Day 46: When it rains, it pours

And lately my life is one big monsoon! In a sunshiny, non depressing sort of way. One of those storm clouds just happens to be pouring out houses. While I wait on the Ottawa Hills home, I can’t help but take a look at the recent listings popping up. Just in case.

Tuesday night’s hunt left me slightly in lust with one my realtor picked out. It was a home he’d previously listed that was taken off the market. If the price was right, I’d seriously consider it.

Tonight I immediately fell in love with the big, yellow home I walked into just outside Ottawa Hills. It’s on another undiscovered block of Grand Rapids that’s oozing with charm! The kitchen was perfect. There was even a mud room! The upstairs landing space had built-in cabinets and drawers. But it had wood siding, there was no garage (though room to build) …and it was a flip.

House 1 - Big Yellow - She's so pretty!

See what I mean about staging (Day 45)... Oh, how I love this!

The backsplash was aluminum. Loved it! And a five-burner range... sweet!

Had I gone into the brick house first, I would have loved it more. I still loved it. It was a bungalow with a really great bedroom and half bath upstairs. The basement was finished and roomy. The three-season porch was great. The kitchen was a little cramped, but the counter space was sufficient. The shared driveway and seeing the hairy contents of the bathtub drain exploded all over the bathroom…well not quite appealing.

She's adorable, too!

I still absolutely love that one I saw last week on Colorado. But, like I said, I’m wary about buying a flip.

Loved this kitchen, too. And the upstairs bed/bath was amazing.

After my successful house hunt tonight, I drove through the winding streets of East GR and Ottawa Hills again to check out “my” house. As I described each room to my friend, I grew more and more excited. The age of the roof and price estimate on replacing will be a huge deciding factor. My neighbor told me her tear-off cost about $17,ooo. My mom’s – $4,000. The former – scary. So here I sit twiddling my thumbs, waiting to get an estimate…

I hope my car will be parked right inside that attached garage soon!

You know that rant about interior decor yesterday? I’m such a sucker! A nicely decorated home usually has a much higher price tag on it, but I can’t seem to envision the same thing when the place is dull, dingy or dumpy. And, well, perhaps I’m a little lazy. Though you know how I said when it rains, it pours? The last thing I have time to do is fix up a house, especially when I know lawn care is looming over my free time. Life is wonderfully busy.

In the past week, I also found a couple people willing to do guest posts, too, which I think is quite exciting. One is a new homeowner learning about painting. The other has a homeowner horror story. Stay tuned!