Nick and Marisa are House Hunters who moved from Tampa to Denver. They have been together for seven years. They have sort of a quirky first meeting story. In college, Marisa was filling out an application to volunteer at a veterinary practice. Nick saw Marisa through the doorway and thought she was beautiful. He then stole the application and stalked her on social media. They started communicating that way and the rest is history.
Marisa and Nick have been renting a place for the last two years and now ready for their starter home with their $550,000 budget. They have two dogs, and they also want to get chickens.
Wish Lists
Marisa and Nick both want a place that has two to three bedrooms. They also want a big backyard for their dogs and future chickens. Marisa and Nick also have a sunroom, a garage, hardwood flooring, and a space to park their RV as must-list items. In a rare House Hunters moment, they both agree on the style: ranch.
Hers: Marisa hates grout and doesn’t want it anywhere in her new home. Apparently in Tampa, grout is everywhere and hard to clean. Marisa has been traumatized by the whole situation. She also wants a cozy home with a fireplace.
His: Nick wants a hot-tub to relax in after work. He also wants a gas stove and lots of natural lighting.
House #1, $549,000
This is a ranch style home built in 1941. It’s been newly remodeled, and has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The minute Marisa, Nick, and Lydia, the realtor, enter the place, they’re greeted by a lot of natural light. Nick is immediately drawn to the updated kitchen with the gas stove, and Marisa makes note of the home’s lack of fireplace and basement.
Nick and Marisa really enjoy the look and location of the home; it’s located in the Lakewood area, which is about 15 minutes from downtown Denver. They also love the sunroom and large master bathroom. However, Nick and Marisa both don’t like that this place has so much grout. It also doesn’t really have a backyard—-there is about a patch of grass surrounded by concrete. It also only has a one car garage.
House #2, $499,000
This 1949 built, mid-century modern ranch home is also located in Lakewood. It has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. It has a massive four-car garage, plenty of space for storage. This open concept home also includes Marisa and Nick’s large kitchen, but the cabinets are wood. The wood paneling continues through to the large, but unfinished basement.
This home manages to be grout free and have hardwood flooring throughout most of it. Unfortunately, it also has a small master bathroom and some structural issues that raise a red flag for Marisa. But the home having a hot tub, large backyard, and fireplace may sway her a little in favor of it.
House #3, $535,000
This home is close to downtown Denver. It’s also within touching distance of the next home (Nick knows because he demonstrates by stretching his hands to show the proximity). It has two bedrooms and one bathroom. It’s been newly remodeled with large open windows. The floors look like they’ve just been finished.
This craftsman bungalow has a huge en suite that leads to Nick’s ideal kitchen (it just needs to get a gas stove). The home also has newer grout, a sunroom, and an unfinished basement.
Decision Time: The moment Nick and Marisa talk about the second home, it seems very clear that they’re going in that direction. House #1 fell out of the running with the lack of backyard, and House #3 just seemed a little too small for them.
Nick and Marisa end up picking…House #2
They were right: the house has structural issues. This helps get the price down from $499,000 to $485,000. Marisa and Nick have already begun remodeling the kitchen, working on the flooring, and they have plans to redo the bathroom. However, their chickens are newly hatched and incubating in the bathroom for now.
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