Wow Susie!

That is adorable! And would the workshop in the back yard satisfy Frank? I realy like that one!

Alexa

It is adorable.. and that price for the same in my area is amazing..even with 1 bathroom.

Susie that is a lovely looking home.....I'd certainly set an appointment to see!

The house looks beautiful, and remember that in this housing market, the asking price isn't necessarily the selling price. If you liked it I certainly would think a $200,000 offer would be worth a shot and not unreasonable...

Emily

I agree Susie, it is a very nice house. BUT it really is missing two things that I thought were important to you and Frank. A garage and more important a second bathroom. I'd think twice about whether you want to give both of those up.

Ann

Lovely! What is the square footage for this house? It looks really big to only have 3 bedrooms and 1 bath. Do you like the neighborhood? Is there an attic or is the basement one that could have a bedroom/guest room and bath remodel? Is this an older home? What about the insulation condition? Is the plumbing, A/C, heat, wiring up to par or better? I ask this because I bought an older 1910 home and had double the cost of plumbing updating that had to be done.

Lots of things to think about.

It is adorable, but 1 bathroom is really an issue. Our old house was a cape and the kids bath was on the 1st floor, which meant it was the bathroom guests would use. I HATED having guests use the bathroom where my kids showered, brushed their teeth, etc. It always had to be spotless. Or at least not have pee on the seat. Is there anyway to add a powder room on the 1st floor? Off the kitchen or under a staircase? I've seen it done both ways successfully and a small powder room isn't that pricey to add if the plumbing is good.

How's the traffic in your current house? Did you have an offer that I missed?

Best of luck to you,

AM

What harm is there in looking at it? In my search I've looked at houses I wasn't sure about from the description, just to learn more about it. Looking at it doesn't mean you have to make an offer on it.

Sally

One bathroom! Yikes. If you can add a power room as AM suggests, I'd consider it. It's cute!

Susie, the house is darling, however I think you should hold out for one that meets more of your criteria, like a garage and more than one bath. There must be more out there. Remember too that Victorian houses require a lot of upkeep.

Are you able to carry two houses if your present house doesn't sell right away? I know two people who just sold their houses before they bought another. One is renting for a year and the other moved in with family. They just weren't comfortable with buying before selling their current house.

So much to think about, but you are making a wise move. Good luck! It couldn't hurt to go look at this one.

Susie, I love the house, but like everyone else said....I would look, but hold out for what you really want. There are just two of us and we insisted on two bathrooms and I got my 3 1/2 car garage. As a guy I spend most of my time outside in the garage LOL (t.v. w/cable and fridge!) and never underestimate the value of a garage to a guy. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Duane

Beautiful house, but you said it's at the outside of your price range and it has no 2nd bathroom and no garage....and that will cost a dollar or 2 to get it to your liking.
Go back and lookl at the yellow Victorian with the thoughts of spending $10,000 on excavating the basement and pouring a floor...
Likely it will cost less, do the inquirey....and it's not really as awful as you might think...I know more than a few who have done it.
Linda c

It says one full bath. Maybe it has a half bath on the ground floor? I agree, adorable . . . BUT

The two selling points for my house were a downstairs half bath and a garage. Two items I thank my lucky stars for every day. I could have upgraded the windows, done without the wood floors, remodeled the kitchen, but building a garage and adding a bath are major, major projects. I use my downstairs bath all the time, it's great for guests, great for when my elderly parents are visiting, and great for me. Without the downstairs half bath I would be schlepping up and down stairs all the time, and it really is very important when the oldsters are there. And the garage--I thank my lucky stars for that every snowy, icy, cold morning I'm not whisking, shoveling and scraping. I lived without a garage for 25 years, and I cannot say enough how much I LOVE my garage!
Also, unless you will love it, a pool sounds like a pain to me. I'd take a garage any day. No harm in looking, but KEEP LOOKING. Your dream house will show up. No rush to buy, IMHO. I lost a couple of real gems by not moving fast enough, but my gem of a house still showed up.

Well certainly if I can live in a house with 5 people and 1 bath..anyone can..They only time I appreciate it the most is on cleaning day. LOL

Terri, certainly it can be done. Obviously people lived for years with that option. I just know that when we had our first house sometimes we would race to the bathroom and decide who got their first etc. We survived and we are just two people. An extra bathroom is a luxury for certain, but in a $200,000.00 house or above I would expect at the very least 1.5 baths and perhaps more. It depends on the area of course. For that kind of money in this economic climate I would hold off for something that would be most acceptable to the entire family. It is a buyers market and I just can't see settling for something that is not on the 'must have' list for this price range. IMHO.

Duane

Oh my I grew up with 5 brothers and assorted foster kids and we only had one bathroom. Yea it can be done but what really concerns me is the fact that they hve that huge pool so they MUST entertain. So how on earth can one bathroom work when you entertain?? I mean its one thing for me, Frank and the kids to share a bathroom but to host a large gathering with one bathroom could be a disaster in the making!!
The house seems very big from the exterior pics...look at the balloon pics.
I am also guessing from the balloom pics that there is no driveway...but yea the one shed looks large enough to put Franks 76 camaro in LOL!!

The yellow Vicky (lakehurst) while it had a great garage-FIL said you could prob get 8 cars in there-no kidding!! The basement was indeed an issue plus all the bedrooms were too small-the living room was odd "L" shape. Its a shame cuz I really liked the house from the outside and I really wanted to fall in love with the inside and be done with it but it just wasn't so.

On the Red Bank house there if a full basement and a 3rd floor open area.

As for my house no new bites. Had a showing scheduled last week but it was a no show! Yea I was pi$$ed!!
My house is in the HOMES book this week-the book you get at the grocery store. On the same page is a bubble telling home buyers about $7800 housing grants available so maybe we'll get some action this weekend!!

In the meantime I painted my kitchen cabinets this morning. I also went to get some new pulls but they don't carry my size so tomorrow I will paint them too.
We also looked at new ranges-we can get one for under $300. The range I have now has issues-while it looks good, I always have to light the jets...Damn new flooring makes everything else look old and tired LOL!!!

Frank pointed the front today too...there were some settling issues that needed to be addressed-he did a great job!!

Now I think its finally all done...maybe LOL!!

Thanks for all the feedback-I really value the opinions I get here!! You all are like a little voice of reason!!

Cheers!
Susie

I used to be a realtor's assistant. Which meant I pretty much did everything except collect the commission. I was lucky in that my husband and I decided to buy a house during this period and it was really helpful. I got to see lots and lots of houses without feeling like I was driving anyone nuts (i.e., my own personal realtor). I think that if you have a good buyer's realtor it can't hurt to look at tons of houses. It can really help you get to know the market and see the difference that 190 - 230 thousand can make. On the other hand, some people get overwhelmed with too much shopping. I'm the type that really likes to see everything to do with houses. There are so many variables, you just never know when one will really strike a chord. If you have enough prep time (from looking) to be able to evaluate if the house is worth it TO YOU, and the comps agree, then you'll feel confident with your purchase.

I think the house above is adorable!! Although, I can't imagine not having a garage in a snowy climate. If there is no drive way do you have to get up in the middle of the night to move your car for the snow plows? I would go look, though. Maybe the work shop out back could be a garage. At any rate it will just be another little drop in the education bucket.

I kind of miss house hunting. It's nice to share it with you.

Tammy

FWIW...here's something I heard from the gal that cuts my hair. This just happen yesterday.

Her DD and DSIL want to buy their first house and start a family. They both have good jobs/credit and have already been pre-approved for a mortgage. After looking at over 100 homes they found the one that they wanted in their price range. Offer made and accepted. Tentative closing date set for next week. The family is all arranging their schedules to help with the move and also celebrate Thanksgiving. After several weeks of planning and waiting for the closing, the couple get a call from the bank. Now remember, this couple has been pre-approved. No problems in that area. The bank calls two days ago. The appraisers went to the house and because of the economy, the house has been devalued. They won't do the mortgage.
This is happening throughout Michigan and other states, I guess throughout the country. Reading the news, few areas seem to be stable. So beware, both buyer and seller should not call it a done deal until after the actual closing. As a former real estate agent, when times were good, I still never spent my commissions until after the closing, anything can happen.

Susie, just some words of caution. I'd try not to fall in love with any house right now. Unless you can comfortably carry two mortgages for many months, you don't want to put the cart before the horse....or should I say house...

BTW, this all happened over in Lyra's part of the state.
Nancy

It's scary isn't it Nancy.
They cleaned out a new area beside our neighborhood....sat for months...then slowly the started to put in the power, sewer, lights, mailboxes and sidewalks...months go by again..and finally we see a foundation go in..then walls and a roof..then 3 more foundations are poured and started..the first house has all the exterior stuff, doors, windows and such..but I don't think they've done any finishing..no siding or even interior stuff..the next three are in various stages of less than that...It's been atleast 3 weeks and no new activity in that time. These must have been spec houses..but the realitor/builder has decided it's not worth it...I guess..
Then down the road at the back side of the public golf course, they've been building higher valued homes..they opened up another "street"..and again..heavy equipment's been sitting unmoved for weeks, beside dirt lots with cables sticking up and a street down the middle of it.

And forget about older homes..nothing is selling.

Oh and about the 1 bathroom...I totally would love to have even a half bath!!!!!!!!! So if I was buying that would definately be a must..
Duane, my house was built in 1972 is just about 1000sqft and is a 3 B 1 B..with attached single car garage..but one of the largest lots for a single story in the neighborhood. We've put some work into it over the past few years and "upgraded" what we could. If it were to go on the market and it was a "selling" market..It still would go for about $200-215. Brand new houses that are 2 car garage, 3 B, 2 B on postage stamp lots with probably 800 more sq are starting at $230-250. Hence why very little "older" houses are selling...

Hey...that looks just like my house!!!!! Wanna move to Long Island I cant find a buyer !!!

I only have one full bath and a powder room downstairs. Honestly it wasn;t so bad when my sons were growing up. We just learned to do-si-do around each other. What's hard now is when the sons come to visit and bring a girlfriend, or my nieces come to stay with me. It's one thing to share with family and another to share with visitors. Your kids are growing and will some day be visitors not "tenants."

Hey, your mom might come and visit too. Now there's something to look forward to. Believe, you don't want to be sharing a bathroom, so hold out for that 2nd full bath.

I agree w/Tammy that it helps to look at a fair number of houses if you can do that without making your realtor crazy. :)

Remember, the price they list isn't fixed in concrete. Most people, especially in this market, will negotiate. We had two choices in the end. The first was to (maybe) get our asking price but have to wait for the buyer to sell their place. The second was to take 20% below our asking price from someone with check in hand. After 18 months on the market, it was worth the hit to us just to get it sold and move on with our lives. We countered to a 15% below asking and threw in a home warranty and the washer/dryer. They jumped on it. Everyone was happy. My point is that you never know what a seller will accept unless you ask. The worst they'll do is say "no" or counteroffer.

Hi Susie - we had dinner with some friends Friday night and were talking and their son recently bought a house in Collingswood and takes the "high speed" to work in Philly - gets there in 12 minutes I think she said. Just FYI.

Someone brought up a very good point to consider. Sharing a bathroom with your children is just fine. But, in just a few years you will be sharing that same bath with your SIL and Frank will have to share it with his DIL. I think that will be rather uncomfortable because they will pretty much be "strangers" to you when they come to visit for the weekends, holidays, etc. If they live out of town you may find yourselves having to share this space for weeklong visits, and that will get very crowded. Keep looking for exactly what you want -- you'll find it.