Wow! That was sure fast…
Mike and I went to tour six houses yesterday, starting our first-time homebuyer tour. And, surprisingly, we immediately found one we both like! It’s about ten blocks from where we’re living now, so we already know the neighborhood, and while it needs a little fixing up, the price is so low that we can pony up repair money out of our down payment fund. We’re going back to take a more serious look at it this afternoon, and if it passes muster, we’ll start drafting an offer immediately.
Amenities of this particular house include:
- converted 1-car garage, perfect for a weaving studio!
- large COVERED patio, great for dye work!
- big sunny backyard, great for gardening
- large storage shed (for the stuff we would otherwise store in the garage)
It’s about a thousand square feet, with three bedrooms. A “starter house” according to the real estate folks, but we don’t think we’ll need anything bigger – I mean, space to eat, sleep, and weave/sew/dye – what else does anyone need in life? And it’s priced VERY attractively.
It does have some downsides: the floor in the living room/dining room/kitchen needs to be redone, the electrical wiring needs additional circuits, the laundry hookups need to be restored (used to hook up an illegal bathroom), and a bunch of other, less critical stuff. But nothing that can’t be fixed, and within our budget.
There is, of course, no guarantee that we’ll actually get the house (there may be multiple offers), but it’s exciting to have a prospect so quickly.
Meanwhile, on Autumn Splendor, I have thread-traced all six body panels (front, side panel, and back, left and right side) and am starting work on the facings. These are a little trickier since they are underlined with organza – currently reading up on how to handle marking/cutting with a sew-in underlining. After that I will assemble the body, and then match/mark/cut the sleeve pieces. Once THAT is done, it will be time to assemble the body.
But I am so excited about the possible house deal that it’s hard to focus on anything else!