One Possible House

I’m not going to share photos because it isn’t my house but I’m going to tell you about it. It’s funny because when we were looking at houses in late 2006, this house was on the market and it was the one I liked 2nd best. We bought the one I liked the best and dang it . . that house was for sale again during the summer and if I could, I’d definitely buy that house again . . red tag man and all!

There were three houses we kinda considered when we moved here before. The third one had some air conditioner issues. The upstairs didn’t have enough air conditioning and it would have required major expense to add more ductwork and a second unit and it didn’t have a basement.

The second one is back on the market. The reason we walked away from that one . . well, the main reason is that I LOVED the house we bought, but Vince wasn’t crazy about the house we bought but house #2 had two issues that bothered Vince.

First, there were three streets out there (it’s in the county) and instead of having public sewer or individual septic tanks, the three streets (which are all three different subdivisions built by the same developer I think) were on a lagoon. Vince, being an air & water guy did not like that all. Second, the house previously had termites. It had been treated and any damage supposedly was fixed.

The termites aren’t an issue for me. Get a good inspection, keep it under contract with the pest control folks. Vince says “It doesn’t bother you because every house you had in Louisiana had termites. Most people aren’t used to termites being part of their every day life.” He thinks it would be a problem for resale. Maybe.

The lagoon is now gone  – cleaned up and filled in – and all these houses have been connected to public sewer. That issue has been resolved.

I’m going to see it Sunday. I already know that I would put new countertop in the kitchen. I’d probably go with something solid other than granite. We know we won’t be staying here forever and something less for the countertop would keep the price lower for resale. The oven is built into the wall. I want to change the oven and put a newer, more modern overn. If I need cabinet work done, Nicole’s dad can do that. The cooktop is electric glasstop and it’s downdraft and it’s probably the same one that was put in when the house was built in the late 80’s. I would change it. The house has a natural gas furnace so I’m betting Nicole’s dad could get gas to the stove for me. The house comes with a fridge but it looks 80’s-ish too so I’d want a new fridge and since I’m changing out everything else, I might as well change the dishwasher! But, none of that has to be done right away. Changing out the countertop and appliances isn’t a big deal.

I actually love the kitchen. Oh . . except it has carpet in the kitchen too. Why? It’s fairly new so I could leave it til Vince gives the ok on that too.

Here’s the drawback for me:  It’s kind of a split level-ish type house. Walk in from the garage into the kitchen. Living room and dining room are also on the main level. It isn’t like a whole set of stairs but you go up about half a set of stairs and the three bedrooms, 2 baths are on that level. Back to the main level and you go down about half a set of stairs and the basement has a nice family room with a fireplace, a half bath and the laundry room.

Potential Problems: If someone was not able to go up or down stairs, there’s no bathroom on the main level and there’s no place to sleep, short of putting a bed in the fairly small family room. Those may be deal breakers for me. When we looked at that house almost 12 years ago, the laundry room in the basement and the bedrooms upstairs were not an issue. With my knee being 12 years older . . I think about that stuff.

Two very good points – it has all newer carpet in the bedrooms and living areas and the air conditioner is about 2 years old and was installed by our favorite a/c guy here. Two even better points – it has a basement and a fireplace which Vince wants.

I think we can get it for a price to make it not go over our budget to update the kitchen and replacing the floor covering in the kitchen and dining room (also carpet). There’s nothing we can do about the bedrooms all being upstairs and the laundry room being downstairs.

I wish it had at least one bedroom in the basement. On stormy nights, it’s good to go to bed and forget about it . . not sit around on the sofa in the basement waiting for the storm to pass. Who am I kidding? Tornado sirens going off and I am not going to be sleeping!

Anyway . . we’re never going to get everything we want in our price range. We will have to settle for some things we aren’t crazy about. Stairs and my old knees . . maybe this house is not a good one for us but right now, it’s the only thing that could work. But, again, I don’t have to find something this trip. But, I wish I could!