An Intermission of Shopping

I ran through five open houses today just to see what else is on the market. I went to three houses that were within our price range, one that was $150k above our price range, and one that was double our budget. It was very educational, and I came home feeling really happy with our house and our price.
The three that were in our price range: none were as nice as "our" house--all were smaller, all had definite oddities re: layout, and all (like ours) need some definite system upgrades. Of course, all three were also in a more "central" location--two in Rockridge and one in North Oakland. But I definitely liked our house better.
The one that was less out of our price range was gorgeous. An HGTV-esque kitchen, a beautiful yard, and lovely details. There was some layout funkiness with the bedrooms, and it was right by BART = loud. As I was leaving, a man asked if I was seriously considering it. I told him why I was there, and he laughed and said Mr. EBB and I should just bid what we could afford and see if the sellers jumped. He lived two doors down and said he knew they were desperate. Ha, probably not $150k desperate though!
The house double our budget--wow. Immaculate, tons of updating, beautiful exterior and yard, and tons of exquisite Craftsman details. But again--it would need new systems! I totally do not understand how people can have a multi-million dollar house and not care if it has a crumbling foundation or an old inefficient furnace. Are Mr. EBB and I the only people in the Bay Area who care about buying a house that has had structural work done on it??