Candidate # 29

If I haven't mentioned it before, Joe and I are trying to buy a house. I have spent the past four weeks draggin my child, and sometimes other friends or family members, around the county to look at houses in all sorts of conditions. Joe and I are not too picky, but still have some things we would really like to have in a house.

1. It has to have a garage (or be cheap enough that we could afford to add one).
2. Three bedrooms or two bedrooms with a bonus room.
3. At least two bathrooms.
4. Backyard with enough room for a child, a dog, a clothes line, and a garden.

Now that's about it as far as requirements go. There are things that we would like to have but are not neccesary, such as; electric washer/dryer hook-ups, a place to put a swing (tree, play set, etc.), either very shaded or central a/c, lots of cabinet space in the kitchen, propane range top, close to Coronado, and then there's my dream of having a tub that is deep enough to cover my boobs when I'm soaking.

Today we looked at two houses in Lakeside. It is about a 25 minute commute to Coronado, but it's workable. I decided to take pictures to remember them better and to show Joe. Just click on them to make them bigger.The first one was like my dream house to fix up. It was built in the 40's, and had an addition on the back from who knows when. It had the original front door, and a couple fruit trees in the front. It was so adorable, and I just felt like I had walked into my grandma's house out in the country. There was just one problem...
A few exposed walls from the addition. Now this would not be a big deal, however the bank may not approve it unless it's fixed before we move in. But then there was this adorable room with the plantation shutters. So much sunlight!!

There was also the fact that it had property! I think you can see the fence back there behind the second shed.
Now the big problem comes in with the fact that there is not garage. There is plenty of room in the back to build a shop, but no place on the sides of the house to drive a car back there, and no place in the front to build the garage on to the house. It does however have a ton of storage, a nice big deck, existing fruit trees, and so much character.

Eventually we moved on to the next house, which is also out in Lakeside. Joli found her favorite part of this house.
The only strange thing is that there is no backyard access on the back of the house. There is a door on the left hand side of this picture on the side of the house. But we could always add a slider off the office.

Then there's the kitchen which is basically exactly what I want to do with a kitchen!
Look at all the cabinet space, and the stove, and it's already the color I want!!
The living room is also huge! I love the floors and the fan is a really nice one. Plus there's a/c and fans throughout the house.

There are two bathrooms. This one is next to the garage and as you can see is a full bath. Not the cutest tile ever, but that can always be changed.
The garage is only a one car garage, but certainly enough space for Joe to put all his crap, and work on whatever piece he may drag in there.
Obviously there were children living here before, and I'm guessing someone liked Spiderman. This is actually the room I would want to be the master. It's the biggest and has the most sunlight. None of the bedrooms are attached to the bathrooms, so I can do whatever I want!

This is the closet, which is oddly connected to another bedroom!
This would be that other bedroom! Those are only stickers on the wall, which is great because they're coming down!! After some paint I would want to make this the office. It looks like the smallest room and because it shares a closet we could just use that space in the master. Offices don't need closets.
This is the full pictures of the backyard, and you can't even see all of it. It's pretty big too. Plenty of room for a garden and clothes line. Plus the playground!

This picture is very wierd but I wanted to show the pretty tile in the other bathroom. My camera was having issues I think.

Now this is part of the fron of the house. I'm not sure how I fell about the wooly mamoth bush there, but again that can be fixed.

There's also a big front yard behind me. So we'll see, maybe this one will be the one. After already putting in two other offers and seeing how competitive the market is, I'm not placing any bets on whether or not we'll actually get it. This house buying stuff is exhausting!

I did however decide to come up with the perfect house (withing reason), if it were really within our grasp.

Located in Coronado, this plantation style home has a nice big front porch that with front porch swing. There is a big 2 car garage attached to the side of the house and set back a little farther from the street. There is a nice size backyard with a big oak tree in the corner that already has a swing on it. A clothes line along the fence and a garden tucked behind the garage to keep any pets or children from tramping through it. As you walk in the home you notice the beautiful staircase leading up to the second floor, and gorgeous chandelier hanging from the tall open ceiling. To the right there are french doors leading into the office that has lots of sunlight from the two large windows. Next to the stairs there is a short hallway leading to the beautiful southern style kitchen with a black and white tile floor, white cabinets with a few glass pane fronts, and lots of cooking and cabinet space. There is a custom door leading to the back yard, and a nice size laundry room that also has plenty of cabinet space. There is also a small half bath off the hallway that has a cute little pedestal sink. If you walk through the kitchen you will come to the dining area that is surrounded by windows and perfect for a small round table or add the leaf and invite over some friends. As you loop back around to the front of the house through the dining room, you come in to the living room with a large stone fireplace and large bay window. The hardwood floors give it a nice rustic feel. Now headed upstairs there is nice soft carpeting. To the left there is a large master suite, with a huge walk-in closet and windows on three of the four walls. There is a large master bath that has a claw-foot tub under a beautiful bay window, a custom tiled shower, and his and hers sinks. There is also a water closet for a little extra privacy. Going back to the top of the stairs there is another bathroom with a tub/shower combo, and again lots of cabinets. The second bedroom is next to this bathroom and is fairly large in size. It has a standard size closet but a nice bay window that is perfect size for a crib. As you walk in it feels as though you are walking into a fairy tale, with the large trees on the walls and the flowers and animals surrounding them. The last room upstairs also has lots of sunlight and big windows. On the two inside walls there are built-in cabinets and shelves making it the perfect craftroom for any artist. This house perfect for any new family that is looking to grow and eventually retire in the same location. It is the perfect dream, and for only $275,000 it can be yours!

Now that I've come back down to earth I'm going to do a search on houses a little bit more within our means!