Well, we looked at about six houses today...most really crappy, but two that have jumped to the top two of our list. One is the very first house we looked at on our own, in our "ideal" neighborhood, but our Realtor had not seen it. He actually walked out saying that if we could afford the place, we should buy it. It would need color and only minor cosmetic changes--basically the only negative is the price. After crunching the numbers, Gina and I could afford it, and we would not be living on Mac & Cheese (which I wouldn't mind, as I love Mac & Cheese) if we bought the house. However, we'd have to keep spending in check quite a bit, at least for a while until we leveled our savings back up again. So, the price is a negative not because we couldn't afford it, but because it's a lot of money, and honestly, that's freakin' scary. It really, really is.
The second house is in our price range, but it's in a not-as-good neighborhood (but still good). The negatives: I absolutely wretch when I look at the front of the house. It is a bungalow, but man, it's about the weirdest looking bungalow (in a bad way) I've ever seen. As I told Gina, it reminds me of a fat man with a tiny head. The porch also has "issues" in not following Chicago bungalow "style." The interior is more or less stripped of all Chicago bungalow character. HOWEVER, it's soooooooooo beautiful inside and comes with some major, major upgrades, a big deck and a good-sized yard with it. Basically, I left telling Gina that, even though the front makes me sick to my stomach almost, I can't deny that if we were on the market, I would have to buy the place. It's a little smaller, but it could easily have an addition built onto the back and you'd still have a yard worth mentioning. I will be SHOCKED if this place is still on the market in three weeks, when our condo is put up.
Tomorrow, I'm sacrificing the first portion of the Bears game to go, by myself, to two open houses for houses we are really fond of based on the pictures online. One is due north of here, and has unbelievably beautiful period woodwork inside, at least according to the pictures. The other is the most beautiful exterior we've seen so far, but there are no interior pictures, so it makes me wonder how disappointing it might be inside. Both are in our price range, of course.
Hopefully, I'll be able to zip through and then catch as much of the Bears game as possible. Go Bears!
