Meeting Mama, house shopping

I got to meet Mama for lunch yesterday since she, Victoria and Jake were at Peggy’s. I could get used to that. When I got there Jake was already in the pool but Victoria was hesitating because the water was too cold for her. The ambient temperature was near 100®F but I did not touch the water to see what the temperature was like. All of us were getting eaten up by those tiny black mosquitos – especially Victoria. I think she finally got in the pool to escape the little blood suckers.

I met up with them again after work so we could begin our tour of homes. The realtor met us at a home Mama was very interested in – a “Texas-style” house in paradise. Once we got into the house we could not get the alarm to shut off. It turned out that the owners had forgotten that they had scheduled a showing for that afternoon.

It was a moot point since the house was very obviously not a suitable one for us. It was one of those projects that they overdid the areas of attention – the kitchen, the living room and fireplace – and left many other items poorly done – the window seals, the deck and steps, etc. We did not spend very long there. Within fifteen minutes or so we were heading to the next stop.

It, too, was a disappointment. Much like the first house of the day there was great expense put into the master bedroom and adjoining bath as well as the kitchen counters. Also, like the first house many other things had been neglected. Low ceilings (done so to accommodate the AC ductwork) and kitchen cabinets that hung solidly on very crooked walls were enough to shorten our visit there. The approach to the house was over a railroad track – which was built up quite high – and the house sat right off of the road. Two more points against it.

We took a break and went back to Decatur and got Victoria’s car and a bite to eat before meeting the realtor at the a-frame house. We spent over an hour at that property and I think if we were really anxious to buy we might have made an offer on the spot. The house was not perfect by any means but it was more than adequate. The owners/builders had taken their time to do most things very well.

The decks that attached to the house more than made up for any lack of entertaining room in the house. Although it was an a-frame construction it did not have the narrow, cramped feel typical of that style but seemed more open and spacious than I had expected. The shop was what I would have built; 40x40, insulated with fourteen foot walls and a 12x12 roll up door.

The property seemed to lay well but it was not clear what the boundaries were. I walked back to the back fence of the property but it was very overgrown. It appears to be a rectangle with a long edge on the road. That would be a good difference since most properties we have looked are narrow and deep. The realtor has asked for a copy of the survey and we will wait on that to finally evaluate our options. At least one of the three was a possibility.

Today is our anniversary; 32 years today. God is good!