How I Roll

Well, I got quite a few great responses to my post about houses on MySpace, all of which were very, very helpful in looking at the house we were considering. The low-price and rental material was obviously tantalizing to someone since they snatched it up before we could even get in to take a look at it (which is actually a good thing considering there were several houses tens of thousands of dollars higher that we gave a firm "oh my Gawd...NO!" response to and I'm sure that it would not have been an exception). So we're looking at one that is twice the cost, but also twice the house--not necessarily in terms of size but in terms of being ready to move into and fully functional from the get-go.

Front of the House

This is the house that we are currently looking at (as per inspection, mortgage brokering, etc). It's a nice little home that actually will fit all of the stuff we currently have in our roomy apartment (well, our sofa would have to lose its Chaise but that would end up in a reading room so that we can lounge and read all asprawl).

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I have long been convinced that I am poor, and that Marni and I together are poorer still. I'm not sure how that works since we should be making twice the money, right? Okay, it's mostly my debt that's holding us back, but rising interest rates and housing costs are really biting into what we can afford.

So I found a house that is inexpensive and needs a *lot* of work. Now, I'm not a handy-man by any stretch of the imagination. I can probably rip out the existing cupboards and scrap-board shelving in the basement without seriously injuring myself (perhaps). I know I can strip wallpaper and paint. I can even pull up carpet and chemical strip the glue and varnish off of the floors and put down new. Impressed, yet? Most likely I can install the kitchen cabinetry...but that is about the extent of what I can do. The rest, sadly, will have to be done by someone I hire. The crux is that it is a house we can afford, and with the 15 year loan, it would be ours...if we really wanted it and could invest the time and money to get it livable.

We need to look at the place to see if it is indeed a place we could live, but from the photographs it has promise. One of the biggest promises that it has is that the kitchen will be completely demolished and rebuilt before we consider moving in. There will also either be new carpet or refinishing of the hardwood floors under the threadbare fugly carpet already in there. That carpet must go no matter what.

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