Home Shopping Pains

A while back my sister and I came to an agreement, along with her two kids, and my kid and husband; that we were going to buy a house together. We can't wait. We have given ourselves until this summer to find the perfect house. That way all three kids will be in high school; two freshman and one sophomore.

So I thought...How hard could it be? I personally didn't think our requirements in a house would be too hard to find.

• 4 bedrooms at least/5 would be better
• at least 2 bathrooms
• a family room
• large kitchen (we are foodies)
• separate dining area
• yard big enough for the three dogs, and an area for my garden and greenhouse.
• garage and parking area big enough for at least three cars
• a den or small room to use for office/library
• a basement so I can do my canning
• preferably high ceilings (I want to hang my pot rack that has been sitting in a box for three years since my wedding, because we only have 7 foot ceilings at the moment.)
• built-ins for my books
• lots of storage

So, now those are the realistic things that we are looking for in our price range.

Today my sister and I went on a small road trip to look at a five bedroom house. It had the bedrooms obviously, and a bonus room that could be used for a T.V. game room for the kids. It also had a huge space in the basement for canning, laundry, you name it. The yard was ok, but in need of a fence and some TLC. The kitchen was decent, and it had a dining room. But guess what? One bathroom. Two bedrooms downstairs, three up, and the one bathroom on the upper level. (It also had a laundry chute going from the bathroom to the basement, way cool.) And not only did it only have one bathroom for five bedrooms, but it was tiny to boot. What were the remodelers thinking? I know the original house had the three upper rooms, but if you are going to add two more bedrooms downstairs, add a bathroom too for goodness sake!

Oh and we have decided that some very, very small people, possibly leprechauns, designed the doorway/stairway to get into the basement. My sis, who I think is 5'4", had to duck until she was on the floor level. I myself, whacked my head pretty hard going up. I stepped up onto the first step, and WHAM! I saw stars, let me tell ya. Ow.

The realtor said nothing. In fact she was quiet the whole time we were there. I found that odd. Don't they usually talk your ear off, trying to get you to buy? Anyway, that was the first one of I'm sure many to come. So I hope you look forward to "The Adventures of Home Shopping".