House Hunt
We're officially in the market for a house. Yes the housing hunt has begun and we're out the gates and down the straightway. We've made up our minds to look for a multi family home since we're going to be buying along with the in-laws. Its a good way to keep connected and offers them an opportunity at home ownership.
Ok so here it went, last week, we got our feet wet by going on and really definining to the realtor what multi family is. It is not "a finished basement" or something that was once a one family with a kitchen in the upstairs 3rd bedroom and the 2 "bedrooms" downstairs aka living room!! Since that one, well we've seen some doozies! Today were a few. Ok We saw one that was it, perfect - on paper and in the plans. We got there and what a disappointment. Just 3 blocks away from East Orange in a bit of a sketchy eh neighborhood but it was on Ampere Blvd and it was a tree lined street so, promising is what I thought, and from the photos, somewhat of a go. We got inside, the house was all mismatched, a little rough around the edges and showing wear. New roof! the owner proclaimed, yes new roof, 10 years ago! The rooms though impressively large and promising if I was in the mood for a project, were a bit dingy and too too much work would be needed for this one. No way! The husband was getting a divorce sleeping all over, the attic was great but it was just a dizzying mess. My husband didn't like the smell and well - kaboom done. Next up - tenants.
Off to the next location where we realized there was a shared driveway and that was a no no, plus it looked like a foreclosure - pass! 41 Pitt St - tenants, and not happy ones. We saw on cramped level, the tenent didn't want to show the upper level and truthfully, I was more than happy to pass on that. Next we were on to another of the realtor's suggestions and this is what we called, the blue house. Owner - Trinidadian. The land that the house sat on was enough to build a 2nd house on, the home, a confussing mess of mishaps and bedrooms that Y shaped off the kitchen and more like a multifamily afterthought - big NO on that one!
I pressed to go to N. 15th Street and boy was that worth it. The first great thing we'd seen in our searching. Neighborhood - ah not too too sure, but looked quiet. Amazing rooms and we could fit our visiting families all into the 3 levels and big attic with more storage than you could shake a stick at! Next winner was on Charles Street where, the owners were headed to the Carolinas. Again another winner but the house was a gem in the middle of what seemed like rough cuts. The block was not impressive, now it was not tore up but looked like there were a tad bit too much on the rough patches. There were 2 multi tenent buildings next door and the comings and goings of a few unfavorable types were enough to put me off. But the interior was everything we were looking for. Why couldn't this be where that ugly blue house was - that was all I could think about. I was so angry that it had to be here on this street, while blue house was an eyesore in a gem of a neighborhood. So on we press, Bergen County next and lawn, backyard with grass and maybe some deer bounding through. So stay tuned, the housing hunt, continues!
Ok so here it went, last week, we got our feet wet by going on and really definining to the realtor what multi family is. It is not "a finished basement" or something that was once a one family with a kitchen in the upstairs 3rd bedroom and the 2 "bedrooms" downstairs aka living room!! Since that one, well we've seen some doozies! Today were a few. Ok We saw one that was it, perfect - on paper and in the plans. We got there and what a disappointment. Just 3 blocks away from East Orange in a bit of a sketchy eh neighborhood but it was on Ampere Blvd and it was a tree lined street so, promising is what I thought, and from the photos, somewhat of a go. We got inside, the house was all mismatched, a little rough around the edges and showing wear. New roof! the owner proclaimed, yes new roof, 10 years ago! The rooms though impressively large and promising if I was in the mood for a project, were a bit dingy and too too much work would be needed for this one. No way! The husband was getting a divorce sleeping all over, the attic was great but it was just a dizzying mess. My husband didn't like the smell and well - kaboom done. Next up - tenants.
Off to the next location where we realized there was a shared driveway and that was a no no, plus it looked like a foreclosure - pass! 41 Pitt St - tenants, and not happy ones. We saw on cramped level, the tenent didn't want to show the upper level and truthfully, I was more than happy to pass on that. Next we were on to another of the realtor's suggestions and this is what we called, the blue house. Owner - Trinidadian. The land that the house sat on was enough to build a 2nd house on, the home, a confussing mess of mishaps and bedrooms that Y shaped off the kitchen and more like a multifamily afterthought - big NO on that one!
I pressed to go to N. 15th Street and boy was that worth it. The first great thing we'd seen in our searching. Neighborhood - ah not too too sure, but looked quiet. Amazing rooms and we could fit our visiting families all into the 3 levels and big attic with more storage than you could shake a stick at! Next winner was on Charles Street where, the owners were headed to the Carolinas. Again another winner but the house was a gem in the middle of what seemed like rough cuts. The block was not impressive, now it was not tore up but looked like there were a tad bit too much on the rough patches. There were 2 multi tenent buildings next door and the comings and goings of a few unfavorable types were enough to put me off. But the interior was everything we were looking for. Why couldn't this be where that ugly blue house was - that was all I could think about. I was so angry that it had to be here on this street, while blue house was an eyesore in a gem of a neighborhood. So on we press, Bergen County next and lawn, backyard with grass and maybe some deer bounding through. So stay tuned, the housing hunt, continues!
posted by kahluahgal at 12:38 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home