One good turn deserves another

Tonight we’re heading back out to look at our top 2 domicile contenders. The first one we’re going to see is the “stylish traditional” that needs updating and then the 1900’s farm house that is just awesome.

As for the traditional, I can see the potential there, but I have to admit, when I first walked in, I wasn’t impressed. In fact, I immediately wrote if off as a waste of time. Trying to keep an open mind, I joined Gilday and SAE in the investigation. Under the carpet we found beautiful hardwood floors, and the basement that was ready to be finished. It had a nice sized backyard which would be great for entertaining and enough space to fence off one side for the pups. The one thing I love about the house is the pull under garage, which, we found out, was automatic when I accidentally opened when trying to find a light switch for the basement. Hey, we know it works now!

There are definitely things that need to be addressed though. Once the house was built in 1955, the previous owners enjoyed the status quo nothing was updated. The kitchen has wainscoting in the form of tiles in a yellow and green, and the cabinets and countertops (while it was top of the line when the house was built) definitely needs a revamp. While the bathroom has a beautiful tile surround for the tub, the tub itself is pink porcelain with a matching toilet, and pink tile with green accented wainscoting on the walls. The basement, aside from the garage bay, has a small full bath that could use some life, the floors need to be retiled in the utility area, and the so called bonus room needs to be finished into a livable space.

The farm house is just beautiful. It's just about everything we’ve ever wanted in a house. It has amazing wood floors with radiant heat, a cook’s kitchen complete with stainless appliances, cabinet space, and corian countertops. There’s also a large master bedroom with a nice master bath complete with Jacuzzi tub. The attention to detail that was put into this house, from the light fixtures to the door knobs, knocked my socks off. Besides some paint, it’s in complete move in condition.

The issues? Well, it’s small. It’s lacking any type of storage for bikes, kayaks, camping equipment, dog supplies... The only room with a closet is the master bedroom, and that’s the triangular space over the stairs. There is a basement, but its partial and most likely where all our christmas stuff would go. There is no outdoor shed, so we’d have to buy/build one for our mower and weed whacker. While the owners put a lot of love into the interior of the house, there is nothing by way of a backyard except a boring brick patio and a small yard that’s just as boring. We’d have to definitely do a lot of hardscaping to sculpt a yard out of the property.

We’ve been constantly going around and around with a pro and con list about both properties. With work and graduate courses for both of us, it makes me lean toward the move in condition based on the fact that the only work it needs is the backyard, which can be done at any time. I’m sure that we can come up with creative ways to store things (and since the port ewen move, we’ve eliminated most of our stuff). But then in another moment, I think about how much fun it would be renovate a kitchen & bathroom (I LOVE to tile), pull up carpeting and also learn how to put up walls and finish a basement. It’s all the wonderful sweat equity that makes it promising for a future sale. Both houses cut Gildays commute down by 20 minutes so thats a bonus for both.

We’re bringing some reinforcements with us tonight (besides SAE) to help us see a little clearer in each property. Lil the pill, the real estate maven who thinks outside the box, and Erin, the recent homebuyer who tells it like it is. We may even come out of it deciding to keep looking, but we think they both need another look. I'll remember the video camera this time. Anyone else want to join us?