next big thing

casio 660
Originally uploaded by gregandchristine.

So we are working on our next big life adventure - the crazy world of home ownership. We went to a bunch of open houses and looked at hosues in different neighborhoods, and met some sad/ scary/smarmy realtors, and saw a variety of houses the we could afford and hated, couldn't afford and really liked, and a everything in between. Portland is in the middle of a real estate boom so prices are all over the map. There are some bargins to be had still, but there are a lot of people trying to make the best of a good thing and asking way too much because they put a cheap coat of paint and redid the ugly vinyl floor in the kitchen. We found a house in a neighborhood we really like, and that we can actually afford(mostly). It is a three bedroom 2 bath on a large lot close to the park we always take Colin. The catch is that the house needs a little work. The current owners gutted one of the bathrooms and never finished it, and is also suffered some flodding in the basement during the last big rainstorm. The owners have done a lot of nice thinsg to the house (REALLY expensive windows, new siding, we get the washer and dryer, and they are paying for all of the drain reworking to fix the problem with the drainage). We have/get to redo the downstairs bathroom, and some drywall repair downstairs. Other than that we get a house in good looking shape in a nice neighborhood, with a huge garage, big yard, and a man shack out back. We found a realtor we are happy with and who is helping us through all the home buying nonsense, and we are doing the inspection next week and if everything goes well we'll be moving in in Feb.