Still looking...

So yeah, i'm still looking. this awesome, modest 70's one popped up, but no carport! it's a 2 bedroom so it's probably just a bit too small for me and the pack anyways. still cool, though. The longer it takes, the more money I'll have saved up which is good. Still, "the way-yay-ting is the hardest part"

"Dream" by the Everly Brothers

It's going a little slower than I thought it would. I thought since this is supposedly a buyer's market that I would find a few that I liked fairly quickly. I have seen a few that I sort of liked, but they tend to have a fairly big negative: One house that I really liked, didn't have a carport and it had some mold issues along with some other cryptic things on the disclosure. Another house had no HVAC or duct work (no AC in Georgia, seriously?) In general it seems there's not too much for sale down here. My brother told me there are for sale signs all over Nashville. My only assumption is that since Athens is a small town, there's simply not a lot of properties compared to a bigger city, hence not a lot for sale. Also my realtor explained to me that summer is generally slow in any market and so sellers may have taken their houses off the market until the fall, when college kids are moving back and things in general pick up around here. I scour realtor.com and trulia.com and countless other real estate sites (with the same damn expired listings) at least 3 or 4 times through the day in hopes of finding a fresh listing. I've burned 2 tanks of gas in a weekend driving through all kinds of neighborhoods rubberneckin' looking for those ugly yard signs. I've only been looking since May, but anybody that knows me, knows I'm an impatient SOB. I use to throw major temper tantrums when I was kid when I wanted something. Turning all beet red, stamping my feet. I don't plan on doing this and it really doesn't accomplish anything anymore (except passing out from hyperventilation and sore feet) So in the meantime, while I wait with white knuckles for the next house for sell to pop up, I've been looking through my current issue of Atomic Ranch. I've been picking up this magazine for about 2 years now. It is the ultimate source for inspiration. Even the ads in the magazine get me pumped. Who knew that a full page ad for Crestview Doors could get me so excited! I've also been sketching out and writing stuff down that I'll want to do and get for the house. Sort of a little backwards, but it's a lot of fun and keeps me from getting down or frustrated.

Slow Summer

I went over to the Whitehead area today. I really dig this area of Athens. It's not too far out, yet not overcrowded with SUV driving college students. Word on the street is that there's a lot of young professionals moving over to this area and cleaning up/remodeling these homes. I hope I'm not too late!
There's quite a few 50's and 60's brick ranches over there. I took a look at one on Lillian Drive. Seller is asking $109,900 which is at the top of my budget. Well of course that's the asking price, so I would be buying at a lower price than that. Anyways, the house itself is okay. There's a perfect carport to house my '53 Buick. The lot, was really not to my liking. Neighbors were a little too close. The lot slopes in the back and levels out which allows a nice unfinished basement in the back. However there's no access to the basement from the inside of the house. Poor Leeloo (my 7 year old Great Dane) probably wouldn't want to have to go up and down stairs EVERYTIME nature calls. This also means that access to the top of the house in the back is about 2 stories high. I'm slightly (okay extremely) acrophobic (fear of heights) so this limits my handyman-ness for maintaining the house myself: gutter cleaning, painting the siding at the top, roof work, soffit/facia replacement, etc.I envision a nice fairly flat lot in the back that I can fence in. The house was built in 1960 which is okay, but I'm really wanting something from the 50's. So the hunt continues...