House Update - Closing

Do you know that house I kept writing about? Like on June 7th or May 31st or April 30th or all the way back on February 26th. That house was supposed to be the "forever home" that M and I had always wanted. We spent more than a little amount of time making decisions on paint colors, fixtures and other things that were going to be part of the home. There had been plenty of frustration throughout the remodel project, but we kept telling ourselves that it would work out and it would all be worth it.

It didn't work out.

The inspector pointed out a problem with the roof and this past week we had a roofer come by and give his assessment. It wasn't good. The number was high enough to make us start to question whether or not we wanted to live in that home. It was already a pretty expensive home, and a new roof just added to that. We asked the contractor if he would be willing to pay for some of the roof costs and he was unwilling to contribute anything.

At that point we had to make the decision if we wanted to buy the home and take on the burden of putting on a new roof ourselves. I could understand the logic of being "pot committed" on this home, but really we were still at the point where we could back out without much of financial hit. It was tough that we had spent so much time with the home, but I think that this is a lesson in sunk costs. The amount of time and effort we spent on the home didn't change the fact that we were going to be paying a ton of money for a home that we didn't think was worth it. The home no longer felt right, and I am happy that both M and I came to that same conclusion.

So....we were supposed to close on Friday, but instead we were back house hunting yesterday. We are moving on and the good news is that out of the 5 homes we saw yesterday we really liked 3 of them. Below are the links if you want to check them out:

25 Bullitt Park Place
Pros - Feels like our type of home. Nice backyard, quiet street, great kitchen and updated bathrooms. I loved they layout of this home and how every space seems to be usable. They list 5 bedrooms, but really one of the bedrooms is the finished attic upstairs, which seems to be a perfect place for a movie/play room. And one big pro for this house that we didn't have with the 134 S Cassingham home is that we have our own driveway instead of a shared driveway.

Cons - Low walk score because it isn't that close to Main Street or the school. The house also doesn't have a formal living room, which doesn't really bother me that much right now. There really isn't much else besides a few cosmetic things like the walls needing a fresh coat of paint.

212 N Remington Rd
Pros - Really incredible family room and Florida room. Also, the master bedroom had plenty of closet space. This was a really nice home that had pretty much everything we could need or want.

Cons - Its in North Bexley, which isn't considered to be as desirable as Central Bexley. There is a shared driveway, but we did meet the neighbors and they seemed to be really nice. The main issue with the houses (and there really isn't that much) is that there isn't a backyard where any kids could play. The owners of this house seemed to customize it exactly what they were looking for, and I give them credit for creating a wonderful looking home.

345 N Ardmore Rd
Pros - This home was very unique and seemed to have the look and feel of a vacation home. The backyard was incredible. The kitchen and family room were open and looked to be in pretty good condition. Also, a big pro is that the lower level was finished.

Cons - There are only 3 bedrooms right now and one of the bedrooms is downstairs. It is set up, so that you could pretty easily create a 4th bedroom on the 2nd floor, but I am little hesitant on doing any work on any home. Finally, the basketball goal is on the garage in the alley, and actually playing basketball would be tough because the garage is on an incline.

All three of the homes are places I could see us living in, and considering what we saw in December they are big improvements over that crop. I would rate the homes in the order that I listed them, which conviently enough is how they are ranked in price. We will see what works out, and if need be we can attend some open houses again. However, one home is having an open house today that we won't be visiting - 134 S Cassingham.