We spent both days tiki-touring around, mostly just drive-bys to check the external aspects (and quite a few places could be eliminated just from what we could see from the outside). For some odd reason, open-house time is restricted to 2pm-4pm Sundays only: I must try & find out why, after all, if I was an estate agent, I'd be thinking - "hmm, open home from 4-6, when all these people are still lookin', but there ain't nowheres to look, heckfire I'd be inundated with them". I imagine it's got a lot to do with the power of the churches here.
Still, that's how it is, so we trundled around half a dozen open homes yesterday afternoon, but none of them really rang our bell - either too small a yard, too small rooms, or just a bit pricey for what's being offered, really. Some of the ones we haven't looked inside yet, have been far more promising: there are 3 foreclosure properties, and 3 agent-listed properties we are pressing our agent to get us access to, hopefully this Friday when I'm off work.
Then there's this old lady. I think Cat has fallen in love with it already, even tho we haven't seen inside yet.
It's a 5 bedroom victorian (1896) that has been partly refurbished inside (with photos on the website of the bits that have been done). Despite being on a corner lot, it also has a large, privacy-fenced back yard which - of course - we have no idea what state or what it contains. It's near the top of our price range, but definitely affordable, but the real issues will be, what major defects need rectifying (like piles, structural beams/rot, and so on), and how much has been renovated inside - if the bathrooms & kitchen have not been renovated, then that may be an insuperable hurdle, as we wouldn't have money spare to fix them straight away, so they would have to be ... ah, liveable.
I'm trying hard not to fall in love with it - that way leads to idiot headstrong decisions - but I can certainly see the temptation. After looking at so many bland 1990s/2000s houses with no eaves, pinched little bedrooms, and a couple of planks that get called a deck, this is, well, expansive, immense, stylish.
There are a couple of other contenders that are quite strong tho - all 3 very close to where we currently live, on cul-de-sacs: one very large (2300sf), with a nice private back yard, one with a swimming pool (!) but not much privacy in the yard, but also a big house, and one split-level about the size of our current house, and dirt-cheap - I mean, really, the mortgage payment would be about 60% of our current rental. All of these are financially more appealing, at least in the short term, tho none offer the longterm potential returns of the Old Lady, once she's completely renovated (and the property market has returned to buoyancy, ie at least 5 years away I think). Plus, there's half a dozen cheap, large places that look to be in decent areas, but no addresses listed - I've sent those to the agent asking for addresses & viewings, as well. So WAY too early to get fixated (I keep telling myself).
Hmm, well, just have to wait on our estate agent to get us the viewings now. Waiting ... oh yeah, that's always fun :/
OH, almost forgot, added links to the websites for the Old Lady and a couple of the others, if anyone wants to click through to see pix.
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