Condo #3 Today

This condo is a 3 bedroom/2 bath ranch style. I had high hopes for this one, but it might have a couple issues. I really liked the layout and wood floors throughout. We'll go through this one in reverse.

It has a full basement and a crawl space. Lot of room for storage. Laundry is also down here (and there's a laundry chute).

The master bedroom has two closets and its own bathroom. It's a full bathroom, but it has a shower, no tub.

The second bedroom has sliding doors to the backyard. This would be nice to use as an office.

The third bedroom, the smallest, is still an okay size.

Saying the kitchen is 13 x 8 is being generous. I think they were measuring at the back between the door to the garage and the door to the basement. It's pretty small. But it would be workable.

I love the dining room, across the hall from the kitchen. It has cute built in cabinets in the corners.

I also love the large living room. The building is 25 years old, and I don't know that the windows have been replaced. They're in decent shape for how old they are, but its a toss up for how well insulated they are.
The main problem, I think, comes from the neighboring houses. It looks like an area with a lot of two-family homes. Without knowing whether they're rental properties or condos, its hard to say what type of people you'll find. The house directly across the street (pictured below) has 4 cars in the driveway, at least one of which is pretty beat up. That's not a good sign.

The neighborhood might be something I could deal with, but it might make it harder to sell later. It's really too bad because I really liked the inside of this place.

Condo #2 Today

This is a 2 bedroom/1 bath upper level unit. It's listed as the "2nd LOWEST PRICED 2BR CONDO IN ..." so I thought I'd take a look at it to compare.

It looks like another apartment to me. It didn't have a lot of storage, the A/C was a wall unit and electric heat baseboards.
Kitchen is nothing special.
Master bedroom.
Parking was also an issue with this unit.
I'm not sure what else to say about this one.

Condo #1 Today

This is a 2 bedroom/1 bath condo. Parking is underground. There were only 2 visitor parking spaces for the entire building and it's near a pretty busy street. We could also hear some noise that may have been music from the unit upstairs.

The inside was nice. I like the big rooms and fireplace.
It also had a good size kitchen and dining area.

Overall, though, this was just another apartment and the parking situation pretty much rules it out.

Today's Condo #3

The last place we looked at is a bi-level 2 bedroom/1.5 bath.
Right away when we walked in, the first thing we noticed was the smell. Could they have been trying to kill roaches?
The living room upstairs is nothing special.
It's a eat-in kitchen open to the living room. It has a bit of separation with the wall, but I'm just not sure it's enough for me. I just don't get a good feeling.
Master bedroom.
The second bedroom is where we first noticed the creaking floors. It has one particularly bad spot that's loud enough to hear on the other side of the unit. Not a good sign. (We also later noticed more creaking in the living room.)
Half bath downstairs. I'm not sure why they didn't put a shower in instead of a closet.
I like the added space of the family room downstairs.

Overall, I think the open kitchen, creaking floors, and smell make this one a no.

Today's Condo #2

The second place we looked at was a 2 bedroom/2 bath condo with 1,045 square feet. I knew right away this wasn't going to be an option because it's got two flights of stairs to get to it. But we looked anyway. The only word I have for this condo is "strange."

The living room starts off okay. Questionable wallpaper border, but otherwise not too bad.
The dining area also looks nice, although one of the windows is smoky.
Then, as you go further into the living room, you can see through the window into an "atrium." It has astroturf. And lots of plants. If you walk through the arch and into the hallway, you get to the door to the atrium.
Here's the other side of it. Looking through the door and window of the second bedroom. The atrium is an interesting idea, but it's in the middle of the apartment. In then end it's just weird.
The master bedroom has it's own bathroom which is carpeted. Who puts carpet in a bathroom?
And the final note is that the washer/dryer combo is in the kitchen. And when I say "in" the kitchen, I mean, you walk past the pantry and into the kitchen, and it's in a closet to the left.

This one's a definite no.

Today's Condo #1

I met with the realtor for the first time today. She's very nice and seems pretty knowledgeable. I like her a lot which should definitely help with the process.

The first condo we looked at is a 2 bedroom/2 bath unit on the first floor with 1,024 square feet. Starting right away, looking at the outside, I liked this unit. It looks like a place I'd be proud to own, which is a good start. It was a foreclosure, so it's currently owned by the bank.


It didn't disappoint inside. The main room is the living room and dining room. It has a gas fireplace with a space above for the TV. I wouldn't be able to use my entertainment center, but it looks nice. I like the idea of a fireplace in the winter. There's sliding glass doors to a small patio with a stone archway. Right away we did notice that the carpets are dirty and would probably need to be replaced.

The dining area would fit my table, I think, which is important. I like my table. It also has a nice separation from the kitchen.

The kitchen looks nice. There's no fridge, so I'd have to buy that. The stove and dishwasher are a little older, but not as old as my current apartment. The cabinets look to be in good shape and there's a decent amount of cabinet space. Another thing to note is the condo has a sprinkler system. I like that. I'm not sure I could use my kitchen cart. I don't know that there's space for it, so that's a downside.

This is the second bedroom. I'm not sure what happened in here. They replaced the carpet, but it still has some stains. The walls look like someone tried to paint them, but went horribly wrong. The screens are missing from the windows and there are some small holes in the walls. This room would need some work.
Master bathroom.
Guest bathroom.
There's also no washer and dryer, although there is a hookup in the closet next to the guest bathroom and next to the furnace.

I like this unit despite the fact that the carpets would need to be replaced and the walls fixed. My realtor said we could probably put in a lower offer and ask them to pay closing costs. It's got a higher tax rate than some other places I've looked at, but a lower condo fee. The door from the single-car garage doesn't have a step, which the realtor said would be good for resale (wheelchair accessible).

I think this place has the most possibilities of any place I've looked at so far.

Open House #4

The last place I looked at is a 2 bedroom/1 Bath condo. It's a first floor unit on the end of the building. The owner is looking to sell quickly because she's paying two mortgages.
The kitchen has a lot of counter space and a breakfast bar. It does have a questionable wallpaper border, which seems to be a theme.
The dining room, right off the kitchen, is nice with closets for storage. The carpet throughout the living and dining room is in good shape, but a strange blue.
The master bedroom is nothing special, but it does have the mirrored closets that people seem to be so fond of.
The second bedroom has purple carpet, red walls and a snowboarding border. The realtor said the owner is willing to take a credit or paint before closing.
One parking space in the underground garage is included.
Of all the places I looked at today, I think this is the best. My main problem with it is that it's just like an apartment. I've seen many apartment layouts exactly like this one. I need something different.