Looking Positive

My husband and I went to look at the house on the property that's to be split. We both really liked it.

It was built in 1978 and will need some remodeling, especially the kitchen. The linoleum floor is the exact same as what was in our old house prior to our remodel about 5 years ago. That was a mid to late 70's built house also. Plus the appliances all appear to be original. (I'm loving the thought of a complete kitchen remodel. ☺)

The carpeting is a bright orange-red throughout the house. My husband calls it "Tequila Sunrise" color. I like the drink. I like the color. But not as a carpet. So that would have to be redone. Eventually. (I'm thinking hardwood floors!)

There were a few oddities. One being there was a large outdoor type light fixture that was hanging in the entry. Since the entry is not extra tall (it's the normal 8' tall ceiling height) the 1 1/2' long fixture was hanging over to the side by the wall. Next time we go out I'll bring my camera.

There is a nice fireplace in the living room and right next to it is a free-standing wood stove. We figured the only explanation would be one was for heat, the other was for "ambiance".

The masterbath had a really cool shower. It was straight out of an old Sunset magazine. It was a fairly large shower with a small ledge all around the bottom. Then there was a flowerbed filled with rocks (for lack of a better description) around the outside edge of the shower border. This was all enclosed with floor to ceiling glass window on two sides. No shades or window coverings! But then you probably don't need any out there. I was so intrigued with it that I can't even remember if there were two sinks or one in the masterbath!

The rest of the house looked to be in fairly good condition. There was some strange quarter fan looking contraption in the corner of the master bedroom door. My only thought that it was some sort of cheapy unit to get the air flowing?? I have no idea really. The rooms could probably use a little color on the walls too.

The thing I've noticed which is kind of weird to me about the homes we've looked at here is that it seems they are almost placed kind of backwards. Or the front doors are in the wrong spot. That may not be an accurate description but of the several homes I've looked at I've never walked into the "front" door. It seems the front door is rarely or never used. This house was like that too.

The driveway went to the back of the house where the entrance to the garage was. There really was no area for guests to park and then walk to the front of the house. The front of the house had a great front deck that looked out over a nice yard that from the internet pictures I thought was the back yard.

We got a call from our realtor who said the good news was the escrow should be closing very soon. When that happened they could get the proposed division of the property started with the county. It was originally thought that would take 4 months but now they think it's going to be more like 45 days. That means we would be able to start with our negotiations. The clear cutting that's planned for the other part of the property should not be visible from the house. We were told we could see which trees in the back of the house would be logged prior to actual logging (it's a smallish grove of big old growth timber). There's the issue with an easement, and they haven't yet determined an asking price. They did assure us it would be below $400,000 and we decided any of the issues we have could be bargaining chips. One of our realtors' specialties is in negotiations so I feel like we are in good hands.

We will more than likely be going out sometime to look at the house again. The power was off this time so next time we'll hopefully have the power on and I'll be sure to take my camera with me.

Is it wrong that I'm already checking out hardwood flooring on the internet and watching all the kitchen remodeling shows? Ha ha!