House Hunting Hilarity

So now that we've been lucky enough to stay with my SIL for nearly a year, we've saved up and are looking to purchase our first house.

My name is Legan and I approve this kitchen sink!

Unfortunately, we're still in basically the bottom price bracket for liveable homes in any areas we're looking in, and we're not terribly picky.

The houses we can afford frequently fall into one of these groups:

• Tiny house land

• Under 900 sq feet, even with 2-3 bedrooms
• Usually no attic, no basement, no garage on top of that - or a tiny 1 car garage
• So where do we put our stuff and how do we grow our family, lol?

http://www.countryliving.com/home-design/g1887/tiny-house/

(we can't afford this one I'm sure!)

• Falling down around us

• Like, gutters hanging from the eaves (I think they're called eaves)...
• ...or roof/trim molding off, yes that is molding so much it's just slipping off.
• Foundation/floors so wonky you feel drunk walking through it
• Maybe just doesn't have flooring or intact walls at all.

Scary short door anyone?

• Super mold

• Like, it's coming up from the floors AND down from the ceiling at the same time
• or maybe it's a tri-level that has no flooring in the lower level because the flooring molded
• Let's just be honest, all the windows, doors, and baseboards are black, and it's not dirt

• Potentially sturdy homes, but super outdated

• This is the category we're looking for, probably means previous owner was someone's great-grandma and now they're selling the house without any updates since the 70s
• These have potential for us to update as we go, so long as they're move-in ready
• Include some super cool unique features like:
• Ceiling fans in bathrooms
• Built in slide-out cutting boards (I LOVE THESE)
• Additions making the floor plan weird - an eat-in kitchen plus a dining room, or maybe a fireplace in the master bedroom, a window that looks into a shed instead of outside, and my personal *favorite* glass sliding doors to the deck in the 8x10 3rd bedroom. :)
• Interesting color choices
• Mis-matched counter tops
• Appliances older than us
• A tunnel between two different garages (I can't make this stuff up!)
• "Moved kitchen upstairs, converted original kitchen to laundry room, but easy to convert back."

Remember that scary door above? Well this den has an "exterior window" that looks into the creepy shed on the other side of that creepy door.

Just a little bit of mold....

"Hey guys, the ceiling is falling down."

"Don't worry, I'll just put this bit of wood there, it's fine now"

A remodel totally rendered these stairs obsolete apparently.

Not sure what's worse, the old scary light fixture, the color, or the old wood trim window that's molding in the shower....

Note: we did NOT test out this fan.

Super awesome very old electric stove. Yes, that's the very old hot plate style burners. No thank you. Craigslist definitely has a better stove somewhere.

Now, because we're in this price range, we know we need to make concessions - so it's a matter of what we CAN'T live with, and what we can fix ourselves for very cheap, and what we can handle for at least the immediate term.

We need to make sure house is big enough that we're not immediately feeling we outgrew it, especially as it's likely we'll be in this house when any potential siblings for Legan are born. We need to make sure the schools are at least OK, as this is likely where Legan will start school. The neighborhood has to not suck, the bathrooms (preferably two shitters...because pooping & puking) need to be functional, and the kitchen has to be good (knowing we can't afford awesome). On top of that the drive to work for my husband can't be awful, but we have to be able to afford the mortgage AND the taxes (which are the harder issue currently!). 

That being said, we're doing our best, but I wanted to share some of the funny things we've seen plus a few pictures of stuff too, just for fun!

Hoping to have a new house to announce before too long. 

If I fits, I sits!

He put himself here. No, I don't think that's how the exersaucer is supposed to be used...

Well, ya know, probably not. 

Though sometimes advice is great!

He'd better love this momma

First forray into opening the bathroom drawers. Found the toilet paper and feminine products. Can't walk yet, but is learning about pads and menstrual cups. That's my little feminist. :)