House Hunting Season

Today was our first foray into Texas house hunting.

The realtor took us out in her big momma conversion van to look at a few of the listings we'd checked out online.

The first two were in newer subdivisions. The insides were OK--new construction, walk-in closets, small bedrooms, etc. Thanks to their youth, they also had no fences, no backyard grass and one spindly tree out front per city landscaping requirements. Not exactly what we were looking for.

The third house we saw was a musty-smelling repo. Mustard and tomato-colored walls, dark green linoleum tiles throughout (think doctor's office), some missing tile/fixtures in one bathroom, water damage around one of the skylights and a private commode with saloon-style shutter doors. Can't you just picture John Wayne busting through the shutters after an adventurous dump? I can.

Lest I make it sound too icky, it also has a HUGE kitchen with tons of counter and cupboard space (that needs a style makeover), a large living/dining area, a covered porch, a wood privacy fence (one section downed), and some mature trees in back and a hedgerow along the front. Toweringly high ceilings.

Most of the work needed would appear cosmetic. Is a $75,000 price tag worth the elbow grease necessary to make it presentable? The realtor says comps in the area sell in the high 90s to low 100s. So we'd be getting a 25% discount...but having to do a lot of cleanup work.

The fourth house was owner-occupied; she greeted us in Spanish and showed us around the cherubs and light fixtures shaped like flowers, the large laundry room, the yard with landscaping (and a vocal rooster next door), and shiny, shiny dark tile floor. Turns out, it's too big a house for just the owner and she's looking to downsize. (We didn't like the house enough to help out with that).

The last house we saw was out in the boonies. Just shy of an acre lot, dozens of mature trees and citrus (that needed water). Unfortunately, I liked the yard better than the house. Plus it's pretty far from any services/retail. And if this girl is gonna live in Texas, she needs to be closer to Target. ;)

Tomorrow we'll meet Diane the realtor for round two of house hunting, focusing on McAllen rather than Edinburg and looking for houses with mature trees and fenced yards. Stay tuned!