House Hunters and Bostonians Taylor and John met on the 4th of July. John was being setup with Taylor’s friend, but he connected with her instead. Now, she teaches sociology and social work, and he works as a social worker. Together they’re raising John’s son Evan, from a previous relationship.
Taylor and John have been renting for the past 10-12 years and now feel like it’s the perfect time to buy a home. They want to live in an area between Providence and Rhode Island. John and Taylor have a budget of $250,000.
Wish Lists
Taylor and John want to find a place with office space for Taylor. They also want the home to have an open concept and at least two bedrooms. The house needs to have two bathrooms, because John and Taylor no longer want to deal with the hassle of a one bathroom home.
His: John wants a craftsman style home with no wood paneling and no white cabinets in the kitchen. He just hates the look of both features. He also wants a gas stove. John is also okay with a fixer upper.
Hers: Taylor wants a cottage style home. She doesn’t want a fixer upper: it has to be move-in ready because she’s not too confident in John’s handyman abilities.
House #1, $219,000
This is a cottage style home that’s less than 5 minutes from the highway. It’s a 1000 sq ft home with three bedrooms and one bathroom. The low ceilings and lack of open floor plan make the home a little less than ideal for John. However, the kitchen has the stainless steel appliances and gas stove that he wants. It just comes with the dreaded white cabinets and wood paneling.
It’s not much storage space in the inside of home, but it has a shed and garage for additional storage. The home includes a lovely fenced backyard. It also has a finished basement and a potential office space on the upper floor. One drawback of this place is the small rooms.
House #2, $249,500
This is a colonial style home near the highway. It doesn’t have a formal porch but an enclosed porch area. It’s only about 900 sq ft, so seems like a tight fit for three people. This home was originally built in 1910, but has been newly remodeled. It has three bedrooms and one bathroom. It’s not quite open concept but has a few design elements that make it more modern looking.
It has a gorgeous backyard with a porch. It has an unfinished basement, which looks like a lot of remodeling work. The home also has a lot of built-in furniture, which will help when they go to furnish the place. Once again, this home also has a small bathroom.
House #3, $290,000
This home is right off the highway, but it’s not located at a noisy area. The home captures your eye instantly because of the green shutters. It has 1900 sq ft, four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a grand stairway to greet you. The home has a formal dining room and tall windows.
The home has a lot of old school charm, without being extremely outdated. The only major stylistic issue is all the wallpaper. It also has wood paneling running throughout. The kitchen is large with dark cabinets, which John loves, but it needs some updating. It has a partially finished basement and large bedrooms.
Decision Time: House #3 met many of their wish list items but it was just too far over their budget. Also, it would require additional renovations and that would put it even further from their budget. House #2 just seemed like a high price tag for not a ton of real estate. House #1 lacked Taylor’s ultimate must-have: two bathrooms. However, it was the most under budget, so it left room for some renovations.
Taylor and John picked…House #1.
They ended up buying it for $225,000.
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