House 1
House 1 is a foreclosure that sits directly behind my friend, who we'll call DM. DM pestered me a lot, so I asked LF to add it to the list for today. For a foreclosure, it was actually in pretty decent shape.
It's got a nice big patio in the front:
On the way in, LF pointed out that the roof is probably original, meaning ~19 years old and about ready to be replaced.
First sign of danger!
Living room had nice vaulted ceilings and new-looking carpet, and leads into a breakfast nook/dining area:
Overall the kitchen was decent, but in desperate need of an island - not enough counter space right near the stove. (Forgive the blurred photos, I'm a bit under the weather and didn't take too much care with them).
There's a pretty big back yard, coupled with a pretty big eyesore:
LF says the pool might be salvageable, but not sure I'd want to deal with the upkeep. Big deck though:
The master BR has one of those fancy whirlpool tubs. Also a pretty nice "bonus room":
There's also a ton of extra storage all over the place in this house. I lost count of the number of closets. Oddly, the master bedroom had just a couple of small closets. There's also a little workroom in the unfinished part of the basement that would be pretty excellent for working on bikes or other projects.
Steep driveway. I doubt the Civic would make it on an icy day:
Bottom of the driveway looking to the back yard:
So, House 1 is something like 3190 sqft, and priced extremely well for something that size. It's not really near the top of the list, but other than removing the pool, it wouldn't really need a lot of immediate fixing (Except the kitchen island addition).
House 2
House 2 was the house from trip #2 where the owners decided to go into labor the day we were scheduled to see it. Unfortunately, the lady-owner didn't feel comfy taking her 16-day-old baby out in the yucky weather (and I don't blame her). So, I felt a little awkward about taking the camera inside, and thus there are no photos. It's ok though - House 2 wasn't really my thing. They have quite a few animals, and the smell pervades the carpeted areas of the house.
Weirdly, the actual master bedroom is on the first floor, but is much smaller than the bedroom on the second floor. Both have a master bath-like room connected to them. The current owners use the upper bedroom as their master. The kitchen was also small. Aside from the awkwardness of the owner being there, I don't think House 2 is under any further consideration.
House 3
House 3 was the nicest house of the day. Roughly 2800 sqft and priced to sell. Brick front:
Very big living area:
And a kitchen that I think is really nice. The island doesn't quite match the other counters, but it's a good size for preparing food on or eating at with a couple of friends:
There's also a back stairway up to the bonus room, which was pretty decently sized. I think I like that feature (the back stairwell).
Most of the bedrooms would make a nice office:
One feature that I couldn't make up my mind regarding was this:
I'm just not sure how I feel about the whirlpool tub directly in the bedroom. I did think it was neat that they had the tile running from the bathroom across the hardwood over to the whirlpool.
Another bedroom:
Front stairs:
Formal dining room:
So, the downside to House 3: It's already under contract, due to close on Mar. 14. So, not likely I would get to make an offer, even if I chose to.
House 4
House 4 today is actually House 4 from Day 1. Figured I'd give it another look since it's been the most appealing so far.
Great kitchen:
Big laundry room:
Ick floors though:
Sun room:
Hollywood lights in all bathrooms!
After looking at more houses, I ultimately decided that House 4 needed a lot of updating, and that the owners would have to come down about 20% from their asking price for me to consider buying it. It's got a great yard, and all of the footage is on one floor, so LF and I agreed that's not very likely. Ah well.
So, that was this morning. A little disappointing, but the search will go on.
