Thursday, October 27, 2005
elaboration.
So I'm going to elaborate on my previous post...
We (Mom, Dad, Bonnie, Brian and myself) met out at the house (1726 Linmore) at 4pm yesterday. We ended up poking around until 6! Since we don't have a digital camera, we didn't take photos, but I will try to detail the layout as much as possible.
The driveway is to the right of the house, and there are a few steps going up to the porch from the driveway (quite a large, covered porch). There are two windows on either side of the front door - which is beautiful oak, like the rest of the woodwork in the house. Walk in the door, the living room is straight in front and to the right, and the dining room is to the left. The living room, which has a brick fireplace on the left, has the stairs to go up - up the stairs there is a small landing, with a door that goes out onto an "airing deck;" up, I think, a few more stairs, and the bathroom is to the right. It's your basic bathroom - shower/tub, toilet, and pedestal sink (if we buy the house, we would completely re-do the bathroom). Next is the first bedroom, then second (the hardwood floor would need a bit of repair in this room), then a small third bedroom (or office). The hallway has a good sized built-in laundry closet, with drawers (think in Mom & Dad's upstairs). Okay, back down the stairs, through the living room ... that's the dining room. There's a tiny alcove that would be perfect for a buffet. The kitchen is to the right - the flooring (no hardwood in here) and countertops seem fairly new and would not need to be replaced at all. Tons of cupboard space (which would be painted, ugly wood with crap hardware). There's a small empty space at the end of the kitchen, for a table, but Bri & I would like to add a dishwasher and perhaps more countertops. On the right-hand side of the kitchen there is a dutch-door, and stairs to go to the backyard and down to the basement. The basement was a little frightening; mostly, I think, because I dislike all basements. This one could be nice, with a coat of paint and tons of cob-web-removing and scrubbing of the floors. There's a washer/dryer hookup and the boiler is also down there. It's also nice because it's pretty much the entire size of the upstairs. Okay, back up the stairs, out to the backyard. Small covered concrete patio, and a really good sized fenced-in backyard. We were really amazed at the size of the yard. There's a storage shed, and a 2-car garage (yes, in the fenced in area; it's kind've weird). There are about 4 big trees (I didn't really check to see what kind) in the back, and two in the front of the house. We would definitely need a privacy fence (the neighbors to the left have a decent looking house, but the backyard leaves much to be desired), and the house has been vacant a while, and is in DESPERATE need of a thorough cleaning and lots of paint & fixtures. But all in all, we really love the place... it has SO much potential, and hardly anything needs to be fixed (just the bathroom and 2nd bedroom floor). Obviously we would get in inspected, but Dad was poking around with his trusty flashlight and said this house is in better shape than theirs! The thing we really love most about the house is all the hardwood (there is carpet in the dining/living rooms that we would definitely rip up), and the windows and trim are gorgeous. Dad talked to a guy walking down the sidewalk (imagine that... Dad talking to a stranger) and asked him how he liked the neighborhood. Apparently the guy has lived on that street his whole life and there has never been any problems with people/robberies or anything, and is a relatively quiet street (for being RIGHT on the e-way... seriously this particular house is just across the street from the on-ramp) - that was good to hear! We walked down the street and most of the houses are very pretty and look to be well-taken care of.
Bonnie did a comparative report on other houses on the street and all that looked really good. She also said that it's to our advantage that the bank owns the house... since they only have x amount of money put into it, she seems to think that we'd be able to get it for a lot less than what they're asking. So all good stuff!
Now we just have to start making phone calls and trying to get somebody to find us some 1st-time home buyer money! (And see if we can get out of our lease!! We will :o)
We (Mom, Dad, Bonnie, Brian and myself) met out at the house (1726 Linmore) at 4pm yesterday. We ended up poking around until 6! Since we don't have a digital camera, we didn't take photos, but I will try to detail the layout as much as possible.
The driveway is to the right of the house, and there are a few steps going up to the porch from the driveway (quite a large, covered porch). There are two windows on either side of the front door - which is beautiful oak, like the rest of the woodwork in the house. Walk in the door, the living room is straight in front and to the right, and the dining room is to the left. The living room, which has a brick fireplace on the left, has the stairs to go up - up the stairs there is a small landing, with a door that goes out onto an "airing deck;" up, I think, a few more stairs, and the bathroom is to the right. It's your basic bathroom - shower/tub, toilet, and pedestal sink (if we buy the house, we would completely re-do the bathroom). Next is the first bedroom, then second (the hardwood floor would need a bit of repair in this room), then a small third bedroom (or office). The hallway has a good sized built-in laundry closet, with drawers (think in Mom & Dad's upstairs). Okay, back down the stairs, through the living room ... that's the dining room. There's a tiny alcove that would be perfect for a buffet. The kitchen is to the right - the flooring (no hardwood in here) and countertops seem fairly new and would not need to be replaced at all. Tons of cupboard space (which would be painted, ugly wood with crap hardware). There's a small empty space at the end of the kitchen, for a table, but Bri & I would like to add a dishwasher and perhaps more countertops. On the right-hand side of the kitchen there is a dutch-door, and stairs to go to the backyard and down to the basement. The basement was a little frightening; mostly, I think, because I dislike all basements. This one could be nice, with a coat of paint and tons of cob-web-removing and scrubbing of the floors. There's a washer/dryer hookup and the boiler is also down there. It's also nice because it's pretty much the entire size of the upstairs. Okay, back up the stairs, out to the backyard. Small covered concrete patio, and a really good sized fenced-in backyard. We were really amazed at the size of the yard. There's a storage shed, and a 2-car garage (yes, in the fenced in area; it's kind've weird). There are about 4 big trees (I didn't really check to see what kind) in the back, and two in the front of the house. We would definitely need a privacy fence (the neighbors to the left have a decent looking house, but the backyard leaves much to be desired), and the house has been vacant a while, and is in DESPERATE need of a thorough cleaning and lots of paint & fixtures. But all in all, we really love the place... it has SO much potential, and hardly anything needs to be fixed (just the bathroom and 2nd bedroom floor). Obviously we would get in inspected, but Dad was poking around with his trusty flashlight and said this house is in better shape than theirs! The thing we really love most about the house is all the hardwood (there is carpet in the dining/living rooms that we would definitely rip up), and the windows and trim are gorgeous. Dad talked to a guy walking down the sidewalk (imagine that... Dad talking to a stranger) and asked him how he liked the neighborhood. Apparently the guy has lived on that street his whole life and there has never been any problems with people/robberies or anything, and is a relatively quiet street (for being RIGHT on the e-way... seriously this particular house is just across the street from the on-ramp) - that was good to hear! We walked down the street and most of the houses are very pretty and look to be well-taken care of.
Bonnie did a comparative report on other houses on the street and all that looked really good. She also said that it's to our advantage that the bank owns the house... since they only have x amount of money put into it, she seems to think that we'd be able to get it for a lot less than what they're asking. So all good stuff!
Now we just have to start making phone calls and trying to get somebody to find us some 1st-time home buyer money! (And see if we can get out of our lease!! We will :o)
# posted by Sary : 11:30 AM
