The Left-Handed Truth Chapter 27

Chapter 27: condo house-hunting.

“Yes. You know it?”

Roger nodded. “There isn’t much activity in this area, so we really watch for listings. They usually move pretty quickly. This is a very desirable area.”

“So we’ve discovered,” I said. “We would like to see the Robinson house first, then we can talk about other possibilities.”

“Fine. I’ll arrange a viewing as soon as possible. In the meantime, I’ve pulled down some other possibilities that I think might interest you as well. Why don’t we go over them?”

We sat around the kitchen table as Roger Kreiger laid out the five other properties that he had downloaded from the MLS site. I didn’t say anything, but I thought four of them were quite ordinary and didn’t really stir my interest. However, one of them did catch my eye. It was 2500 square foot home with a half-finished basement, four bedrooms, three-and-a-half bathrooms, a deep two car garage, and a big lot, more than 14,000 square feet.

“What do you know about this home, Roger?” I asked.

He smiled. “I thought you’d spot that one. It was built in sixty-four and has been in the same owner’s hands since. It’s getting to be too much for them to keep up as they are now in their seventies. It has a new roof since last year, new windows at the same time. The furnace is five years old, siding is cement board and seven years old. The half of the basement that is finished is a big family room, suitable for a big screen TV or a pool table. There’s also a wet bar and that’s where the half-bathroom is located.”

“Sounds like they’ve spent a lot of money keeping it up,” I suggested.

“Yes. In a good market, it would easily sell for $200,000 or more, but right now it’s listed for $159,900. It’s a great bargain in my opinion.”

“Where’s it located?”

“Bangor township, just north of the river.”

“So it would be a different school district then.”

“Yes, but if it was important, you could apply to the local school board to keep your son in his current school. You’d have to provide transportation for him to and from school though.”

“Okay, I’ll keep that in mind. Can I have that listing please?”

“Of course. You can get a better idea of its location on Google Earth. Otherwise, you have the address and you can drive by to see what you think.”

Nicole had sat by and said nothing while I quizzed our agent. I thought the house looked ideal for our needs, but I wondered if there was something I wasn’t seeing. I wanted to do more research before I talked to Nicole about it. I wasn’t going to get away with that it appeared. The minute Roger was out the door, she was on me.

“What are you thinking, Will? What made you pick that particular home?” She wasn’t dismissing the idea, just curious.

“Let’s look at the listing on-line. There should be some pictures with it and then we’ll look it up on Google Earth and see where it is. It almost looks too good to be true.”

“Okay. I like the outside and what I can see of the property, so it’s worth a look.”

It took only a minute to pull up the listing on the MLS site and sure enough, there were fifteen pictures attached. We started going through them.

“Oh, wow, Will. Look at the size of that kitchen. It’s twice as big as Mom and Dad’s. Nice master bedroom too. Ensuite isn’t large, but it would be fine for the two of us. Gee, it looks good from here, honey.”

“Look at the size of the back yard,” I said. “And look at the distance between the neighboring houses. The lot width is 105 feet. That’s big by subdivision standards today. You don’t find lots like this close to the city any more.”

“What about Jimmy?” she asked.

“Good question. Let’s not get too far down the road, yet. We haven’t seen the house and we still have the Robinson house to look at yet.”

“Okay, but I can’t help getting excited. This is the first time I’ve ever gone house-hunting. I’m really looking forward to it,” she smiled.

“Well, it’s a first for me, too, Sweetheart. I don’t call looking for my condo house-hunting.”

***

The Robinson house was a disappointment. It was conventional in every sense, including the compact lot width. I just couldn’t warm up to it, but I said nothing to Nicole until we were well away from it.

“Well,” I asked, “what did you think of it?”

She shook her head. “We can do better, Will. It’s nice enough, but only just. The yard is small and that cross street is busier than I realized.”

Roger Kreiger was listening carefully to our comments and was nodding.

“I think you’ve made a pretty good assessment of that house, Ms. Carlisle. I’m sure it will sell, and probably for something close to the list price, but I think we can do better. It might not be in the same area, but I think we can do better,” he repeated.

“Let’s go see that house you picked out, Will. Can you arrange that, Roger?”

“Yes. I’ll call them and see if they’re okay with an evening viewing, otherwise I’ll try and organize it for the weekend.”

“Good,” I said. “In fact, Roger, let’s make it for the weekend anyway. I want a good look at the neighborhood and the outside of the house.”

Roger was good at following instructions and called us back the next evening to let us know we had a two o’clock Saturday afternoon viewing at the Bangor property.

“Do you think we should take Jimmy with us?” I asked.

“No … maybe if we really like it, we can take him back for a second look. I think we really need to do this without any distractions. If we do have a second look, then I would suggest we bring our parents and Jimmy along. It would be good to get their opinion too.”

I was nodding. “Good idea. That’s what we’ll do then.”

We met Roger at two on Saturday afternoon. He was there waiting for us. We parked on the wide concrete driveway and he accessed the side door lockbox to get a house key. We used the same door to enter the home. The late December cloudy skies made the house dark and Roger turned on some lights.

We took almost an hour to go through the house. I deliberately kept my thoughts to myself. I didn’t want to influence Nicole. I wanted her unvarnished opinion. In my mind, this house was perfect. It had everything we wanted and more. What particularly influenced me was the size of the property and the condition of the house. Considering it was forty-five years old, it looked and felt new. Inside was spotless and outside was tidy, bordering on immaculate. I waited for Nicole’s opinion.