House Hunters: The Morgan and Alex Edition, Part 2

Part 1: Intro and Wish List

Welcome to Part 2 of the Morgan and Alex Edition of House Hunters! Let's jump right in, with a warning that this is going to be a VERY photo heavy post. :)

Narrator: The first home realtor Renee H. has lined up to show them is near shopping, and has great freeway access. The home has been recently renovated, and has the large lot Morgan and Alex are looking for. However, it is located only one block off of a main street, so the couple may have concerns about traffic noise and their outdoor cats roaming the neighborhood.

The home features 4 bedrooms, 3 full baths, in 2642 square feet, plus a 600 square foot basement, and is located on 0.98 acres.

Alex: "Looks like really nice floors."

Morgan: "Oooh, I like the big bay window and all the natural light in the formal living room!"

Alex: "Wait, is this the family room? It's really long and narrow..."

Morgan: "Yeah, it must be. I'm not sure what we'd do with this room, it wouldn't really work as our TV room, like we currently have set up in our family room."

Morgan: "The kitchen is really nice and fixed up, but it's so tiny!"

Alex: "Yeah, and this 'eating area' is kind of useless space because it's so small. Plus, the kitchen isn't open to the family room like you said you wanted."

Morgan: "But the kitchen does open up to the really nice sun room. Maybe we could figure out a way to make this our TV room?"

Narrator: The couple heads outside to check out the landscaped backyard.

Alex: "I love this deck."

Morgan: "It would be so much fun to entertain out here!"

Alex: "But for being on almost one acre, the neighbors feel a little close in the back. I know it's winter, and there are no leaves on the trees for privacy, but I was expecting the other houses to be a little further away."

Morgan: "Yeah, I agree. The front yard is pretty big, so there's not as much space back here. At least it would be less lawn for you to mow!"

Narrator: Back inside, Morgan and Alex view a bathroom and two bedrooms, before heading downstairs.

Morgan: "Wow, look at how nicely done this bathroom is! It's not exactly the colors I would have chosen myself, but it is really, really nice. We wouldn't have to do anything in here."

Alex: "One of these two main level bedrooms is a little small, but they both have nice storage in the closets."

Morgan: "Wow, I love the grey on the walls and the new carpet. This is so nice!"

Morgan: "And I'm loving the new tile on the floors. This is another great entertaining space."

Alex: "Yeah, it's not what we're used to, but we could make this work as our TV room/family room, instead of the space upstairs. I'm still not sure what we'd do with what's supposed to be the family room upstairs though."

Narrator: The couple looks at another room in the basement that the owners are using as a workout space, a full bathroom, and the laundry room, and then heads upstairs to see the master bedroom.

Morgan: "These stairs are going to be dangerous with my 4" heels, since they are more narrow on the right side because of the curve."

Narrator: At the top of the stairs is the bathroom, that is shared between the master bedroom and the other bedroom on the top floor.

Morgan: "Another nicely done bath, although I'm not crazy about the wallpaper border. Finally, something that I could change in this house!"

Alex: "I'm not sure I like having a door to this bathroom to the master bedroom, and to the hall. We really wouldn't get the master suite feel here."

Morgan: "Eh. It doesn't bother me that much. We only have guests a couple of times a year, and we can stick them downstairs and they can use that bathroom."

Alex: "The master bedroom is a good size."

Morgan: "OMG! This storage room off of the master could totally be turned into my walk in closet!!"

Narrator: The couple views the last of the home's 4 bedrooms, and then heads out to the front porch.

Realtor: "So, Morgan and Alex, what did you think?"

Morgan: "Well, I really liked it. You can tell they put a lot of time and effort into updating it, and I do like most of the finishes."

Alex: "I liked it too, but we'd just have to give some thought to what we'd do with the rooms. What they're calling the family room is pretty awkward, plus it isn't really the open kitchen floor plan we prefer. I think we could make it work though."

Morgan: "Yeah, I think we could make the floor plan work too, especially with that huge basement. The only thing I'm not really sure about with this house is just how fixed up it is. We wouldn't need to do anything to it, which is great at this price, but I was looking forward to doing a little work on our first house. I guess I'd just have to jump right in with picking out new furniture!"


Narrator: Next, the couple travels about 3 miles west, to view the second house on their list. 

This house is $15,000 more expensive than the first house, and is tucked back in the corner of a sprawling neighborhood, on a quiet cul-de-sac. The home needs some updating, but has potential for the open kitchen floor plan that the couple craves.

The home features 4 bedrooms plus a den, 3 full baths, in 3161 square feet, located on 0.81 acres.

Morgan: "This living room seems bigger than in the last house. But I would definitely need to paint all of this dark trim a bright, shiny white."

Morgan: "The flooring in the entryway would have to be changed. I can see tile, brick and carpet all from just standing here right inside the living room."

Alex: "This dinning room also feels bigger than in the last house. And there's more dark trim for you to paint!"

Morgan: "They did a nice job with picking out a neutral colored granite for the counters, and I like the back splash. But those cabinets are not pretty."

Alex: "I'm not sure we would use this little desk area, but maybe we could put in more cabinets there instead? The pantry closet is a nice addition though, although the appliances need some updating."

Morgan: "This room has a lot of potential though...I could see us taking down the cabinets over the peninsula counter, to open up the space to the breakfast nook. And taking down this divider railing would also make the nook flow into the family room a lot better. The bisque colored tile floors with dark grout though...that would have to go."

Alex: "This family room is a great size, and I think the TV above the large fireplace would look nice."

Morgan: "I like the beams, but yeah, this house just needs a lot of work to get it updated. Also, I'm not a fan of the laminate floors in here."

Narrator: After viewing the main rooms on the downstairs level, Morgan and Alex check out the downstairs den, which has stairs next to it leading up to a bonus room on the second floor.

Alex: "These back stairs give you really good access to this bonus room, off of the family room. And our pool table would definitely fit up here."

Narrator: The couple continues their way through the second level of the house, through a door from the bonus room, directly into one of the three upstairs bedrooms, which can also be accessed from the main staircase at the front of the house.

Morgan: "Both of these two upstairs bedrooms are really great sizes. The bones of this house seem really great, and it wouldn't be too hard to just paint the walls and trim to instantly make them look more updated."

Alex: "Double sinks in the upstairs hall bathroom are really nice. But that counter is not exactly updated."

Morgan: "This master bedroom is definitely a little bigger than our current bedroom, even with their big bed frame. And I love the window seat!"

Morgan: "It's not huge, but at least there is a walk in closet in the master. You can have this, and I'll take one of the bedrooms across the hall for my closet!"

Alex: Yeah, the master bathroom isn't huge either, but it is a lot bigger than what we have now. I think the two of us could actually stand in here at the same time and brush our teeth!"

Narrator: The couple heads back downstairs to see the fourth bedroom, another full bathroom and the laundry nook.

Morgan: "Wow, this house just keeps going! How did we miss this section of the downstairs the first time? This is a great sized bathroom, and I like how it's just down a short hall from the family room."

Narrator: Outside, Morgan and Alex check out the large deck and backyard.

Alex: "This deck looks like it's in great condition. And it's about 4x the size of our current deck."

Morgan: "The landscaping is going to be a lot of work though. And I wonder if the flamingos come with the property? Haha. But I do love the fact that we can't even see our neighbors behind us, even this time of year with all the leaves on the ground."

Realtor: "So, what did you guys think about this place?"

Alex: "I really liked it. It seems to have a much better floor plan than the first house."

Morgan: "I liked it a lot too, but it does need quite a bit of work. A whole lot more work than the first house, and Alex, remember that you didn't like the very first house we viewed a week ago because of all the work it needed..."

Alex: "That's true. But I do like this one much better. I guess we'll have to crunch some numbers to figure out what new flooring and landscaping and everything else would actually cost. Especially since this house is $15k more expensive than the already updated first house we saw."

Narrator: Coming up, Morgan and Alex see a home a little north of their preferred location, but the house looks like it has a great floor plan in the listing. Will it live up to their expectations for their forever home?

*****

Ok guys, sorry, time for another commercial break!

I'd thought I was going to be able to fit all of the houses into just one post, but it's getting a little crazy with 60-some photos already. Plus it's taking me way longer than I thought it would to type up all of our notes from our house hunting. So my next post will combine the third house we saw, with the opportunity to vote on which you think we picked!