5/3 House Hunting: The House
The plan had been to look at open houses on Saturday, and to keep Sunday free for stuff around our house. But a little after 2:00 in the afternoon, we hit a bit of a lull. We had repaired the garage door (one of the springs had broken), and done as much lawn mowing as we could at the time (the battery for the mower was recharging). So I hopped online and glanced to see what houses were open, and were there any I wanted to go take a look at.
I found one, and said to C – Hey, mind if I go look at an open house. He looked at it online and said – I want to go with you. So, we wrangled kids, hopped in the car and headed north.
The House: $450,000 4bed / 3 bath / 1,610 square feet / 7,889 square foot lot / 2 car (tandem) garage
The Good:
A two car garage is a rare thing in our area, and with two diesel vehicles, very high on our list of wants.
The back yard is huge, but fully fenced, completely dog ready. In addition, there’s an RV pad at the top (with electric outlet) where we could add a carport of the tandem-ness of the garage did not work out. There’s also a large paved patio area great for bbqs and entertaining.
The house is tri-level, with the main floor only being public spaces. There’s great flow from the good sized living room into the dining room and open enough to the kitchen that it does not feel like a separate space. Plus, there’s great cupboards and plenty of counter space in the kitchen.
The lower level has an average sized bedroom, a laundry area, and a full bath that could be used by guests. It also has the entrance to the garage, and an exit from the laundry area to the back yard (muddy dogs and children can be admitted through that door, instead of directly into the dining room). The laundry area is set up for side by side w/d.
The upper level has three bedrooms, including a true master with a full bath, one other large bedroom, and one average size bedroom, plus another full bath.
It is in an amazing school district and is walking distance to the elementary, middle, and high schools.
The Bad:
Location wise, the house is a little further north than is our ideal.
The stove/oven is not gas, though the heat to the house is gas, so that could be remedied.
The public spaces are also the family spaces for TV watching and video game playing purposes (though the room is big enough for the Kinnect).
Kid room distribution will not be able to be perfectly equitable, but it will be reasonable.
The back yard is in two levels, with only a few stairs to get from one level to the other, meaning a lawn mower will have to be picked up and carried up/down the stairs in order to mow the whole lawn.
The Verdict:
We are putting in an offer. The house is not perfect, but it meets all of our needs and covers a lot of our wants. We like the kitchen. The back yard is already fully fenced (dogs can go out without a leash). There is space for kids to play. And, while we see work we could do, like running a gas line to the stove, there is nothing we would have to do right away.
