House Hunting

It's high time we settled down. Four states in under four years really is a bit ridiculous. Fortunately, the job situation is finally satisfactory to the current bacon-bringer. So, here we go, looking for a house to buy! Whee!

Okay, so it's really not that much fun. Mostly it's a lot of staring at the computer and sighing. A couple of times I've actually gone out with the real estate agent to look in person. It's been a bit disappointing so far. The older ones either need too much work or are too small. The new ones are mainly out of our price range altogether. We have severely limited our options by sticking to this awesome school district, which we'll eventually be utilizing. This awesomeness apparently doesn't come cheap.

Then this week when I looked at this house.

Pros:
Plenty of space
Finished basement for toyland
OK yard with new deck
Needs little work
Up the hill and away from the more heavily-polluted areas in the district
Quiet cul-de-sac with lots of families

Cons:
Cookie-cutter neighborhood (not much personality)
Kitchen feels a bit cramped for such a big house
Smallish lot
Higher than our original (more comfortable) price range
Would add about 5-10 minutes to Ben's now 45 minute commute
We'd have to make our offer contingent on selling our KY house, or get a "piggyback" mortgage and risk financial ruin if it doesn't

So, the cons list is relatively harmless, but that last one is a real doozie. We're leaning toward making a contingent offer if someone else doesn't scoop this one up soon. The chances of that seem pretty slim though--there were two other showings today alone. It does give me hope that something else will come on the market when the timing is better. Spring is a-comin'!