Today is Sunday: Open House day! Even though most homes in this area (1) we can’t afford, or (2) don’t want because they’re too old, or (3) aren’t in a good school district, it’s still fun going to Open Houses.
Today Kwabena and I stopped by this really nice home (waaaayyy out of our price-range, though) because we saw the Open House signs littering the corners. Okay, let’s stop, for the hell of it, to see what a “really nice home” in this area looks like. It was so beautiful! Didn’t have much of a backyard, but everything I saw was pretty awesome. Kwabena called up to me from the lower level, “Mommy, you have to come and see this!” And there it was, an open space for him to run in huge, tiresome circles, happy to have a place to relief some of his pent up energy.
*sigh* If only we could afford such a place…..
Oh, well….On to the place we had originally planned to visit…..
The next place was very unique…..older (1966)….had character….plenty of space….hippy meets modern….But the neighborhood looked run down, had no sidewalks, and if I can remember correctly, didn’t have such an appealing school district. When I asked Kwabena if he liked the house he replied, “No, I like the first place, because it had a big basement to run in!” LOL
We met the Realtor, Vanda, at another property at 5:30 p.m. It’s a place close to where we live now. Not really the school district I wanted, but definitely an slight upgrade from the school district we’re currently in.
I actually liked this particular home. It had an amazing custom deck that housed a partial gazebo. There wasn’t much in the way of a back yard, however, there was sufficient space to clear out for the kids to play. Plus, there was ample front yard space, as well as on the side of the house. Inside, it had 3 BR, with a huge master BR. The basement was okay, although I would have preferred a larger basement, and one that was walk-out. It also concerned me that the it seemed a little damp-smelling in the basement. Definitely something to check out.
But overall, I had good vibes about that place, and felt it would have worked nicely for us.
I am still thinking about this other home I saw last weekend–a For Sale By Owner, located 3 miles away from where we already live (10 minutes). The man was very nice; he and his wife the original owners of the 1979 property, and had kept it in prime condition. It, too, had an awesome deck that spanned the length of the house, but didn’t offer much in the way of backyard. Oh, there was land, but again, something that would have to be cleared out to have a real backyard. Honestly, that was really the only negative about that house. Oh, and the kitchen was a bit outdated. But overall, in immaculate condition. He and his wife have already bought a new home in Myrtle Beach, SC, and are just waiting to unload the home. They even mentioned that they are negotiable on price, as well as any of the furniture or belongings that are part of the house. WOW….. I am curious about that place, so I will definitely be taking Kwasi back to see the property this week or next week.
I still have questions swirling in my head about if buying a house if the right thing for us to do, but why the hell NOT? I do question if this is something we should do before I delivery, or wait until after I return from maternity leave. Taking off for 12 weeks, with a decrease in income during those 12 weeks, while increasing mortgage costs seems a bit backwards in thinking. Plus, we would still have to sell our condo. I have considered that it could very well take 6 months to sell our condo, so if we put it on the market NOW, it might all work out that we sell it around the time when we’re actually ready to increase our payments.
Oh…….why does this have to be so tough?
A part of me still thinks about the townhouse we own in my hometown. Why couldn’t we live there next year? Our renter’s lease is up in June 2010. What if we moved to my hometown? Okay, honestly, moving back to my hometown seems like a step backwards. However, the townhome we own is beautiful, situated right next to the park. The home is light, airy, 3 bedrooms, awesome first floor area that can be a play area for the kids, as well as a sewing room for me. Plus, it as a bonus room that would make an amazing office for Kwasi. It’s just that it’s……in my HOMETOWN! I would have to find a job that’s closer to my hometown, or would have to leave the house super-early to make it to work on time. It could take up to 2 hours commuting to work each way. But, it’s just not an option for Kwasi to want to live there, even though he works from home.
So, our options include either:
1. Stay in our condo indefinitely, and make it work with 2 kids and limited space, sending the kids to private school (or try to get him into another public school district)…..and hope that we don’t have a #3 “oops” surprise baby….Then we would HAVE to move, for sure.
2. Move to another house, with a good school district. This would mean paying more money for, perhaps, almost the same amount of space we already have, but we would be in a good schoo district.
3. Move to our townhouse in Hagerstown and commute long-distances to work.
Decisions…..Decisions…..
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