House Karma

(Sorry about the formatting with the photos - I've been trying forever, but now give up!)

Front of 3620 Virginia

I don't know if all of you remember my first "house hunt" - I wasn't even seriously looking yet, decided to go ahead and look at a house that I loved online, loved it even more in person, and never looked at another one.  That was "my house" in every sense of the word, even if 14 other people in the neighborhood had the same floor plan.  And of course, my recent home selling experience was just as smooth (stressful by normal day standards, but not at all by home seller standards).  I was a bit afraid that maybe I'd used up all my house karma on that first home.

Dining part of eat-in kitchen

One side of kitchen - other side is similar, but with stove

living room - there is space on the other side perfect for my piano

Fast forward to yesterday.  My real estate agent lined up 8 homes to look at.  I really like the first one a bunch, but we had many to go and I wasn't going to pass up seeing the others in case there was something even better.  Turns out there wasn't - several got crossed off the list immediately for one reason or another.  There was another I liked, but simply not as much as the first.  The kitchen was minuscule and I couldn't see any reasonable fix for it.  The room is simply too small - just one short wall of cabinets/countertop, broken up by the sink, and nowhere else to add cabinet space.  Much as I like that house, the kitchen was a deal breaker.

middle bedroom, which would be my study

And throughout all this, house # 1 was seeming more and more the right place.  So at the end of house # 8, I asked if I could possibly see house # 1 again to make sure I was remembering it accurately and all.  I wondered if maybe I was exaggerating its good features through the process of seeing so much I didn't like.  But when we went back it already felt like home!  So, I once again found the house that was "it" in the very first house I looked at.  It was built in the 50s, but is pretty reasonably updated inside - I will, of course, want to redecorate to my style slowly, but how it's currently done is really comfortable to me so I can do projects as I'm in the mood.  No immediate major remodeling needs!  It's not "perfect" - but I'm more than happy to live with the few things I'm not pleased with.  There's no dishwasher in the kitchen (sigh), probably the biggest drawback.  Most of the closets have those old-fashioned pleated sliding doors instead of real ones.  And the bathroom sink is just mounted to the wall, with no vanity.  (Although there is a nice, big storage cabinet built in.)  Those are my 3 biggest issues, and all are pretty workable short-term and easily resolved long term.  The bathroom is a bit old-fashioned, but it's the kind that works as the "vintage" look.  I was a little surprised how much I liked it with older tiles, but they're cute (not the big square pepto pink look!)  The house has carpeting throughout that is in great shape, with hardwood floors underneath whenever I'm ready to tackle that project.  There is an awesome space in back for a basketball hoop.  The house just feels so solid and peaceful to me.  AND, it's on a dead-end street!  The current owner has lived there since 1967 - his wife died recently, and he now wants to move closer to his daughter and grandkids.  It is fastidiously clean - the basement isn't finished, and it was still one of the nicest looking basements I saw yesterday.

back of house/back yard

Garage/back yard

So today, I've made an offer - after one day of looking.  Maybe I've still got the house karma?  :)

(I'd better, because I also had to give notice to terminate my apartment lease today, or extend it for another term.  I terminated - if this offer doesn't work out, I could be homeless pretty soon....)