We saw six condos last night. Three were automatically disqualified (one because it had no outdoor play space for the kids; the second because it had a large array of "just not right" things about it, including the stairwell's walls that were covered with jutting-out, small rocks, and a set of doors downstairs that opened into what I expected would be the laundry or a closet but ended up being the cavernous underbelly of the house; and the third because it had way too much expensive work it needed done, like a complete kitchen remodel, some new floors, and bathroom remodels). Of the remaining three, two were the same model (about 1250 square feet) and one was a bit bigger (about 1400 square feet). All had three bedrooms. The bigger home had wonderful sized bedrooms, good floor plan (master bedroom on main floor and other two bedrooms downstairs together), and a great living space, but a borderline terrible kitchen, a strange/tiny "eat-in" area that wouldn't fit a table and chairs, and cosmetic ugliness (needed new floors, scraped ceilings, and lighting). The smaller models had a less desirable floor plan (one child bedroom on main floor, with master bedroom and second child bedroom downstairs) but overall were the best choices. We ended up liking the very first one we saw the best. And, incidentally, it was the lowest priced house of them all!
Here's the kitchen, which is much more open than our current one (yay!):
I would want to get new countertops eventually and at least reface the cabinets because they aren't in the best shape. Also, I'm thinking we could perhaps find (or have built) a skinny desk for our computer that could fit in the corner where they have the table/wine bottles. Otherwise, we could do some sort of built-in cabinets there since it is otherwise just wasted space.
Once we saw the second house that is the same floor plan as this one, we realized that this house (the one we like) knocked out the wall between the kitchen and living area, which we love. Here's the (rather terrible) kitchen in the other house (you can also see the front door to the right, and by the front door is the upstairs bathroom to one side and the upstairs bedroom to the other, behind the kitchen):
Other good things about our choice house: a wonderful skylight above the stairs that lets in lots of natural light; recessed lights throughout; scraped ceilings; open kitchen; lots of grassy area behind; an enclosed patio in the front for "kid play"; very close (100 yards or less) to a park with slides, swings, etc.
We should find out today if there are any other offers on the house, which will help determine whether we will even make an offer.
5 comments:
How exciting! Keep us posted! My husband and I have been thinking about investing in some of the foreclosed homes out in Cali. It is so expensive to live there, but we figured we could find a foreclosure there pretty soon, rent it out or something. Sounds like you have a great opportunity!
The kitchen looks lovely -- nice and bright. So if you moved and kept your current house, would you want to eventually remodel your current house so that it could fit you all and then sell the condo?
That could be something we did far down the road, but at this point we'd be thinking of staying in the condo for a while. We already have renters for our current house and are doing this 90% for us needing more space and 10% for them needing a place to rent.
I think I might know who the renters are going to be, how are you feeling about it? Love, Love, Love what I'm seeing, I hope it works out for you guys, I forget, did the one you like have a yard of sorts? The rennovation is awesome compared to the other one, but would you be able to fix the bad one up if they gave you a deal?!
The bad one really isn't that bad--only the kitchen is terrible. The rest of that house is nice except for lack of lighting. It is priced $10K higher than the one we like though.
And the one we like has an enclosed patio on the front, which works for play time. The back has tons of grass and trees, but it isn't enclosed (just green belt).
As far as the renters, we are trusting in God that He will bless us for doing what we can and that He will take care of the situation!
Post a Comment