Pros and Cons

The house-hunting began again this week. Greg, my realtor, and I looked at three houses in my target neighborhood late Wednesday afternoon. House #1 is a two-story built in 1880 and recently redone by a pair of local designers. It had been divided into two apartments, and they've put it back to a single family home in an interesting way. The pros are that it's large, the interior colors are very modern, and it's cheap; the cons are it has no garage and the way it's laid out. The designers elected to leave the small kitchen on the second floor with the dining room. Off the living room (on the first floor) is the laundry with no doors on it! That plus the fact that the pipes have been known to freeze during extreme weather and that it is under termite treatment takes this house off my list.

House #2 is an 1882 Victorian with over 2000 sq. feet. The outside has been painted in traditional Victorian colors and style. The inside has been updated nicely. I loved that it was big; there are 4 bedrooms upstairs, one with a large walk-in closet...quite a surprise in a Victorian. It has a fenced yard and a nice study with a half bath. The cons, however, are major...no garage and I hate the kitchen! It's small and kind of dark. While there is plenty of room on the lot to add on, the price is towards the top of my budget; there wouldn't been any wiggle room for money to build a garage or re-do the kitchen.

House #3 was my favorite...and of course, the most expensive! It's a 1.5 story Victorian built in 1891. It's been re-done fabulous-ly! (is that a word?) The floors are quarter-sawn oak and have an inlaid border of walnut. While the fireplace doesn't work, you could put a gas log in very easily. Its surround is the original ceramic tile. The kitchen is gourmet...granite counter tops and all stainless appliances. Awesome lighting with task lights under all the cabinets. All new cabinetry, lovely colors throughout the house. Then upstairs....what a surprise! The entire top floor is the master suite complete with a flat screen HD TV (that stays!) room for a couch and coffee table as well as a queen sized bed. There's a built-in office area in one corner, double closets and built in drawers. The master bath is pure luxury. It's floored with granite tile that's heated! It has a floor to ceiling glass shower with a rain shower head as well as a regular one. It's big enough for you and three of your closest friends to shower together! Lots of built-ins. The downstairs bath has black/white tile with a tomette pattern which is also heated. Okay...here's the emotional selling point for me. Inside the back door of the kitchen is a switch---you press it and the garage door opens! Yes, it does have a couple of cons...the house is small ~1500 sq feet., the yard isn't fenced, it's probably at the very top of my price range, and the stairs to the master suite are steeper than normal. So...could I live here?

There are three other houses in the neighborhood that I'll look at before I make any decision. I'll keep you posted.