bouncing some ideas off you

Options that is.



I am horrible at decision making. HORRIBLE!


For example, when Hubs and I are going to go out to eat and he asks me what I want. 11 out of 10 times I say (yes, I realize I said 11 out of 10, I meant to) "oh, I don't know, what do YOU want." I try to play it up as I am being nice but really I can't make up my mind. Husband used to fall for it and think it was awesome that I let him pick the place, but he is on to me now. We actually got in to a tiff (a playful one) about my lack of decision making, in ended with me having cheez-its and sherbet for dinner..... some would say that I lost, I see it as I won.



ok point of the post.



How can I decide on a house?



A HOUSE!!!!!



We have a list of wants, I say wants because I don't need hardwood floors to live so really every thing is negotiable.



Our Want list is as such:

At least 3 bedrooms 2 baths (doesn't have to be 2 full baths can be 1.5)
Fenced in yard
Garage, preferably 2 car
Basement
Hardwood (or laminate) floors
Big kitchen (preferably updated)
Fireplace
Dining room or eat in kitchen
in a good school district


That is really it.


I get the sweats thinking about it. Ok, in all honesty it is soooooo much fun, probably to much fun, to look at houses. Now, with our budget, which is very, very limited you get one of these categories:


1. the complete fixer upper: this is the house that was built in 1980 and is stayed in 1980. Complete with wood paneling and mirrored walls. Hubs and I are not ones to shy away from some renovation but when the kitchen has to be gutted to get rid of the all kinds of wrong it was.... we say NEXT!


2. Wow this is really only this much?.... what is wrong with it: this is the house that is amazing on paper but when you see it you think that they took waaaaaaay to much liberty in their descriptions. We saw a house that said it was $49,000 and was right down the street from us. So I delved in more and the description sounded great but it did say that it needed some work.... yeah there are no walls. NO WALLS, PEOPLE!!!!! I am pretty sure that is a need not a want.


3. the pre-fab houses: This is the neighborhood that everything is deja vu. There are the same 3 house designs just in different muted colors lining the streets. Some and I mean a small few are ok, but usually they look and are cheap. Maybe it is just the ones that we have looked at, but our town house now looks more sound then these babies.

4. The Diamonds in the Rough: Ah, the diamonds in the rough, these are the houses is in a neighborhood where it is really hit or miss. On one street you may have 2 or 3 houses that really took pride in ownership and that part of the neighborhood looks awesome, then you round a corner to see a broken down lawn tractor on the front lawn, screen door busted, paint chipping, trash on the front porch (for reals y'all I saw this). This seems to be the case with the 2 houses that are on our list of must sees.

I will post pictures when I get a chance but let me tell you about the 2 houses.

House one: The Yellow Bi-Level
This house has been on the market for almost a year and it seems that they are ready to get rid of it, which means there is probably room to negotiate the price.

It is 3 bedrooms 1.5 bath Bi-Level built in the 1981.
It is in a well established neighborhood which falls under the number 4 category. I wasn't blown away by the neighborhood, but there were kids out riding their bikes, which hubs said he liked.
it has a 2 car garage,large fenced back yard, hot tub (hubs squealed when I told him it stayed), a deck, a completely renovated kitchen with cherry cabinets, granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances (all of which stay), ceramic tile, the bathrooms have been renovated, a wood burning fireplace in the basement and there is new paint and carpeting . Wow, I sound like one of those Saturday real estate shows.... anyway some of the draw backs are even though it has a fence and a deck they weren't really maintained so they need to be fixed/and or replaced,it is on the small side being 1,200 sqft (not to small), there is no dining room or no real room for a table and chairs anywhere for that matter. We get my Grandma's dining room table and chairs when we get a house and there isn't any room for it at this house. Also, a bi-level, I am not totally against a bi-level but I think I would feel like I am going up and down stairs all the time. Not to mention I am not sure how I feel about walking in my front door and having to decide... up or down? it reminds me of those Goosebumps books where you can pick your ending.

Then there is House two: The Traditional Gem
It has been on the market since July and is ready for immediate possession, it is also priced high for the neighborhood so there is some wiggle room with the price.

I call it a gem because this house is in the neighborhood that I saw the broken down tractor and such. Now, there were like 4 houses including this one that looked amazing so I am still going to keep it on my list and go back this weekend to see if I see kids running, jumping, climbing trees and what not. This house, is more traditional in the lay out, it is a 4 bedroom(3 up and one in the basement), 1.5 bath house built in 1975, it is a one car garage and a one car driveway (which means one of us is always going to have to park in the street), it has a Florida room, huge back yard with privacy fence, a stone paver patio, a dining room, fire place, renovated bathrooms, finished basement, amazing landscaping and in 2-3 weeks is going to get new counter tops, sink, flooring and appliances. Some draw backs are the garage, the fact that until we actually get to walk through it I have no idea what the kitchen looks like or will look like,and the neighborhood.

what do you guys think? I am leaning more towards the traditional one, but who knows until we see it right?

Those are our must sees. I am going to contact a real estate agent today and see if we can get this show on the road!!!

Thanks for being my sounding board ladies!!!!! Have a happy hump day!