Big Dreamers

Well, our house hunt continues apace.  We toured seven homes on Saturday, with Mac Mini in tow.  She was a peach and behaved herself very well.  She especially enjoyed the staged homes and found lots of neat decorations to play with (fortunately most of them were neither fragile nor expensive).  A couple of the homes were non-starters...one was in a very bad location and the other had been built in 1998 and already looked like it needed a full remodel.  Pretty depressing stuff.

We visited another big fixer, this one on Beacon Hill, and yet again I fell victim to my heart and imagination.  It was a sad story: the previous owner had purchased the home for $450,000 in 2007, started renovating it, run out of money, couldn't get a loan modification, and lost the house.  It is now on the market through Fannie Mae for $199,000.  Most of the first floor was torn down to the studs and the concrete block foundation needed a serious overhaul to meet code.  (Even though it has been standing for 112 years and survived three major earthquakes, concrete block is now considered unsuitable for construction in the Pacific Northwest...something about volcanoes and seismic events.)   The previous owner had done a good deal of plumbing and electrical work, so Mr. Mac and I considered finishing the remodel and doubling our money on a large house in a great location.

The house on the hill.

We consulted with a friend who owns a construction business, who told us to run for the hills and never look back.  Good advice.  Unfortunately, he also quoted us an amount for fixing the foundation which fell within the scope of our budget.  My interest was piqued and I went back to take another look at the house.  This time I brought The Fantastic Mr. Finch, my brother-in-law, a carpenter and contractor well-versed in renovation.  He went through the house and pointed out the strange electrical rework, the incorrect placement of the brand-new shower box, the fact that the previous owner had walled in the porch and taken out the fireplace.  He found warped vinyl siding, bowed window frames, and evidence of water damage.  In short, I had fallen in love with another pooper.  Mr. F let me down gently, and said something that sums up our home search so far: "You guys are big dreamers."

Another dream home.

It's true.  After many years of urban apartment living, our dreams of a sweet oasis in the city tend to color our view of reality.  It's so easy to say, "All we have to do is finish the drywall, shore up the foundation, put in a new kitchen, and do some landscaping," forgetting that those projects would take tens of thousands of dollars and many months to complete.  Not to mention that we'd be doing it all on a tight budget and with a very active toddler running around.  So here's hoping we can find a home that suits our budget and our plans, and rein in our imaginations just enough to let in a little practicality.