Adventures in homebuying.
So I'm trying to buy a house. And not just any old house; a house I can live in and rent out the extra rooms to help put me through grad school. I figure if I'm poor enough that I need roommates, I might as well be the boss.
I don't have many requirements for this house, simply that it has at least three bedrooms and fits my (very) modest price range. Oh yeah, and no new carpets. I'm not going to have some college students spilling beer all over my brand new carpets. Not that I am planning on that happening, but you never know what will happen as a landlord, even if you live there.
The geographic area I'm looking at has very modestly priced houses compared to larger locales nearby. It also has had many foreclosures for a variety of reasons. So the realtor comes up with a list of about seven houses for us to look at, most of them foreclosures. We had quite the adventure. One of them had mold so bad I was still naseous three houses later. And a carport that had fallen down to take out the roof. It lay where it fell. Another had an unlocked door, an overpowering aroma of marijuana, boarded up windows and a sleeping bag in one bedroom. My guess is it was a place the local kids went to smoke, not a hardcore homeless squat. But the pot was so strong in there, it would have covered up any bad b.o. issues. At least there weren't needles on the floor. One thing I didn't have to worry about was new carpets.
By the end of the day we smelled funky, had been chased by dogs, and were maybe a little bit stoned. But we'd narrowed the search to three houses, all in need of at least a little repair, but all within my modest price range and with lots of potential, and decently yarded. Oh yeah, I like yards, too. Otherwise I'd be fine with an apartment.
So I'll probably make some sort of an offer on one of them before the week is over. One step closer to the American Dream. I guess, being an American, that's the direction I'm going in.
I don't have many requirements for this house, simply that it has at least three bedrooms and fits my (very) modest price range. Oh yeah, and no new carpets. I'm not going to have some college students spilling beer all over my brand new carpets. Not that I am planning on that happening, but you never know what will happen as a landlord, even if you live there.
The geographic area I'm looking at has very modestly priced houses compared to larger locales nearby. It also has had many foreclosures for a variety of reasons. So the realtor comes up with a list of about seven houses for us to look at, most of them foreclosures. We had quite the adventure. One of them had mold so bad I was still naseous three houses later. And a carport that had fallen down to take out the roof. It lay where it fell. Another had an unlocked door, an overpowering aroma of marijuana, boarded up windows and a sleeping bag in one bedroom. My guess is it was a place the local kids went to smoke, not a hardcore homeless squat. But the pot was so strong in there, it would have covered up any bad b.o. issues. At least there weren't needles on the floor. One thing I didn't have to worry about was new carpets.
By the end of the day we smelled funky, had been chased by dogs, and were maybe a little bit stoned. But we'd narrowed the search to three houses, all in need of at least a little repair, but all within my modest price range and with lots of potential, and decently yarded. Oh yeah, I like yards, too. Otherwise I'd be fine with an apartment.
So I'll probably make some sort of an offer on one of them before the week is over. One step closer to the American Dream. I guess, being an American, that's the direction I'm going in.