I Think I'm in Love!

With a house, you sillies. Don't get all excited! :-)

Anyhoo, we looked at 3 more houses tonight after work. One in Verona, one in West Caldwell that I've had my eye on for awhile, and one in Caldwell.

First stop: Verona. This is where I fell in love. Adorable cottage-style Cape Cod on quaint street. The listing said 2BR but the second BR is actually a tandem bedroom which means it's a bedroom with an attached space. Perfect for a couple with no kids (us) and perfect for a computer/trophy room.

The house is in terrific condition, everything from the kitchen (recently remodeled), the roof (10 years old), the exterior (freshly painted). Nice yard, flat and deep, perfect for a dawg. Fireplace, clean unfinished basement, screened-in porch in the back, nice details like wall molding, two-car garage. All in all, move in ready. The only thing we'd do is rip up the fugly old wall-to-wall carpeting (we both hate wall-to-wall, especially other people's!) There are hardwood floors underneath.

Really, the nicest one we've seen so far. So nice that I am thinking of making an offer. The price is right: $399,000 but my Realtor says that because it's new to the market, I have very little wiggle room as far as negotiation. Especially since it's in such good condition. I have 2 more to look (they're not on till this weekend). Tom is on the same page as me about this one.

Second stop: Caldwell, a 3BR colonial priced at $375,000. The. worse. one. I've. seen. yet. Not only a handyman's special, but dirty and chock full of crap piled EVERYWHERE. Granted, the people are getting ready to move but my Gawd! I had to walk sideways through some rooms because there was so much junk. Moldy ceiling in the bathroom, Toilet looked as if it hadn't been cleaned since the year 1. Kitchen as old as my grandma. I didn't even want to see the basement. Next!

Third stop: West Caldwell. The things that attracted me to this house were the unusual architecture. The house is set back from the street and has one of those low-maintenance yards with lots of flowers, very little actual lawn, which we like.
Plus the driveway is bookended by two gorgeous stone walls. We both like stone.

The other thing I like is that the front of the house sports a huge balcony that stretches from one end to the other. Perfect for entertaining.

The inside, however, was disappointing. Lowish ceilings and a very cramped feeling. This is due, in part, to the fact that the family living there has humongous furnishings which dwarf the rooms. Also, the layout of the house doesn't flow well. Most of the land is in the front of the year, therefore there is no real backyward for a dawg.

This house is priced at $449,000, higher than my budget but I figured that because it's been on the market since May, there'd be some wiggle room. But, it's a moot point anyway since it's not for us.

So, the Realtor is previewing another Cape for me tomorrow in Caldwell. It's priced at $429,000 but the neighborhood is sweet. She'll let me know how it compares to the one I love.

Then there's another one in Verona that doesn't open till Sunday, a small, brick, 3BR ranch priced at $399,000. Looks cute from the outside but you can never tell.

I feel this much closer to buying a home now. Will keep ya'all posted!