Today, we started up our home search once again. JP and I are looking for something to accommodate our family of three, our business, and hopefully a handful of chickens and/or goats. We ended up with some really good prospects. There was one house we especially loved. Two of them were a no-go.
This is a beautiful little home. The home itself was really nicely taken care of on the inside and out. The floors matched throughout, and it looked freshly painted. We only noticed a bit of a slope in the flooring in the kitchen and in one bedroom, but didn't see any wall cracks or cracked brick or slab on the outside - good! The acre of property was completely fenced in, with an electric fence even for the three large dogs. Also a bonus! The floorplan was slightly odd - we could tell they had done some massive remodeling - with a shower and potty in the laundry room (making the "second" bathroom), but with a cute pocket door, made it really nice. The other bathroom had a marble-topped counter - gorgeous! The only blemish we noticed was where the owners have cut into the wall to make room for this super-nice stainless fridge - and covered the hole they cut with either thin plywood or paneling. Bummer. Fortunately, it wasn't noticeable. Out in the back, there was a very nice, unique looking, purple martin birdhouse. We could tell this family loved plants and birds, as there were many nice house plants and outside was accommodated for the birds and the other animals. The yard was nicely manicured and everything was very tidy inside. This would have been the perfect house - except that someone had smoked inside! :( Ugh! Both of our allergies have been acting up all afternoon afterwards. The owners did make a concerted effort to cover up the smell, and the only really strong smells were in the living room/kitchen and front bathroom, but it was too much for us. Major bummer there! Otherwise, a truly nice place!
Our second no-go of the day was this home. We didn't even go inside. We pulled up, and the residents were clearly home, even though we were there within our allotted appointment time. Children were playing in the front yard (always a good sight to see), and a woman was walking from what I'll call the "livestock area" back to the house. The pictures on this listing make this look decent, but this place was a big mess on the outside. Tons of trash everywhere, from furniture to toys to actual garbage. There were six vehicles parked in the drive (which was all dirt - no pavement anywhere). The house itself didn't look too bad in the photos, but on one side, the skirt is completely gone. The photos of inside the house don't look bad, but after seeing the house we had just come from, we decided we didn't even need to look - there was too much outside the house we'd have to fix for it to be worth our while.
The house we're making an offer on, obviously we won't post here. But keep your fingers crossed for us! We are hopeful that this is *the* one! :)
Until next time,
BP and JP
