Shopping for a home - Part 1

The drive was uneventful, the family was a bit tired from seeing four houses already, all nice places, but not what I was looking for; they were all so far away from the office downtown.  One was a great suburban house in a trendy neighborhood, the blue siding would *have* to go but the wife loved the kitchen.  She kept going on and on about all the windows the house had and she really loved the little park on the corner lot.  

The real-estate agent kept going on and on about this and that, but I had tuned out long ago.  She kept repeating sales pitches and going on about how the last house was a great buy due to the developers adding things like granite counter tops or tile floors.  Bah - cosmetics.  We needed a safe place for the kids to play, good schools and enough bedrooms to sleep the bunch of us.  I really wanted an office at the house but every house had their office areas right off the living spaces, or in a corner of the master bedroom.  That wouldn't do at all.  When the kids were playing games, the noise was simply too distracting and would make me want to put down the work and go play.  Or in the case where the office was in the bedroom - I never liked that either.  The bedroom is for resting and getting away from it all, that and my wife would never let me get away with working late into the night if she had the glare of the screens and my incessant typing to deal with.  

"And this next place..." the agent segued.  I tuned in.  "... is something completely different.  Now we're going to meet up with another agent here who can tell you more about it than I can.  Given our conversations today I think it will really meet your needs"  I tune out as I realize she's not going to tell me anything substantial and begin thinking about my latest project at work.  

The car pulling into a tunnel and entering a large subterranean parking garage tunes me back to the present.  I blink as the light dims a little, but there is bright light bathing the vast parking area from overhead lights so I quickly adjust.  I glance at the wife and she has a secret smile.  OK, she knows something about this and they are surprising me.  I can play along.  I was pretty sure we were house shopping, not going to the mall.  

We step out and pop out the little stroller.  With the kids situated we start towards a bank of elevators.  Lots of people are coming and going and we join the small crowd at the doors.  Ding, we climb in.  The back wall of the elevator is transparent and the kids crowd the glass; waiting eagerly to see whatever appears.  We climb what feels like several stories and emerge above ground again and look out across a large greensward dotted with small trees in really big pots - the classic 'new tree' look, though the pots look odd - really wide and low, why not just plant them in the ground?  Gazing further afield I see a glass tower rising from the center of what looks like a huge amphitheater of balconies.  The glass has a bit of a tint to it, probably to shield the people inside from the reflections off the balconies' solar panel roofs.  Most people get off at the ground level and I see many of them hop onto scooters and go racing off across the field's pathways.  One of them disappears down a ramp and I follow him with my gaze as we start rising again.  I see down into what appears to be a retail strip mall... buried underground!?  Well, that explains the pots for the trees - they are actually on the roof of the retail mall.  Re-aligning myself I note that beyond the balconies I can see for quite a ways.  The whole complex from underground garage to the tops of the buildings varies from 4-8 stories.  The wide grass and tree covered roof looked more like a natural park than I can believe - good landscapers!

I look again at the central tower, something about it doesn't exactly say 'office space'.  Perhaps it's the trees branches coming out the sides, or the vines growing up the walls.  "OH!" I smack my head as I realise what it is and where we are.  This is the new eco-development in town. I remembered something in the news about it opening and how it was hailed as an answer to all of our problems or something.  I had dismissed it then as more eco-frippery, everybody is freakin 'green' lately, though I was having second thoughts now as I gazed out across what looked like a large central park.  The tower must be that highrise farm that New York has been going on about but never seems to get off the ground.  Feeds thousands they say.  

The elevator stops again and another young couple get off.  I had ignored all the other people earlier but now I looked closer... wondering if they were eco-nuts.  They didn't look any different from anyone else I had seen in the neighborhoods earlier, though they seemed happier and actually met my gaze and smiled.  "Have a good day!" the young woman says as she leaves, walking out into a hallway lit again by the same bright lights as down in the garage.  "Thanks!" is all I can manage in surprise before the doors close again.  No-one had spoken to my entourage all day.  In fact comparing these folks with the people he'd seen in the neighborhoods - here they seemed happier and friendlier.  I had dismissed one of the houses completely just because one of the neighbors had frowned when we drove up.  

I glance at my wife to reassure her that I wasn't scoping out some other woman but her gaze is firmly planted out the glass wall, though that little smile was back and I knew she noticed everything.  Sighing I looked over at the Agent, she too had a smile and was looking out the back wall, though hers was more fixed and her eyes were glassy.  It was obvious that there was something about this place that confused her.  She was also uncharacteristically quiet.  I gave a silent prayer of thanks for that because I didn't really like her all that much; but she was a friend of a friend and was helping us look for a new home.  

The doors dinged again, and like a robot springing to life, the 'Agent' was back in true chipper form and led us from the elevator.  We were actually almost as high as it was possible to get and my gaze expanded once again.  We were walking down a glass enclosed walkway.  I looked out at the rooftop of the building we had just risen through to yet more grass and trees.  In fact - every roof here was either planted somehow or shaded by discrete solar panels.  And the panels weren't the ugly black-blue ones that the downtown buildings had grafted on.  These blended with the architecture and weren't blatant about their function.  I decided the effect was actually quite nice.  

Checking back on the kids I called to them to settle down.  The eldest boy had run well ahead and had to be called back as we turned off into what looked like a fancy model home.  I was very familiar with these.  We'd spent quite a bit of time walking through these in the last month or so.  I hated most of them for their impersonality and garish touches.  I braced myself for yet another one... this one with lots of "ECO-FRIENDLY" to boot.  

We entered the grand entrance way and it was all I had feared and I quickly glanced around for the brochure so I could pretend to read something.  The brochures usually summarized the talking points of the sales people.  I liked analyzing them so I could ask the sales rep tough questions.  It was kind of a game to test them on how well they knew the pitch.  No luck - no brochure... in fact, no empty document holders either.  Ah yeah... gotta save the planet and all - can't use paper.  Bla.  

Then I tuned in to the screens that were *everywhere*.  OK, high dollar flashy is the name of this game.  I was about to approach one when a young man steps forward to greet us.  I shake hands and again brace myself for the pitch.  After the introductions are made, this guy doesn't pitch anything... in fact he escorts us out to the 'back yard' where the kids find a playscape and we take seats on the veranda.  A small water feature burbles nearby and he takes our drink orders!?!  The breeze is blowing and the kids are playing hard.  I begin to relax and really look around.  No pitch?  Even the agent has stepped away and I look at my wife with a question on my face.  "She's gone to get someone... Brian I think she said the name was."  

Brian appears with a tablet and drink in hand as our own drinks are set down.  "Ah excellent" He notes our drinks and asks if we wouldn't prefer a glass of wine or a beer instead.  We pass indicating that we have to drive later and he chuckles quietly.  "I sometimes forget about the need for that. "  That sounds odd to me... but I guess he must have a place here.  

"So, you're looking for a home right?"  He begins and I tense up once more.  "Yes" my wife responds.  She takes the lead and begins to outline what kinds of things we're looking for, I'm happy to let her but this time I pay closer attention, that earlier smile got me wondering. Good school, church, place for the kids to play, amenities nearby, neighborhood pools and parks, big kitchen, lots of light, environmentally friendly if possible, low utility bills, my office space and a play room for the kids.  She even goes into how much we're hoping to spend.  It's a bit high for my comfort, I add in the average utilities as part of the cost of a house and this would push our budget.  But, hey - we can negotiate later when they fail to meet all of our needs right!?

Brian taps a bit at his tablet as she talks, taking notes I think.  When she is done he lays out the tablet and we see floor plans laid out.  "Your budget allows for a wide range of options here. Note that what I'm going to show you is only the beginning. All of these floor plans can be customized extensively to your needs.  What I have here..."  He starts quickly flipping through a few, showing a wide range of configurations and then jumps back to the beginning and hands me the tablet.  My wife leans over as I begin moving from one to the next - always finding something I didn't like, a room to small or placed in a funny place.  I note that the list doesn't stop and looking down am shocked to see hundreds of options.  All of the other custom builders had shown me only four or five houses, of which I could only really change countertops and paint colors.  "All of these meet our requirements?" I ask.  Brian nods.  

"Most of these plans are purely conceptual that people online have put together.  We have a few popular plans; those are the ones at the beginning.  But I've already filtered the list according to your basic requirements.  Note also that you can make your own configuration or change one of these very easily."

"How is this possible!?"  I ask incredulously.  I look out again at the balconies and note that while there is some variation, there is little hint of the possible diversity found in the condos behind their window walls.  

"We sell blocks of square feet - you get to choose what you do with those square feet"  This might make more sense if we go for a walk.  Would you like a tour? "