As the weather began to get warmer, the number of houses on the market increased significantly. I was up to 10 or more house viewings a week and many of them I really liked. I could always find something wrong with a house. It might have too small of a yard, on too busy of a road or too small of rooms. It seemed that every time I couldn't find an excuse the house had already sold. It happened so often that I would schedule a viewing the first weekend a house was on the market and it was sold by the time I got there to look at it. I was beginning to get frustrated....
Day after day I went to view houses, I was determined to find one. All the houses I scheduled to view were in close proximity of a lake. I wanted to be able to run along a lake starting from my house. One such house really intrigued me. I researched more about the house and found it on www.realtor.com. The house was 2,700 square feet located on top of a hill overlooking the houses surrounding it. It looked impressive, definitely should be beyond my budget. To my surprise the listing price just fell to the low end of my budget. I had to see this house, why was it so cheap? Sure it was a foreclosure, buts it is 2,700 square feet! The previous house I walked away on was listed for more than this house and half the square feet with no garage. This house didn't just have a garage, it had an attached THREE car garage! Plus 2,700 square feet. I don't even know what I would do with all that room. I made it a point to my Realtor to see this house.
When I arrived to see the house, the first thing I saw was the boy two houses down cutting grass with no shirt on. I liked the house already! What was the Realtor saying? Sorry I lost focus. Back to the house viewing. The driveway leading to the house was very intimidating. Remember the house is on top of a hill, and getting there didn't look fun in the winter. Just driving up the driveway bottomed out my Ford Fiesta. A sports car is way out of the questions, not that I cared. I started by looking at the outside of the house. The siding is all wood in need of some TLC, but I really liked the wood look. I went to the backyard to see that it was a nice size yard with a shed and a deck with an entry to the second floor of the house. I start to walk up the deck when all of a sudden I get a little nervous. The deck is clearly falling apart with holes in the deck where the wood and rotted away. There was a storage unit under the deck where the ceiling was caving in due to the rotting of the wood support for it. This would be some work, but I still see some potential.
Into the house we went. Entering the front door into the Foyer which contained it's own space heater. The foyer clearly looked like an addition. The entry to the house had a very nice stone pattern that I wished was visible to the outside. From the foyer you have the option to go upstairs or downstairs. The upstairs had a kitchen, a living room, two full bathrooms and three bedrooms. The master bedroom had its own bathroom. One of the bedrooms was a little too small, but would be perfect for an office. In the living room there was a fireplace with no fireplace and a hole in the wall with a sweater shoved in it. There used to be a wood stove of some sort on that fireplace. That is an awkward look, but I can work with it.
Walking down the stairs I didn't know what to expect. I had already felt a little lost in the house. It is much bigger than anything I've lived in. At the bottom of the stairs you can go left into the laundry room, straights into the downstairs living room or to the right to some sort of tiled room. I went into the laundry room to find the entrance to the garage. I had to see this three car garage. It really was as big as ti sounds! There is so much space in the garage, I could have all the neighbors over for a beer. But what happened in here? I saw that someone stepped through the dry wall and it was now falling down into the garage. All the tape to seem the drywall together looked to be peeling off and I couldn't count how many times someone punctured the wall with a car or who knows what. I was curious how the ceiling drywall got damaged and discovered an attack to the garage. It was a nice size storage area with lights. I liked it. Going back down the stairs to the laundry room I noticed a strange control box. The house had a sprinkler system! That's a nice bonus. Past the laundry room to the living room I see a fireplace blocked by a wood stove. So maybe this is where the wood stove from upstairs went. The living room was even bigger than the one upstairs. It was equipped with a sink and cabinet, now all we need was a bar and beer pong, i mean ping pong, table. Past the living room we discovered the tiled room contained a hot tub! What?!?! The last thing I expected to find in the basement was a hot tub, but I wasn't disappointed! Connected to the hot tub room was a bathroom and a bedroom. I walked into the bedroom and thought for a moment that I was on a soccer field. The room was huge! Oh but wait, what is that other door over there? Oh, it connects to the bathroom too! This would definitely be my room. I could even add a kitchen the over sized living room downstairs and have my own floor. I liked it! I told me Realtor to put in an offer. We agreed on an amount and I went back to the waiting game. Hopefully the Realtor doesn't get irritated with my pestering that will come until they give us an answer. Cross my fingers!
