Today I have the energy and productivity of a sloth. Thank goodness the weekend is almost upon me and I have a few days to recharge. Chris & I have a few days of open houses planned. The hunt for a new home, while an exciting prospect, is slowly starting to fizzle out in perspective. Realistically we don't have a nest egg squirreled away to aid in a larger down payment for an upgrade. Technically, our spending habits are nothing but an an apartment dweller, as living in a mini home has a mortgage amount that is actually a lot less than some of the nicer apartment rentals out there. We fill our oil tank once a year to heat the mini home vs 3-4 fills for an average bungalow... Just because the bank lady says we can get into a home that is double the net worth than our current living space doesn't necessarily mean it's do-able. And that, my dear friends, is a little depressing. The silver lining in this realization? Chris and I don't have to settle our differences in what we desire in a home.
Last weekend we happened upon an impromptu Open House while travelling down a street to reach another one. From the outside, it looked like a respectable little bungalow. It had a nice, large yard, with many mature trees. The roof looked to be in terrific shape. The front step pointed downward, and the deck left a little to be desired, but still, respectable.
Then we walk into the home.
Circa 1975 laquered kitchen cupboards. A distinct 'smell'. We go in closer...the 'smell' continues. Dirty hunter green carpet. A preposterous looking bathroom. Broken closet doors. Then, my friends, we meander down to the basement - the basement that boasted an 'in-law suite'. I wouldn't let my dog live down there. The smell was 100 times worse. I'm unsure if the plumbing would be functional it was so...old and dead-looking. Needless to say if a person was to purchase the home, he would have to strip the basement down to the studs and start all over again. He would have to take up the flooring and re-do it, and to add some esthetics, put in new kitchen cupboards and a whole new bathroom.... All feats that I did not realistically see myself (ourselves) doing. Chris, on the other hand, had a twinkle in his eye and and excitement in his step.
He really thinks this has potential. He likes the idea of us taking a home and 'making it our own'. A sweet thought in itself...and technically, it could be an option - if we had $50,000 to sink into renovations... but that figure, added to the cost of the home is way, far, totally outside of our budget. Not to mention a thought such as that would require a LOT of free time for a person to do...and that is hard to imagine possible for a person who works pretty much 2 full time jobs lately.
Methinks we'll have a few more years in the 'hood.
Le sigh.
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