On this House Hunters, we meet Janel and Mike, two San Francisco natives who want to find a vacation home in Lake Tahoe, California. The couple want a cabin escape from the big city-at least that’s what Janel wants. Mike is more interested in finding a luxurious cabin that acts as an escape and a place to entertain guests.
Wish Lists
His: Mike wants an A-frame home that’s not too far from the city and his neighbors. He also wants to be able to walk to the action. Mike requests a large modern kitchen and space for entertaining visitors.
Hers: Janel wants more of a traditional cabin. She wants a wood burning fireplace, lots of isolation from neighbors, and a smaller space to live. Janel doesn’t want a place too large because that means more maintenance and cleaning work for her.
Janel and Mike have a budget of $700,000. This affords them a lot of cabin options. However, they’re complete opposites on the things they want and need from their secluded woodsy space, so their realtor has a lot of work to do.
House #1, $565,000
This house is about a 15 minute drive from town. Janel likes the distance, but Mike wants a vacation home that is a lot closer to everything. It’s an A-frame with lots of windows so that they can look out into nature. The fireplace looks more like a fire pit and is set up around some chairs. Janel thinks this might be dangerous for their son. Mike thinks it looks like a great spot to hang out, and to talk with friends. It is very open, but they both think it might not look cozy enough.
House #2, $679,000
Janel and Mike immediately think that this three bedrooms, three bathrooms home might be a little too much. It’s on the high-end price, which doesn’t give them much room for renovations. They also don’t like how it looks like a home stuck in the 70s. This cabin has more of the traditional look that Janel wants, and it’s a lot closer to the main streets. They both immediately note that this home will need a lot of remodeling. You can almost tell instantly that this cabin won’t make their final cut.
House #3, $619,000
Before they even enter the home, Janel already doesn’t like it. The outside design makes it look like half a house, half a cabin. She also doesn’t like how close it is to all their neighbors. They can see a bunch of cabins right across the street. Once they enter the cabin, Janel and Mike change their tune. They immediately love the spaciousness and the big windows. Janel likes the newly remodeled kitchen, but Mike wants to remodel it again Janel also loves this fireplace. It’s also right by the lake and everything.
Personally, the third cabin looked the best. However, it appeared that they would end up choosing the first cabin. The first one was the cheapest, and they didn’t mention many things that they wanted to change about it. It also seemed more like the blend of tradition and modern that they wanted. The third one was breathtakingly beautiful, but we thought they would go for practical more than pretty.
In the end, they picked the third cabin! They also got the price lower from $619,000 to $600,000. Janel and Mike note that renovations have already begun on their cabin, and they’ve visited it a few times already after a month of owning it.
Did they make the right choice by picking cabin #3? And which cabin was your favorite? Let us know in the comment section below.
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