Vacant! Easy to Show!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
I have been approved for an itty, bitty, tiny mortgage. Of course for the amount that houses go for out here, it is actually a pretty laughable mortgage - most of the places in our price range are listed as "Handyman Special" or "Contractor's Dream." I am neither a handyman nor a contractor, so these things do not excite me.
Yesterday Michelle, Roland and I went and looked at a few houses. One was listed as "vacant - easy to show." We went in and it turned out that it should have been listed as "condemned and gutted - hand out hard hats to show." Upon entering the first thing you noticed was the smell of skunk. The next thing was the fact that there was plywood for floors, insulation exposed and hanging off of the walls, and it just looked like crap. Michelle is highly allergic to insulation and went running out the door. I wasn't in there that long, and still ended up feeling itchy and needing a shower by the time I got home. The real estate agent was someone who was referred to me, who wasn't familiar with the place and who was showing it to us per our request. He looked pretty upset that all the listing said was, "property needs work," with no mention of the fact that it really looked like it should be torn down. Roland has come up to me several times since last night to say, "Hey hon...vacant! Easy to show! Property needs work - ha!"
I think we are all slowly losing our minds....
April 10, 2008 at 10:53 PM
Oh no! I hope your search gets better... easier...
Your experience makes me nervous. my husband and I were hoping to get a mortgage after I graduate.
April 11, 2008 at 1:30 AM
congrats on being approved....but sounds like it could be a tough hunt. I'll be thinking of you.
April 11, 2008 at 7:46 AM
Have you considered looking at foreclosure houses? Good luck in your search!
April 11, 2008 at 8:06 AM
Don't you love the way Realtors describe houses?
Good luck in your search. It took us a long time to find something reasonable that we could afford, and I kept thinking we would just have to settle for something that was just "OK," but we expanded our search area some and found something perfect for us just a little further out of town.
Keep looking...you'll find something perfect for your family!
April 11, 2008 at 9:51 PM
I was going to email you but you don't have your email available on your profile.
Sidewalk paint is usually found near the sidewalk chalk. It is for kids to use outside on the driveway or sidewalk of course. However, we went out and used it on ours a long time ago and you can still see shades of blue. After that I decided we would just use it in the tub and it is a huge hit. It rinses right off and doesn't leave a stain but if you decide to do it you might want to test it just to be sure! They have numerous colors, we have blue and pink!