what did I just do?
Apr. 8th, 2008 07:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thekyttnI slept most of today, then because the choice was today or next week, I met my realtor and went and .
1st house - ran through it, but didn't give it a lot of consideration because I thought I really really wanted to look at another house more.
2nd house - loved the yard, loved the sunroom, was ok with the rest of the house except for the very squeaky kitchen floor. However, that would deter refrigerator raids in the middle of the night!
3rd House -This is the house I thought I was really going to want. I loved the outside, cute deck, lots of bird feeders, gorgeous landscaping, really wierd lay-out inside! The refrigerator isn't even in the kitchen, but in a separate room altogether. The laundry is in an awkward spot, one bedroom is really small, and you walk through the other "bedroom" to get to the master bedroom, which is big, but only has a shower rather than a tub in the master bath. If I was the only one to be living there, it might be ok, except for the refrigerator issue. I'd want to do a little remodeling even for just me. No longer really under consideration.
4th House - Bland yard, but gorgeous inside! Master bedroom suite is very nice, kitchen is lovely! Other bedrooms a little smaller than I would like, but still nice.
5th House - lovely front yard, back yard has a nasty slope that would be difficult to mow. The layout is almost exactly a mirror image of house number 4. Two very lovely kitties live there now.
6th house - little larger, basement apartment inclded, but way too much money after all.
7th house - not a bad house, but something about it gave both the realtor and me the willies, and we left quickly.
8th house- St. Francis statue at the door gave me a good feeling to start with. House is a little smaller than anything else we looked at, but nicely laid out with a gorgeous sunroom. Bedrooms are reasonable, master bedroom and bath a bit smaller than elsewhere, but still a decent size. Bathrooms were beautiful. It is rather amazing how much difference choices in decor make in how a bathroom looks.
Then we talked and talked about options, and decided that having Faeryn come and look at my 4 favorites would be a good thing. Then we talked some more.
House #1 is a bank foreclosure. Asking price is a little less than any of the other houses, and I did like the yard, so we went back to look at it again, this time I had a much more open mind now that I knew the house I thought I wanted wasn't all that great. There are some lovely flowering bushes/trees in the front yard, and a pleasant front porch. When you go in the front door, you come into a longish living room with cathedral ceilings and a gas fireplace. I don't know if it works, not sure if I care. Beyond the living room is a nice bit of a kitchen, not as many cabinets as I have now, but a pleasant size, more cabinets than we had before, and a nice view out the back. It is sort of an eat-in kitchen, I guess, with an attached dining area separated from the kitchen by a bar. The dining area has a lovely sort of curved set of windows, and is generally pretty. There is a nice deck off the dining room, though the railings need a little work. There is also an above ground pool, which is in awful shape and will be going away if I get the house. There is a small laundry room (about the size of a large walk-in closet) and two full baths, one off the master bedroom. One of the other two bedrooms has an extra large closet space, which would be good for Faeryn. There is a third bedroom which is a little smaller, but which would work well as an office/library/guest room.
I've decided to put an offer in on the foreclosure. I went a bit low, low enough that I can write a couple of checks and pay for the thing in full with life insurance money/estate money. I do have to check with the lawyer to make sure I can have access to those funds, but I think it should be ok. Worst case scenario, I get a loan using those funds as security - I am the only beneficiary, so this shouldn't be an issue.
If I get this house, I will be using up most of my readily available funds. However, the townhouse should be built in 2-3 months, and will then go on the market or be rented out for a steady (we hope) source of income. The location of the foreclosure is in such a place that I expect the property value to go up significantly in the next few years. I think it will make a good investment. If I get it, I've decided to call it Hope House. Trite, but accurate. My next home means I've got hope of continuing, hope of accomplishing some of the things Greg wanted for me, hope that somehow life is going to continue and that it will be worth living in a place I like rather than just having a roof over my head.
If you are interested in seeing pictures of the five favorites of the places I looked at today, you can go to http://caarmls.com/CAARReports/listings.asp?ID=1844755973 The foreclosure is the first one on the list, and the St. Francis house is the second. Then is the one with the squeaky kitchen floor and finally the two that are mirror images of each other, with the next to the last one being the one with the problem slope in the back.
I'm scared, but I know this is the next step.
1st house - ran through it, but didn't give it a lot of consideration because I thought I really really wanted to look at another house more.
2nd house - loved the yard, loved the sunroom, was ok with the rest of the house except for the very squeaky kitchen floor. However, that would deter refrigerator raids in the middle of the night!
3rd House -This is the house I thought I was really going to want. I loved the outside, cute deck, lots of bird feeders, gorgeous landscaping, really wierd lay-out inside! The refrigerator isn't even in the kitchen, but in a separate room altogether. The laundry is in an awkward spot, one bedroom is really small, and you walk through the other "bedroom" to get to the master bedroom, which is big, but only has a shower rather than a tub in the master bath. If I was the only one to be living there, it might be ok, except for the refrigerator issue. I'd want to do a little remodeling even for just me. No longer really under consideration.
4th House - Bland yard, but gorgeous inside! Master bedroom suite is very nice, kitchen is lovely! Other bedrooms a little smaller than I would like, but still nice.
5th House - lovely front yard, back yard has a nasty slope that would be difficult to mow. The layout is almost exactly a mirror image of house number 4. Two very lovely kitties live there now.
6th house - little larger, basement apartment inclded, but way too much money after all.
7th house - not a bad house, but something about it gave both the realtor and me the willies, and we left quickly.
8th house- St. Francis statue at the door gave me a good feeling to start with. House is a little smaller than anything else we looked at, but nicely laid out with a gorgeous sunroom. Bedrooms are reasonable, master bedroom and bath a bit smaller than elsewhere, but still a decent size. Bathrooms were beautiful. It is rather amazing how much difference choices in decor make in how a bathroom looks.
Then we talked and talked about options, and decided that having Faeryn come and look at my 4 favorites would be a good thing. Then we talked some more.
House #1 is a bank foreclosure. Asking price is a little less than any of the other houses, and I did like the yard, so we went back to look at it again, this time I had a much more open mind now that I knew the house I thought I wanted wasn't all that great. There are some lovely flowering bushes/trees in the front yard, and a pleasant front porch. When you go in the front door, you come into a longish living room with cathedral ceilings and a gas fireplace. I don't know if it works, not sure if I care. Beyond the living room is a nice bit of a kitchen, not as many cabinets as I have now, but a pleasant size, more cabinets than we had before, and a nice view out the back. It is sort of an eat-in kitchen, I guess, with an attached dining area separated from the kitchen by a bar. The dining area has a lovely sort of curved set of windows, and is generally pretty. There is a nice deck off the dining room, though the railings need a little work. There is also an above ground pool, which is in awful shape and will be going away if I get the house. There is a small laundry room (about the size of a large walk-in closet) and two full baths, one off the master bedroom. One of the other two bedrooms has an extra large closet space, which would be good for Faeryn. There is a third bedroom which is a little smaller, but which would work well as an office/library/guest room.
I've decided to put an offer in on the foreclosure. I went a bit low, low enough that I can write a couple of checks and pay for the thing in full with life insurance money/estate money. I do have to check with the lawyer to make sure I can have access to those funds, but I think it should be ok. Worst case scenario, I get a loan using those funds as security - I am the only beneficiary, so this shouldn't be an issue.
If I get this house, I will be using up most of my readily available funds. However, the townhouse should be built in 2-3 months, and will then go on the market or be rented out for a steady (we hope) source of income. The location of the foreclosure is in such a place that I expect the property value to go up significantly in the next few years. I think it will make a good investment. If I get it, I've decided to call it Hope House. Trite, but accurate. My next home means I've got hope of continuing, hope of accomplishing some of the things Greg wanted for me, hope that somehow life is going to continue and that it will be worth living in a place I like rather than just having a roof over my head.
If you are interested in seeing pictures of the five favorites of the places I looked at today, you can go to http://caarmls.com/CAARReports/listings.asp?ID=1844755973 The foreclosure is the first one on the list, and the St. Francis house is the second. Then is the one with the squeaky kitchen floor and finally the two that are mirror images of each other, with the next to the last one being the one with the problem slope in the back.
I'm scared, but I know this is the next step.
