House Showings
With two home showings, the reality of needing to make a buying decision hit me. With the insanity of how quickly a home goes on the market and how quickly offers are put on the table, it feels daunting to try and make quick decisions about a massive financial investment.
I saw two homes that were within $5K in price. The lower priced home needs some serious TLC and replacement of all windows and patio door. The sellers left the home trashed for viewing. For the most part, you can see the potential through the mess but then you think about how much effort they put into the upkeep of the structure itself. Aside from window replacements and the sloped inward patio, it could be a nice little fixer upper. The way the market is going, it could easily sell for much more when the right cleaning care is provided.
The second home is move-in ready and I quite liked the layout. The bedrooms are a bit small and the windows in the bedrooms throw my need for symmetry berserk but it’s a nice home. If I could expand the space of the kitchen without losing room for a dinner table, I would probably move forward with an offer. The kitchen is so small that it’s a bit of an afterthought. Putting additional cabinets and a countertop on the opposite wall and moving the stove over there as well would make things look better. But then you lose any room for a table. Unless you did a peek-a-boo in the living room wall that connects the two rooms and tried to make a breakfast bar.
I’m going to think about the second home and speak to my dad about it. I’m wondering if the cast iron to PVC transition for the toilet is eroded and needs replacing. I’m fine with putting carpet tiles down over the potential 9×9 asbestos basement linoleum.
I guess I have some thinking to do on such a major life decision.