March 8, 2007
rule #2: wear comfortable shoes (although your feet will STILL hurt in the end)
I looked at 400 houses today. Seriously. I saw houses in places I didn’t know there WERE houses. And of course, when I called Wade this afternoon and said, “I’ve seen every house in northwest Oklahoma City,” and he said, “Did you see the one around the corner from the Richardsons?” I had to say, “NO I DID NOT. BUT I’VE SEEN EVERYTHING ELSE.”
So what DID I see? Well, I saw the perfect kitchen, in a house with a pool (no) and no garage (no NO!). I saw a house with a “library hall” (shelves down one side with a ROLLING LADDER) and a dark, cave-like family room. I saw a house with PERFECT living space and two functional bedrooms. For FOUR people.
Do you think Henry would like sleeping in the garage?
Every house had some THING about it. I saw a beautiful, BEAUTIFUL house with the Best Bathroom EVER and no back yard. I saw houses that had “potential,” if one were in the mood to strip wallpaper or gut kitchens or demolish bathrooms.
I’m not saying we DON’T want to do that, but if possible, I would rather not. Ever.
The best house–and by “best” I mean “craziest”–was the one where the couple are divorcing and so she locks the master bedroom when she leaves and NO ONE IS ALLOWED IN. Yes, really! Oh, and the bedroom was off the laundry room, which was just . . . odd.
I am exhausted and my feet hurt. I’m having a hard time remembering where exactly the couple of possible contender houses are located, which really sucked when Wade was offering to drive by them on his way home (”Do I turn left or right?” he would ask, and I would say “I HAVE NO IDEA.”). But apparently I’ll be doing this again next week, because I totally struck out today.
Next time I may wear my bedroom slippers. And take a flask.
Posted by Susan @ 3:59 pm • Uncategorized
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March 8th, 2007 at 5:49 pm, daysgoby Says:
Take a clipboard.
Get brochures from the real estate agent on each house. (And s/he will GET them if you insist, if s/he’s worth her/his salt.) And make notes on them.
This will make you look smaht and organized.
Jess, who hung with the real estate crowd for a bit.
March 8th, 2007 at 6:04 pm, Mir Says:
Feeling your pain, sister.
At the end of our househunting morning, the realtor turned to us and said, “So?”
By that time, I was non-verbal. But Otto swept his arm grandly and said, “It’s easy. We’d like the kitchen from the third house, the porch from the first house, the garage from that last one, and the yard from the house around the corner from the other one.”
Well, then.
March 8th, 2007 at 6:24 pm, chichimama Says:
After the first time out it gets easier, because not THAT many houses come on in your price range in a given week.
Hang in there, you will find your house…
March 8th, 2007 at 7:06 pm, tAnYeTTa Says:
Wow!!!!
slippers and a flask, that’s a perfect idea
March 8th, 2007 at 7:50 pm, Annika Says:
The thought of a library hall makes me tingly.
March 8th, 2007 at 8:39 pm, mausfrau Says:
I’ve heard that a lot of people are taking cell phone pics and sending them, along with notes about addresses, etc., to themselves. Perhaps that would help.
Last time I was househunting cell phone technology hadn’t reached the point of actually taking PICTURES, so I haven’t ever tried this.
March 8th, 2007 at 9:16 pm, The June Cleaver Diaries Says:
We saw a lovely home that had every closet, cabinet and storage space packed with alcohol. There was even a shot rack next to the coffeepot.
You know I have nothing against a little drinky-poo, but for Pete’s sake!
BTW, love the library with the rolling ladder….
March 9th, 2007 at 12:11 am, Marmite Breath Says:
Oh yes, the library sounds awesome. And I think making children sleep in the garage is character building.
I remember househunting up here in Nebraska. The realtor had the air conditioning in his car on SO DAMN COLD and I had shorts and a tank top on. I am too polite and English to bother him with my request to please turn it down a little, so instead, I bought this house SIMPLY SO THAT I WOULD NOT HAVE TO BE COLD FOR ONE MORE SECOND OF THE DAY. Well, that and it had a basement!!
March 9th, 2007 at 7:59 am, Anonymous Says:
wait, AREN’T there four of you? i thought it was you, your husband, and kids x 2?
March 9th, 2007 at 8:32 am, Susan Says:
There are four of us; the house in question is currently occupied by a single guy. It has a small master bedroom, an even smaller second bedroom and a wee tiny room that could maybe hold a twin bed, as long as you never wanted to stand up or turn around. The second bedroom isn’t big enough for two beds, even two twin beds, and bunk beds are out of the question for my kids.
I am beginning to understand why people tear down existing houses and build new ones in the same spot. (We won’t be doing that, in case you’re wondering.)
March 9th, 2007 at 8:47 am, Mark Says:
Just hang in Edgewater, your future is in the 73116
March 9th, 2007 at 9:03 am, Gidge Says:
I’m moving to Atlanta in two weeks, I’ve instructed my husband to find us some place to live.
I allege that I won’t be mad at him if the place sucks, but in fact, I just don’t want HIM TO BE MAD AT ME if it sucks.
So he can find a place, and when something is wrong with it - I’ll just complain all year long.
March 9th, 2007 at 10:18 am, Magpie Says:
Looking at houses is so weird. My favorite was the one that had a whole colonic irrigation set-up in one of the bathrooms. Uh, no thanks. But, when it’s right, you’ll know instantly. Good luck!
March 9th, 2007 at 1:21 pm, mamatulip Says:
That always happens to us. We think we find this perfect house and then we realize it has no garage (NO!) or three bedrooms, when we want four, and then we begin to seriously discuss how wrong it would be if we did in fact have another child and set that child up in a drawer in our dresser.
Bah. House hunting ain’t all that it’s cracked up to be.
March 9th, 2007 at 7:41 pm, Velma Says:
Pictures, pictures, pictures! Take that digital camera and go nuts with the pictures, every closet, every hall, and even the weird stuff just to make you laugh when you go through them later. (The permanent colonic irrigation set-up, for example.)
When we bought our first house here, my husband had a cast on his leg and could not make it up the stairs, so I ended up running up and down the stairs and showing him the pictures on the back of the camera. He’d say, “What does the closet look like in the bathroom?” and I’d trot upstairs and take a picture, and then trot back downstairs and show him. Good times.
March 10th, 2007 at 4:24 pm, Antique Mommy Says:
The next house I build I am putting the laundy room right off the master closet because I am tired of hauling the laundry basket clear to the other end of the house scraping every doorway along the way and back — which confirms my suspician that most house architects are men who have no idea how their socks get clean and put back in the drawer.