House Hunters Linda and Brian met, fell in love, got engaged a year later, and married a few months after their engagement. Now they’ve been together for over nine years. Linda and Brian currently have a son named Julian, who is almost two years old. Linda works in digital marketing and Brain is a professional golf coach. They recently moved from Clearwater, Florida to Cleveland, Ohio for a job opportunity.
Brian and Linda also heard that Cleveland is the ideal place to raise a family. They’ve been living in a rental unit but want to move to a family home near the southeast suburbs of Cleveland. They have a budget between $250,000 and $275,000.
Wish Lists
Linda and Brian both want their new home to have four bedrooms. Linda has family across the country in Sri Lanka, and she wants space for when her parents come to visit. This is where their agreement ends.
His: Brian prefers split-level homes. He also wants high ceilings in the basement for his golf practicing. Brian also wants a big tub, and he is okay with a fixer upper home.
Hers: Linda prefers ranch style homes. She also doesn’t want a laundry room in the basement. Brian and her make a deal that if it’s in the basement, he has to do laundry. If it’s above ground, Linda has to do the laundry. She also wants a big dining room to host guests on holidays like Thanksgiving. Linda also wants an open concept home with a big kitchen and is move-in ready.
House #1, $269,000
This is a ranch style home built in 1954. It has four bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, and a finished basement. The basement stands out because it doesn’t fit Brian’s high ceiling requirement but it’s basically it’s own separate apartment. It has a laundry room, a bed, full bathroom, and a kitchenette. In the upper level, the home is semi-open. It has an outdated kitchen, a small master bedroom (without a master bathroom), and a small dining room.
Some more positives of this home is its lovely, spacious backyard, the clearstory windows, and hardwood flooring.
House #2, $250,000
This is Brian’s split-level home with three bedrooms, and two and a half bathrooms. This home also has a small dining area that kills Linda’s Thanksgiving dinner dreams. It also has very small bathrooms compared to the first home. This place also has a kitchen with plenty of counter space, granite, and stainless steel appliances. The basement is once again too small for Brian’s golf practice. It also includes the laundry room in it.
The bathrooms are small and don’t have a tub. The backyard is big and beautiful.
House #3, $254,700
This home isn’t either of their styles: It’s a colonial style home with four bedrooms and three bathrooms. The living room is fairly large but it has carpet that would need cleaning or removing. The kitchen has hardwood flooring, but it doesn’t have stainless steel appliances. Right by the kitchen is plenty of area for the dining room. This home also comes with a nice deck and a backyard, which is shared with all the neighbors.
The laundry room in this home is on the second floor, so this basement, which has high ceilings, is ready for Brian’s golf practice.
Decision Time: Linda and Brian love most things about house #3, but the shared backyard is off-putting to them. House #2 has a lot of great features like the updated kitchen and a beautiful backyard, but it just doesn’t have enough of their wish list items like a tub, dining room space, and high basement ceilings. House #1 has massive appeal because of it’s extra living space in the basement, but it’s the most expensive home of the three and still needs a lot of work.
Brian and Linda pick…House #3.
They’re putting off most major purchases for it, and any renovations. However, they already bought a stainless steel fridge. They ended up paying $253,000 instead of the asking price of $254,700.
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