Adventures in Real Estate Part 2: Looking

I'm addicted to HGTV. Seriously addicted. It's my off season ESPN. Every Sunday for at least the past two years has been spent watching House Hunters. Often, I like to yell at the television: "IT'S JUST A PAINT COLOR!" or "NO! You don't NEED to redo the kitchen. You WANT to!" So I was very thrilled that in my house hunt this time, I had not turned into one of those people.
I started looking for houses by learning what I could afford, then I figured out where I want to be, and what I am really looking for, which is an old house with character. I'm willing to sacrifice big closets and a whirlpool tub for a porch swing and built ins. That's just who I am. I found several I liked online. But how do you rank a bunch of super cute houses in the same neighborhood? And how do you keep all the ins and outs straight when you are looking by yourself? Well when you're a nerd like me, a Google Form is clearly the way to go.

HUGE dork... I get it.

In addition to my list of things I said I wanted in my next house, I had a rating scale of Perfect, Good, I Can Live with It, or I Don't Think So for kitchen, curb appeal, and neighborhood. I also had a place to note how many bedrooms and bathrooms, and a comment box for storage, what needs to be redone immediately, and any other comments. My sister reassured me "I actually think this is a great idea." I replied with, "Well, I kind of do too, but it's things like this that make me realize why I am still single!"

So, I've been inside of five super cute houses the last couple of days. Two weren't even Google Docs Worthy ("Google Docs worthy" just became the new "spongeworthy" btw).  Of the three I recorded, one of them was ok, one of them was cute, but too small, and dare I say, one of them was just right.  As I planned to knock out walls and add in appliances, I realized maybe I am one of those HGTV people. But I am not the annoying brat on House Hunters who doesn't want to do any work, I am more Jonathan Scott with an eye for how to change the space to make it more functional.

So... I have found one I am in love with. Hopefully soon I will be writing "Selling" and "Offering" posts too!