did we consider? 

All over the Bay Area.  This was a pretty hard decision - since one of the first things a realtor will ask is  "Where do you want to be?"  So it's like you should actually pre-shop the neighborhoods, before even going to the banks for a pre-qualification or a realtor.  It's a lot of research, but it really kind of comes down to - do you like it or not?  Does it fit you?

We did a search twice and took a break after the first time.

2010 - 2011 Search

East Bay.  We quickly discovered we didn't want to go East. Neither of us wanted to fight Bay Bridge traffic and we just didn't fall in love with the idea.  However, for a split second, we did consider Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill.  Both with BART stations!  But it might just be WAY TOO HOT FOR US!

Then we started looking seriously at the Peninsula and the South Bay.
First, we looked in Pacifica and San Mateo,  We didn't quite know what were doing, but the Peninsula didn't quite mesh with us (and neither did our realtor).  San Jose was a little too far for us and we didn't even consider it. 

In the City. We then considered some foreclosed homes in San Francisco, including the Ocean Beach House we were living in.  The house was spacious, had a rental unit, next to Golden Park and a skipping stone away from Ocean Beach. But no yard, only 1 bathroom,  and some water damage, leaning on one side, which meant probably some foundation work, and transients living in GGP kept peeing on the side of our house and breaking bottles all over the sidewalk.  We couldn't even walk our dog outside our door.  It was a fixer-upper.  We looked at other houses as well, but the neighborhoods weren't quite right, and for what we wanted in a home, it was just too expensive.

North Bay - Marin. We moved in February 2011 to Sausalito, with our little dog, right by Marin Headlands.  We wanted to be closer to Napa, but still be close to San Francisco, to commute to work.  We barely unpacked.  So we started to look in the North Bay, considering Mill Valley, San Rafael, the places in between, and for a second, Petaluma.  At the time, we were reading reviews and lots of people really had a problem with the Petaluma to SF commute.   We were looking at a lot of houses in San Rafael, but we didn't really mesh well with our realtor this time either, having found him randomly without interviewing other people. Mistake!  Interview realtors or at least look at their Yelp reviews.  Seriously.

2012

We started looking again in July 2012, focusing on Petaluma, after visiting the town a few times and looking at open houses.    We really liked Petaluma and talked to a couple of friends who lived in Petaluma.   They all loved it.  We drove around the neighborhoods and used sites like Trulia and Zip Realty for open house announcements and price comparisons.

We revisited the idea of the commute everyday to San Francisco, and for the expanse of the house we could get, we think we can live with it.  We can either take a bus (Golden Gate Transit) or drive to Larkspur Ferry.

When we felt like we were ready to *seriously* look, we chose a realtor to represent us and give us more information about the neighborhoods.  Before we decided on a newly constructed home, we also looked at older homes as well.

Some Background: Our Search. Part 1

We've Been Looking...

Since 2010, we have been looking to purchase a home.  At the time we started our search, we had just moved into a rental home by Ocean Beach in San Francisco that literally foreclosed two weeks after we moved in.  We felt like we got HAD by the Landlord!  It was supposed to be our five year home, while we saved money for a house.  Since it got foreclosed, we started entertaining the idea of buying earlier. Well, it put the wheels in motion for us to look hard for a home for purchase!

What Were We Looking for in a House?

Besides needing to be within our budget, we also wanted to be in a location with access to public transportation, and in a good community.  We made lists of our Must Haves, Nice to Haves, and Must Nots!

Must Haves:

• Large Kitchen
• Gas stove
• Nice Family Room
• Lots of Natural Light
• 2 bathrooms minimum
• En suite Bath in Master Bedroom
• Walk in closet for Master Bedroom
• At least 2 bedrooms
• Covered garage
• Laundry area
• Yard 
• Good neighborhood
• Efficient Layout, good flow
• Structurally sound
• Double-pane windows in bedrooms
• At least 1500 sqft

Nice to Have:

• More than 2 bedrooms
• More than 2 bathrooms
• Modern Kitchen
• Entrance Patio
• High Ceilings
• Separate Dining Room
• Fireplace
• Hardwood Floors
• Separate Laundry Room
• Walking distance to Petaluma Downtown
• Level Lot
• New!
• Multi-level
• Open Floor Plan

Must Not Have:

• Master Bedroom next to Kitchen
• Bad Feng Shui!
• Mold problems
• Be in front of busy road
• Drainage issues
• Roofing problems

What is a Tankless Water Heater?

One of options we had to choose recently was the type of water heater we wanted in our new home.  The standard choice is a Tankless Water Heater. The model offered is the Navien Tankless Gas Water Heater.  We chose an upgrade to a larger unit that also has recirculating technology.

How Does It Work?

A tankless water heater does not store water in a tank like traditional water heaters.  Instead, cold water passes through the a small gas powered flame (heat exchanger) in the heater, and heats it immediately.  Tankless water heaters must have outside venting as well, so the gases from the heating elements are vented outside. 

 

Good Things.

Tankless water heaters save space.  Instead of the old heaters that look like minature silos taking up space in your garage that needs to be put up on blocks, a tankless water heater can be mounted and is much smaller comparatively.

Tankless water heaters are also more energy-efficient.  Instead of maintaining a water tank, tankless waters are more energy efficient as they do not require additional energy to keep the water in the tank warm.  They require less energy, since water is heated instantly, instead of sitting in a tank that has to be kept hot. 

The water comes out HOT!  Yes, it takes the same amount of time for the water to travel through the pipes, but the water comes out hot faster than traditional systems.  For any of Betty's friends who have lived in Japan, you may be familiar with a smaller tankless water heater that instantly heated up your hot water for showering or washing dishes, and if you remember, it comes out piping hot, really fast!!

You may save some money too.  PG&E, our local utility company offers a rebate for Hot Energy Savings. 

Pacific Gas and Electric Rebate for Energy Efficient Water Heaters

Also looking into if we can get a federal tax credit.

It does kind of look like a Lego block.

Progress Update

The Building Begins!

On Saturday, after some errands in San Francisco, we went by to look at the model home and check out if anything was happening on our lot. 

Here's what we saw!  It looks like the builders are setting up the foundation!   The weather was beautiful and we hope that it's nice for the next few months to avoid any delays. 

The driveway has already been paved so we were also able to see our actual  driveway.  

 Work continues on Monday.  Hooray! 

About Petaluma

Our New Old Town

Petaluma is located in Sonoma County.  The county is well known for delicious wines and beautiful weather.  According to the Petaluma Visitor Center, the town was chartered in 1858 along the riverfront, during the Gold Rush.  And apparently, the picturesque heritage downtown is on the National Register of Historic Places!

The Petaluma River runs through Petaluma, separating the historic West Petaluma and newer developments and two golf courses in East Petaluma.  We'll be in East Petaluma, but downtown is only a 10 minute drive.     

The 101 also runs through Petaluma, so it's an easy commute (if traffic cooperates) into San Francisco for work, visiting family and Union Square shopping and meals at Michael Mina.  Napa is also only 30 minutes away.   


Petaluma's downtown is ideal for strolling, browsing nice antique stores, noshing at great eateries and lots of summertime festivals. We've been up in Petaluma almost every weekend for the past couple months, and we can't wait to be part of the community.  We're already scoping out the best shopping, restaurants and supermarkets!  

Petaluma is also surrounded by farms and small dairies.  Clover Stornetta Farms is close by and Three Twins Ice Cream factory is in town.  (Try Lemon Cookie.)  Petaluma Poultry which produces Rocky the Range Chicken organic poultry is also in town.   Everything is so fresh - this is where Farm to Table comes from!

Michael was particularly excited that we can get excellent barbecued tri-tip and ribs at the Petaluma Market.  Other fast favorites are Sugo Trattoria, for basic and always consistently delicious modern Italian food with great staff and Petaluma Pie Company, which serves both savory and sweet pies, including individual mini one person portion pies. LOVE.

Petaluma Visitor's Center

Watering the Ground

Progress.

Last week, the dirt on our lot was being prepared to lay the foundation.  That means, they water the dirt so the soil expands so that it won't expand more after the foundation is laid and dried, so it won't crack.  Well, that's the way it was explained to me.

We also had to submit our first option and upgrade choices.  We picked the standard 8' door, the largest tankless water heater offered, a loft in lieu of the fourth bedroom and a gas fireplace for our family room!