June 03, 2009

The Hunt Is On...

Ted viewed a number of houses today, of which two could work for our family. Our favorite so far is a mini-farm, a gorgeous, newer house on nearly 4 acres of land with a playset and playhouse left for the kids, a storage shed that we'd want to get electricity hooked up to so Ted could do his woodworking again, and an outdoor hot tub! The drawback is that it's only 1920 square feet with no basement. Still, we talked about ways we could make it work...I'm all for downsizing...it would be GREAT to have that much space for the kids to explore and play. It's farther away from base and church, but close to the amusement park. The military family who owns it plans to retire there (they are moving to LV for their next assignment!). Ted met the wife. She said that they always get season passes to the amusement park since they're so close...they would just eat dinner at home during the summer and go for an hour or two in the evening. The kids shouted for joy when they heard that.

The other possible one isn't available until after August (1 1/2 months in the TLF, ugh), and it doesn't thrill me even though Ted said it's much more spacious than the farmhouse. However, tomorrow he looks at a good-sized house that from the description sounds just like what we need: 5 bedrooms plus a finished basement; fenced and wooded back yard; walking distance to a community pool and park; at the end of a cul-de-sac in a quiet neighborhood; a lot closer to base/church. We've been communicating with the owners, also military, and they seem nice. It's an older home with no dishwasher, but she said there's space for one.

Then, just this evening, another rental popped up. It's over 3300 square feet, brand spankin' new, a model home that is just one mile from base! It's also for sale, though, so I'm not sure how stable the situation would be. After the nightmare with the big house that got foreclosed on, I'm half afraid to even look at something so big and beautiful. It's the same rent as the farmhouse would be, and the other 5-bedroom home is just $100 lower per month, so everything so far seems roughly even in that respect.

So, it looks like it may come down to a decision of, do we want more house space, or more yard space?! Do we want to live in a neighborhood, or out in the country?!

2 comments:

Tina Miles said...

Tough choices! Do remember in Ohio that part of the time that outdoor space won't be quite as usable! :) We have that issue right now, more outdoor space and a tiny house + no neighborhood. We love our large outdoor areas for the kids to play in and it is kind of nice to pick and choose play time for the kids by doing play dates. And, they are very close because they don't have many other friends to play with. But then I hear friends talk about their kids just playing all over the neighborhood and I'm a bit envious. We'll be praying for wisdome for you!

Janet said...

I would seriously consider the 5 bedroom, in the col-de-sac!! Sounds perfect for your size family and has a pool & park close by. Good Luck, sounds like Ted is doing a great job!!