Thoughts of the Lady in the Tower

2004-02-07 - 7:49 p.m.

We're working on putting in a bid on a townhouse (collecting all of the documents and such, waiting for the bank to open on Monday). Please permit me to ramble a bit about it.

It's a repossession, so nothing's been done to it. There are two spots in the ceiling that have leaked, its either from the sprinkler system or the upstairs bathroom. Dad says it won't be a major repair, though. The carpets need cleaning or replacing . . . I'm leaning towards cleaning. The main areas are a gawdawful shade of orange/peach/salmon (it's not really any of those, but we couldn't determine WHAT it was). I could tolerate the paint in the master bedroom, but Richard can't, so that's going. Kitchen needs a ceramic backsplash. There's some dings and dents, mostly in the garage (which would be a squeeze for my SUV).

What does it LOOK like, Denise? It's a 3 story townhouse. The first floor is a garage, front door, half bath, washer/dryer, and family room with gas fireplace. Unfortunately, the fireplace won't get used, since we would have to use that room for storing SCA gear. The half bath on the bottom floor is weird, since that means you don't get one on your main floor. And the laundry on the bottom is going to SUCK, but they're all like that. There's a sliding glass door to the backyard, which is fenced and probably 10x15.

The main floor (climb a flight of stairs) has the kitchen, dining, living room, and back deck. The kitchen has a gas stove, and plenty of counter space. There's a corner we could stick a small table for the two of us, or a baker's rack for a bit more counter space. The dining room is plenty big enough, and the living room is "L" shaped, so that's a bit weird. I may turn one of the legs into a reading nook with a pair of recliners or wingback chairs (Richard likes wingback chairs). The back deck is about 9x9 and that's when you REALLY notice your neighbors. Mom says we could do latticework and plant screens, but that's rather anti-social. The back windows/deck look out onto a HUGE common field (there's goals for a soccer field set up, and it only takes 1/3 to 1/4 of the field). We could definately have people over to practice in the summer.

Up another flight of stairs are the bedrooms. They're good sizes (there's 3 of them). The master bath has dual vanities and a weird (wide) tub. Not sure what we're going to do with the bedrooms. We've talked about turning one into an office. The other I've kinda toyed with doing as a library/guest bedroom. There's also the possibility of a sewing room... I'm not sure.

The apartment we lived in in Central was 800 square feet. This townhouse is 2040 square feet (not sure if this includes the garage, it's enclosed, but not heated). We would be gaining an extra bedroom, the family room downstairs, a dining room, half a bathroom, and A GARAGE. Plus, the living room and kitchen will be bigger.

I'm trying not to get too excited. It's just a bid, and the housing market is really a seller's market right now. The house went on the market this morning and already at least a half dozen people have been through it. We're going to bid $193,250. Wish me luck!