More Open Houses!

So on top of the houses we had scheduled to see we went to 5 open houses last Sunday.  We only planned on going to four, but one stop was a two for one, so we ended up seeing five total.  That was a total of 8 houses, it doesn't really sound like a whole lot, but boy when you're driving around all day and answering the same questions over and over again, it starts to drain you.  I've actually had a migraine for three days now, but it will be all worth it once we are in our new home. 

We were really only in love with one of the homes we saw that day.  We liked two of the houses total, but were really in love with only one.  The first open house we went to was a disappointment, the house was so small and had the strangest set up I had seen.  The kitchen actually looked like it was an afterthought an they just stuck it in a hallway.  But the second open house we went to really grabbed us.   

And here it is.  It was a nice ranch in a quiet little neighbor hood by Lake Monona.  Three bedroom, two full baths. 

It had a nice two car garage, which is a must for us.  J just couldn't live without an area to work on his car.  So the bigger the garage, the better.  And well finding a large garage in Madison is not that easy.  The closer we get to downtown, the less likely we are to even get a one car garage.  So a two car garage is a huge perk for us. 

This house also had a wonderful, huge bay window.  I love bay windows.  I think they really open up a room and well I know the cats (as well as Yoda) would love one. 

The house also had wonderful wood floors.  All original oak floors through the whole upstairs.  And they were in great condition.  I love me a wood floor and even J admitted it really opened up a room and looked much nicer then carpeted floors.  That a boy.

The floor plan was fairly open, not as open as what we are use to, but probably as open as we are going to get.  The kitchen was a little dated, but they are actually putting in new counter tops and a new sink possibly at this moment.  We really liked their choice in counter top, and well that would save us the trouble of doing it, which is a nice selling point.  Believe me, I'm sure there are plenty of people out there that would love the canary yellow counters and sink, but me and J have a more modern style, and they just wouldn't fit.  We plan on going back and seeing it again this coming Sunday (as long as no one else snatches it up), so I'll take updated pictures of the new counters.

This house really had just about everything that we are looking for.  It had this great 3 season porch off the back.  Again something the cats would love.  Our old apartment had a 3 season porch, and Nacho lived out there.  It also had a cute little yard that had plenty of room for a garden and larger deck (the current deck is a little small).  It also had a little play house in the yard that we joked my one student could rent (she's always hinting that she would rent a room from us).

The bedrooms were a nice size.  And the 3 season proch was right off the office which we decided would make a wonderful bead room for me.

The basement was the real gem of this house.  It was completely finished and had an extra bedroom and one of the most beautiful bathrooms I had ever seen.  It was beautiful and had plenty of room for our whirlpool bathtub.  The basement also had a workroom complete with vent fans because the current owner was a wood worker.  That sounds perfect for me and J.  A room that I could do my glass in or a room J could build his cabs in.  Perfect.

We really like this house, but are going to see some that compare to it next weekend.  Then we might be ready to make a decision.  Look how much things can change in one months time.  We were just thinking about buying a house a month ago, now it's a reality, Crazy!