Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Going to go look!!

I have talked V into going to look at the house I mentioned yesterday.  True to his form when I initially asked him what he thought he was negative.  One of the 'church ladies' he used to work with at his old job had called him obstreperous (now there's a $10,000 word) which suits him to a T.  After looking again at the pictures online and the description, the best I could get from him was 'The land looks nice and the house has possibilities".  His initial complaint was that the house looks too small.  Of course, at 2500+ square feet it is significantly larger than our current home.
It is located just outside a small town 12.1 miles from our current house (thanks Mapquest).  It is 5 acres of land (from the aerial photos looks like pasture) with an old 4 bedroom house.  Downside: the house has hot water heat- they have never replaced the old radiators. But, it has the original old woodwork and leaded glass windows, 2 fireplaces, outbuildings and a 'guesthouse' that I assume is currently rented.  I was actually thinking of having room for a quilt frame and a summer kitchen.
We'll have to see.  I sent a message to the realtor who is listing the house and am waiting to hear back from him.  The price is such that it is well within our affordable range.  In fact, with the stats they have listed, we could do the down payment and the monthly payment is doable on my salary alone so if V ended up not getting to keep his job things would be TIGHT but not totally unmanageable.  
J14 has raised a fuss declaring that she will NOT  change high schools. I11 has declared that he will only move if he gets a parakeet (no idea where that one came from), and K8 says he wants a horse and chickens.
I feel somewhat uneasy trying to make this move in today's economy with the real estate market the way it is.  Our current home is close enough to downtown and the college campus that I'm not really worried about it selling, unless we put an outrageous price tag on it like the house down the street that hasn't sold.  I am realistic about our finances, we own our current home outright so we would not have to worry about 2 mortgage payments if it takes a while to sell.  The probable sale price of our current home is not quite 2/3 of the price of the potential new place.  
I feel somewhat of a sense of urgency that I can't quite explain to have my new home with my own land.  I think it has to do with wanting more of a sense of security in uncertain times.  That we would have the ability to meet our needs should TSHTF.  I don't think V feels the same way.  He seems to be thinking that the 'perfect' house and land will suddenly appear.  I'm more of the opinion that you find something with potential and build your dream.

3 comments:

  1. I am beginning to think that you really must live quite close to me. It would be a shame to find out you are a neighbor only to have you move away but the place does sound wonderful. I hope you have good luck.

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  2. We live near the Longfellow neighborhood, if you know where that is.

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  3. Whoo hoo. At least looking is a step in the right direction! I know what you mean - wanting to be able to be self-sufficient if/when things explode - we are starting to feel the same way here....
    Kris

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