Time to move out of our rental and into a home. We started looking about 2 months ago. We wanted a 4 bedroom home with between 2000 and 2400 sq ft in one of 2 school districts.

We saw about 20 homes including 6 new constructions and the rest were between 7 and 30 years old. I was amazed how large the new homes are and how small the lots were. Less than 1/4 acre. You could sneeze and have your neighbor throw you a tissue.

The one we saw at about 7 years old was horribly built. Everything squeaked and nothing lined up.

Finally we found one. Built in 86. 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths with 2400 sq ft with a deck, patio, sunroom and finished basement. Negotiations were done last week and the inspections were done yesterday. Nothing major. The repairs will cost less than the inspection did. And we are asking the seller to take care of it.

OK....here are the pics.

Outside -







The trees block your view but I like them. The one to the left suffers a bit because it is in the shade of the other tree.







Inside -







Basement -



The current owners did a great job caring for the house. I really can't wait to move.

 

beautiful house Ravi, congrats again

 

Congrats, Ravi!

 

Thanks guys.

I went to Sears and Lowes yesterday evening. Looks like I will be spending some cash on garden tools. Lots of space for Elliott to run and play = lots of garden work.

The washer and dryer are also a bit dated so we may need to look to replace those sooner or later.

 

Holy eff, that's beautiful. Conrats!

 

 

Looks great! Congrats!

But we're car guys, why no pics of the garage??

 

The current owners are moving so it is a tad bit cluttered. Here are the ones I got....







BTW...the lawn tractor and the snow blower stays. That was part of the negotiation.

 

 

Amazing, congrats!

(jealous )

 

The messed up thing is that this place will cost $18K more than our 2 bedroom condo did 6 years ago. Thanks for the diminished housing market.

 

Sounds like it worked out in yalls favor. The house is freakin gorgeous! Nice and spacious at 2400spft! The owners did a great job updating and maintaining the home.

 

Congrats! Looks great!

 

beautiful house Ravi! Is it at the end of a cul de sac?

I have a few that Im going to take a look at this weekend. One was built in the 60's .........1760's I normally away from anything like this, but it has curb appeal that even caught my eye, and looks updated inside.

 

Conrats ravi!!!!!

 

Congrats Ravi. Beautiful home.

 

Congratz Ravi, when do the mods begin?

 

Very nice, better deal than new construction I'm sure. Love the inlaid wood floor and mature landscaping and oversized garage.

 

That is really nice. Like the backyard. Good to have some space.

 

Congrats Ravi! The landscaping looks beautiful. Some of these older homes have so much more character than the new manufactured boxes.

 

Yep. End of cul-de-sac.

Those older homes are just built so much better and you actually get land with it. The truth is the price of this home was similar to the new homes but with twice the land and it just was in better shape.

Good luck with your search.

 

congrats Ravi... when is the azine bbq meet?

 

This. Congrats!!!

 

Current List of Mods:

• Carpet. 3 of the rooms have dated carpet. Not dirty, but the colors are a bit dated. Not sure when we will do it. Depends on the cost.

• Power wash and reseal the deck. Power wash the patio and walks. Have to borrow a power washer.

• Paint the front door. The current owners have it sanded. I will paint it the same color as the shutters and garage door.

• Washer / Dryer. Both really old. We will start looking for deals. I assume those will get done sooner than later.

• Buy a ton of garden tools. That needs to get done soon. I'm shopping deals now. If I find stuff on sale I will pick them up.

All total I think we will spend about $2-3K before we move in to get some of the basics. The current owners have a list of items that they are selling and since we need furniture we will pick up some of them.

Down the road the wife also wants to redo the kitchen. Mainly just paint the cabinets and redo the back splash. I think a darker stain on the cabinets will be nice, but that decision belongs to her.

 

Agreed. Landscaping is really nice. Better than most of of the other ones we say.

I like the inlays as well.

 

It is just under 1/2 acre.

It backs up to a major road but there is a fence. And 3 years ago they redid the windows. You can't hear any of the outside when the windows and doors are closed.

We saw one house that was 12 years old that I really liked but it was on a major road and I said NO because a Subaru with some fart cans drove by when I was in the master bedroom and it sounded like all the windows were opened.

 

Thanks all.

Thanks. First weekend we own it. I'll require help with a bunch of stuff to move though.

 

nicely landscaped.

 

Conrats!
Check the Home Depot website for washers-dryers. We got ours from there, and a refrigerator several months ago. HD has a huge selection, and competitive prices for non-standard appliances.

Craigslist for the garden tools, other than cordless string trimmer and hedge trimmer.

Sears or HD for the light-duty Black & Decker 18V trimmers, if you don't need heavy duty gas-operated tools or get a gardener.

 

^^^

I won't need anything too heavy duty.

The sellers have a blower and trimmer I will pick up from them. I will need a push mower and a string trimmer.

 

looks awesome Ravi. SE PA?

 

Gorgeous house Ravi, I'm with you, I absolutely HATE 1/4 acre lots

 

Lancaster PA.

 

I really wanted about 0.35-0.4 acres based on a lot of what we saw. We ended up with 0.49. I'm sure in 6 months I would be complaining about taking care of the yard, but I can live with that.

 

Ravi, start checking the HD's and Lowes in your area regularly. They are constantly putting out damaged washers, dryers, fridges etc at pretty good prices. There is usually a dent somewhere like on the side, but who cares if you find one damaged in a spot where it wont be seen in your application?

 

Thats how my mom got a new stove and fridge.

 

Already ahead of you. I went to 2 places yesterday looking at specials and scratch and dents.

 

I am jealous- love Lancaster and your house is beautiful.

 

Thanks.

I didn't think I would like living out here as much as I do. I spent 9 years living in North Jersey. When we started looking for homes I made the decision to keep commuting 150 miles rather than move closer to Philly. A lot of people think I am crazy.

 

woot