So, it’s finally happening; that thing that all newlyweds look forward to, plan and save up for: we’re house hunting. (I bet you thought I was about to announce something of the "wee one" variety, right? All in good time, my friends.) We’re in that awkward limbo period (I guess that probably explains the entirety of house hunting) where we have a Realtor, we’ve started looking at houses online (and compiling an extensive spreadsheet), but we haven’t actually looked at any yet. With tax season winding down, we’ll begin physically looking at houses soon, but until then, every spare minute has been spent on real estate websites. Despite all advice warning me otherwise, I’ve already fallen head over heels in love with one house even though a. it’s too small, b. it has no off-street parking and is in a town touristy enough that you really NEED off-street parking, c. is a row home, which is an option, but not ideal, and d. is most likely in a flood-zone. But the KITCHEN and that farmhouse sink! Those original, 150-year-old wide plank hardwood floors! It was love at first sight. Sadly, we’ve crossed it off the list. It’s just too small. How will we entertain without a dining room? And I vowed never again to live in a house without closet space and this house has no closets. Period. Then, after telling me I shouldn't be falling in love with a house without seeing it first, Kurt, ever the practical one, fell for one. Ha! Now who’s being dreamy? Though we crossed that one off the list as well as it’s…a mobile home. Yes, a mobile home. In all fairness, it’s not on wheels, and by no means does it look like a mobile home (we had no idea until we saw the actual listing), but it is indeed a mobile home, in a mobile home park. So we’re back to square one; adding houses to our ever-growing spreadsheet that are nice, doable, but not overly exciting. It certainly doesn't help that my preferences are Spanish-style houses with open floor plans (not so many of those in our price range in New Jersey) and gorgeous old homes with charm and high ceilings (lots of those in New Jersey, but not many in our price range that we wouldn't have to spend $100,000 on renovations).
Any advice from you home-owners out there would be wonderful and very much appreciated. We really have no idea what we're doing, but armed with a Realtor and a wishlist, I'm sure we'll figure it out as we go and find something we love. Or at least, something we like enough to want to spend our nights and weekends turning it into something we love.
