House number one is a 1600 square foot house with a fenced yard, 1.75 bathrooms, and 4 bedrooms plus a den:
The house was built in 1948 and was remodeled in the 90s to include a modern kitchen, vinyl windows and a heat pump. But the house still has some 50's era charm, including some original light fixtures and a 10x10 bomb shelter in the back yard. However, it was most recently abused as a rental unit, so it would take at least 6000 worth of paint and carpeting to get the inside and outside of the house livable. It's a 6 minute commute to work for Chris, but the neighborhood is right between a nice elementary school and three blocks of rental units, there is only a small 1 car garage, and most of the yard is in the front. At the upper end of their price range and with the upkeep and renovations necessary, this might be more house than Chris and Reba can handle.
House Number 2 is a 1437 square foot house with a fully fenced yard, 4 bedrooms, 1.75 baths and a 2 car garage.
It's located in a quiet neighborhood with lots of young families, but about 25 minutes away from Chris's work. The house was built in 2001 and has been lived in by the same owner the entire time and with the exception of worn carpets, it's in perfect condition. It's on the least amount of land, but the back yard has enough room for a garden, and with a park across the street, there would be plenty of room for the kids to run around. Inside, the u shaped kitchen has a bar and opens onto a dining room and a greatroom with a fireplace. The living area is small, but there is room about the fireplace to stash the TV to make more room for this growing family to play. The house is priced at the upper end of their budget, but is move-in ready, with a much newer furnace and air conditioner.
House number 3 is a 1768 square foot house with a fenced back yard, 4 bedrooms, and 1.5 baths.
Built in the 1940s, the house was added to sometime in the last 30 years to include a modern kitchen and a large family room. Right off the family room is the master bedroom, with a huge walk in closet and a sitting area but no bathroom nearby. The rest of the bedrooms are very small, and two of the three have 1940s era wardrobes instead of closets. There is a half bath in the large utility room, which also serves as a main entrance into the house. The back yard is a good size, but the front yard looks directly onto a poorly funded private school and has lots of tree root damage to the front sidewalks, lawn, and driveway. The house has a shed, but no garage or carport. It's the least expensive of the three by nearly 20,000, but it's been on the market nearly 6 months, and Chris and Reba worry that because of the strange floorplan and no garage, it will be just as hard to resell in a few years when they've finished school. Plus, the heater and airconditioning in this house might need to be replaced while they're there.
So which house did we offer on?
House number one with the short commute, but a lot of work;
house number two, across from the park with the small family room;
or house number three with lots of space but no garage?
8 comments:
#2. the time you'd save on commute would all go into fixing up w/ #1. And you'd likely have trouble reselling w/ no garage on #3.
I'm guessing with Heather on this one. The park across the street sounds too good to pass up.
I say #2 also but the bomb shelter might come in handy some day. You never know with Chris' line of work. And plus it might be a perfect place to escape when the kids are driving you crazy! Can't you just hear Ellie, "Where's mom? Oh, she's just in the bomb shelter!".
I want to make another guess but everyone else's arguments are so logical. However, I'm very curious about the 1.75 baths. I've heard of 1/2 baths but not 3/4 baths!!!
p.s.--we really missed you in book club, you would have enjoyed it :)
#1. because that's my choice. i live across the street from a park right now and never frequent it. we moved here though to cut down on the commute. we also live 6 minutes from john's work... with only one left turn on the way there. that's smart thinking!
you could write something into the loan so that the owners will recarpet it. and painting is FUN! and only takes a little while.
i say 1!
but we do need better pictures silly head.
Oh, I was hoping the answer would be in the comments! Boohoo!
I was thinking #2, as well, with #1 as my second choice.
#2....but it doesn't matter since you already put down an offer. i would stay away from 1 because of the rentals near it...i don't think that helps with resale or going up in value...i wouldn't want to live by rental homes no matter how close it is to work.
it's nice having a backyard, yet we still spend far more time at various parks than playing out back!
can't wait to see if it all goes through!
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