House Hunting Beings Again

We had a GREAT first day of house hunting yesterday - no solid winners, but nothing so depressing that I wanted to give up.  Here's a glimpse into what we saw.  The most interesting thing to me is that people will spend a crapload of money to get granite countertops and weird bath fixtures that look like giant glass bowls, but then have serious structural and safety problems in their place.  AND, they only take pictures of their updated kitchen, not their crazy entryway.  Anyway, read below!


Place #1: A single-family house near us right now.  I was very excited because they were one of the few houses that had a layout blueprint included with their photos.  It's very hard to see what a house's layout is like when you only have a few photos. 

• Good: Three good sized bedrooms upstairs, 2 downstairs, PLUS 3 bathrooms and a rec room.  Our biggest thing is a need for a storage space.
• Bad: In finishing and crating all the space downstairs, the owners sacrificed some serious safety.  I don't understand it all, but Jon is like "NOPE!  BAD ELECTRICAL WORK!" which was past the point of anything we'd want to fix.  Sad face.
• Final Call: Discard

Place #2: A single-family colonial looking house. 

Must pretend I never saw this

• Good: Move-in ready, AMAZING kitchen, wine cellar in the basement, fenced in yard.
• Bad: No place for storage, and no way to turn the rec room downstairs into storage.  Chance they might widen the road it sits on.  A bit older, so there's a lead paint question.
• Final Call: Possibility moved to Discard.  Just too old and the layout just doesn't work for us.  Sob.

Place #3. A townhouse

• Good: Cute and updated kitchen, great fixtures.
• Bad: Serious safety problems in the backyard/door situation, cheap flooring, and less space that we actually have now.
• Final Call: Discard

 Place #4: A townhouse.

• Good: Structurally very sound, great layout, unfinished tall-ceilinged basement and a tall ceiling in the living room where our gorgeous 9-foot Christmas tree we bought and never used will finally fit!  Also, the basement has the potential to finish a bedroom and bathroom.
• Bad: Smokers live here, so the carpet would have to go.  All old-lady decorations, so some aesthetic fixes, and the 3rd bedroom is teeny tiny - great for a nursery, but perhaps not attractive for potential renters once we move.  Also, there's a fish pond (complete with Koi) in the backyard.  Nice for grownups, deathtrap for babies.
• Final Call: Possibility

Place #5: A townhouse.

Not from the house we looked at, but pretty similar - all over.

• Good: Nice neighborhood with walking path to the metro.
• Bad: Mirrored entryway and living room wall.  I'm talking EVERY SURFACE IS MIRRORED, EVEN THE LIGHT SWITCHPLATES!  I'm not that vain.  Old fixtures/surfaces on everything, and all around kinda junky.
• Final Call: Discard

So there you have it.  Not horrible, but nothing we want to sweep up immediately.  I think Jon got over his aversion to townhouses when he saw how many there are, how marketable they are, and how some of them really have a lot of space.  Our agent also got a chance to get some real-time feedback on what we are looking for.

The search continues!