House Hunting

We went house hunting yesterday with Mary.  Mary showed us four houses in total.  We had picked two of them and then she added two others.  Here is what we saw and some of our reflections.

The first house was just a short walk from where we are staying in Englewood, Florida.  It went up for sale in late-January.  It was one of our picks.  It is a beautiful home, cedar siding, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, situated on 4 building lots.  Almost three of the lots are fully cleared so there is lots of yard.  Two garages, an outdoor shed, and a 'carport' (of sorts).  Inside is immaculate.  Lots of space.  A good-sized lanai with a hot tub.  All the windows and doors are hurricane proof.  The owner is willing to negotiate the sale of the contents.  Asking price:  $135,000.  This property is move-in ready.  We liked this property very much.

Our second pick was on the other side of Englewood, nearer to Venice.  It was much smaller, needed repainting and recarpeting, is right on a main road.  I had picked it because it was the same price as the first house.  Wanted to make that comparison.  Probably located in a better neighbourhood but much less yard for Jack.  We moved on.

The third house, one of Mary's picks was listed for $128,000 and had a pool.  Two bedrooms, two baths, smaller yard because of the enclosed pool area.  This house will need painting, carpeting, electrical work.

The fourth house was the cheapest of the bunch - $119,900; two bed, two bath, more yard that #3, very large lanai.  We arrived while the house was being shown to some folks from Ontario by a different agent.  It had much to commend it.  However, it was also going to need some sprucing up inside, the yard was not being tended since it is empty, and there are some concerns about the tile roof.  Rob noticed some damage to the living room ceiling.  Houses 3 and 4 were just around the block from one another in probably the best neighbourhood of the four houses we looked at.  However, we were not impressed by the houses.  They would need some work.  The neighbourhood has much to commend itself. 

There will be more about house hunting.  We go out in Englewood again on Thursday with a different agent.  Then, next week, while Gary is here, we are already scheduled to look at some houses in Fort Lauderdale and Cocoa Beach.  Stay tuned.