Open Homes are a bit like dating

We saw three open homes today. Each had promise, each seemed to have all we were looking for, and we wandered up the driveways full of anticipation: "Maybe this is the one!!" And then 20 minutes later we'd wander back to the car, dejected, and disappointed, but thinking, "Maybe the NEXT one will be different!"

The first house would've been great, if you could pick it up and move it somewhere quieter. It was slightly larger than ours and had been renovated, but every window you looked out of looked right into another home -- and there was practically no yard. You could hear the loud bass music blasting from the home next door -- no way. Kiwis tend to subdivide, which means they cram homes into backyards, so you get a house with another house right behind it. Great for the original property owner -- they now get to sell 2 homes - but it's greedy and ruins neighborhoods and looks really crappy (in my opinion).

That was the deal with this place. It has no business being there. On to the next house!

The second house was massive -- the entire basement could've held an office for Iain AND an office for me and then there were three bedrooms upstairs and the whole house had a sweeping view of the water. But it was a total dump -- it had that old lady smell plus mold and mildew. It must've been a big family home at one point, but it needed a TON of work. It was also in the shade, and quite cold.

The third and final house seemed too good to be true (on paper) -- 3 bedrooms, 1 office, 2 bathrooms. The two (!!) guest bedrooms were REALLY nice. They looked like they belonged in a lush tropical inn somewhere -- it evoked fantasies of entertaining out of town friends: "... and here's where you'll be staying... yes, it's lovely, isn't it... Look at the palm trees right outside your window. Well, why don't you get settled in -- your bathroom is just off the hall -- and when you're ready, join us on the deck for some wine and hors d'œuvres..." SO cool!!!! Man, the bedrooms were awesome. Iain agreed they were nice but didn't share my romanticism: "Yeah, they're ok..."

It had a nice deck off of the living room, but it was a little small and not too convenient. Like, we imagined having guests over for dinner and we're out on the deck and someone asks for the salt and oh crap, it's in the the kitchen which means walking back in through the living room, down the stairs into the kitchen... It sounds stupid but these are the things that will drive you nuts. There were way too many stairs in this place -- it had like 4 levels. Imagine the vacuuming!

But what sealed the deal was the fact that it's a townhouse and had a narrow, cramped apartment feel to it, which we're not looking for. Also, the townhouse next door looked like a bunch of squatters lived there -- I meant to ask the realtor, "Um, who or what lives next door???" Old mattresses shoved up against the windows, furniture and crap everywhere... It wasn't cool.

Oh well. It's fun to look, and until I get a job we aren't really in a position to go anywhere.