114 - Crushed

I'm a little obsessive sometimes. Until I take action on something it can sit in my head and fester, pushing out any other useful thing I was supposed to be doing. So accordingly, I discussed my feelings on the house with a couple of people and came away feeling like maybe the neighborhood wasn't an issue after all.

So I called the realtor and went to see it this afternoon. And just in case, I pre-qualified for a loan. I don't do anything small, do I??? Of course all this was contigent on a) me actually liking the house once I saw it, and then b) me selling my house for x amount of money in order to pay the closing costs and downpayment (there would have been a c but I'd already pre-qualified). I was a little excited because, although I'm not entirely sure I qualified, there's a $6,500 tax incentive for people who have lived in their house 5 out of 8 consecutive years. I say I'm not entirely sure, because I bought my house in November of 2005. If you just use the 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 model -- I'm in. If you use the November 2005, November 2006, etc. model, I'm a year short. Smurf. Ah well, I didn't learn of it until I contacted the realtor, so it wasn't factored into my thinking, but it still sucks to feel like you're being screwed out of something.

Honestly, the neighborhood wasn't bad. There were a few nice neighborhoods along the way, and what looked to be a nice house being built directly across the street. There were some dingey looking parts, but nothing menacing. The house itself was very nice, but ultimately disappointing.

I knew it was 200 sq ft smaller than my house... but it's the way it's arranged that's ultimately the problem. Deck was a little small, and limited in usefulness because of the sliding glass door and front door; it's just not very wide, so you couldn't put anything in front of the doors. Kitchen is awesome, but only has room for a very small refrigerator. Living room is alright, except that the sliding glass door to the deck needs to be replaced. Guest 'bedroom' is very small and has a hotel-like exposed hanging rod that functions as a 'closet.' I don't think a queen-sized bed would fit in there. If it did, it would be almost wall-to-wall, with no room for anything else... I honestly thought I was in a closet when I walked in. The 'study' was a very small room. The utility room would not have accomodated my washer and dryer, not even stacked. I don't think my piano would have fit into the study, which was like another closet, but with no door.

Upstairs, the master bedroom was a decent size, but even though the measurements claimed otherwise, I'm pretty sure it's smaller than the one I'm in. It's hard to tell without furniture in there. And there's a larger problem... the roof slants, and the ceiling slants accordingly. Say you have a sleigh bed, like me... no frickin' way is it going to fit in there. And the 'closet'? More like a nook with a rod and a shelf. No door. Master bath was rockin' though. Loved the tub. Not sure there was a showerhead... so you might have to get one of those weird shower sprayers or go downstairs to take a shower... I say this because I don't recall a shower curtain rod...

What I couldn't help thinking is that the design of the house is going to drastically limit his target audience. No counterspace for makeup in the bathrooms, no closets, limited wall space due to the angles of the walls, small rooms... 4-car garage. All in all I think they're going to have a hard time selling it to anyone who isn't a minimalist, and I am certainly not one of those. I walked away a little heartbroken, but I guess things work out the way they're supposed to. Having the house that I do... it's going to be hard to find something I like better, and this wasn't something I'd planned on doing anyway.

So back to things I was thinking of doing... I was thinking... instead of doing all this ebay business myself... they have companies that do that sort of thing for you. Yes, they take a percentage of what you make, but it seems fair because they'll probably do a better job of putting the ads together and monitoring the activity and all that, and I think it will be a lot less headache for me. AND I get the stuff out of my house right away... Woo-hoo! Off to investigate!

(sorry if this one was a little boring, I feel pressure after winning two awards, but they can't all be winners!)