A Little of Everything

Checked out a few more places today.  Am typing this with one hand because my cat thinks I have been spending too much time out looking at homes and not enough time petting him, and insists that this be corrected right now.  He's probably right.

• House #15, Catlett:  Recently-flipped home that looked really nice online.  I was all excited about the kitchen's butcher block countertops and pendant lighting.  Big backyard.  In person, the exterior of the house revealed a quickly and poorly-done renovation.  Crooked windows and sills.  What looked like neat wooden pillars supporting the roof over the porch turned out to be tacky aluminum.  Not that you'd want to sit on the porch because the house is too close to the road, and the property across the street is overgrown and in disrepair.  We got there before the realtor did, and called to tell her not to bother as we didn't even want to waste our time on the inside.  If I can tell you skimped on time and effort, it must be really bad.
• House #16, Haymarket: Viewed on suggestion of the realtor because the neighborhood is really nice.  Just came on the market yesterday; a rambler on a large lot (over 3.5 acres) at the end of a quiet dead-end residential street.  Nice neighborhood, certainly a desirable location.  The grounds need a lot of clearing of both foliage and rundown sheds and such.  Deck needs to be torn down and rebuilt.  This was OK with us, but the inside is really rundown too.  The whole place stinks of cigarettes and who knows what else; the kitchen is tiny, and the overall space is not of an appealing layout.  Too much of a project for us, but I think that someone with enough funds could make it a lovely home in line with all the others on what is a pleasant little street.
• House #17, Warrenton: Also a last-minute realtor suggestion, this property just hit the market yesterday as well.  It is a foreclosure located in a small residential development.  We are not development people, but this development is actually quite nice; all of the houses are pretty, and it actually has a neighborhood feel to it (ie. neighbors' kids running around outside).  Off of a busy road so a smidge of noise, but not the end of the world. Huge house.  5 br 3.5 ba, so more house than we need, but we would never outgrow it.  Giant gourmet kitchen (double oven! pantry! central island!) that is not in sync with the modern country style I've been obsessing over viewing online, but is very pretty nonetheless, with dark cherry cabinets and tons of recessed lighting.  Lots of windows to let in light all throughout the house.  The master bed/bath suite that ate Cincinnati.  No really, it's gigantic.  Really interesting open first floor layout plan that far surpasses what either of us expected from a subdivision (the realtor was pleasantly surprised too).  Finished basement with a large open rec room space, a closet, a full bath, and two bedrooms that could be actual bedrooms, or exercise, or storage because we would never have enough kids to fill that place.  The backyard is a bit small and would be a challenge, but a doable one.  Most of it is fairly steeply sloped upwards to a sizeable flat area at the back that is currently overgrown.  We're thinking terraced gardening in raised beds with a play area (some day) at the back, fenced in to keep a kiddo from rolling down the hill and breaking their neck.  A lot of work, but doable.  The landscaping around the house is very pretty, with lovely flowers including a rosebush in this brilliant orange-to-mauve color that I've never seen before but like very much.  Did I mention it's a one mile walk to Old Town Warrenton, which is cute as a button?

So we are seriously considering House #3.  It is a little above the price range we had been considering, but we think it would still be doable and the bank might be willing to cover closing costs.  We're going to think it over today and talk some people tomorrow about what we could qualify for.  Assuming someone else doesn't snatch it first!

Of course, N found a new listing the minute we got back home for a house in Jeffersonton (middle of nowheresville) that looks gorgeous and would be some seriously neat country living.  My commute would be not as good as Warrenton but still manageable.  Our realtor is busy at an open house but we're trying to get in touch with her to see what she thinks about this Jeffersonton house and if we could perhaps check it out today?  If it turns out to be a bust (and it might because we found two listings with thoroughly conflicting information), perhaps we'll make a go at the place in Warrenton?

I am not getting my hopes up this time.  Pragmatism, yes?  Yes.

Update
Jeffersonton house was a lesson in how depressing foreclosures can be.  Lovely, expensive neighborhood (nicer than what we're used to), nice big house that was gorgeous once upon a time.  The family that lived there appears to have been on the sloppy side, but I think that when they realized they were losing the home they actively encouraged their young children to wreck the place.  All of the walls had been drawn on with markers and the upstairs carpet smelled like urine.  And no, not animal urine - I am familiar with that.  It was very sad.  Someone with an extra $50K to rip out and replace all the carpets, clean and repaint the walls and floors, and redo the disgusting bathrooms could make that house lovely again.  Not us.