Not giving up on the dream of home ownership

I would like to know how the businesses of America expect you to go to work and actually be productive when, at the very moment you are typing up a post for your personal website when you should really be typing up a nice form letter, you are also MAKING AN OFFER ON A VERY CUTE TOWNHOUSE. How is this done, Businesses of America? The phone calls, the emails, the form letters, the project for which I am solely responsible for making sure Important People get the eye-poppingly expensive meal of their choice at the Important Event- how in the WORLD am I supposed to concentrate on this? If Mr. CEO and his Trophy Wife end up with two salmons when they were supposed to get steak, it is SO NOT MY FAULT.

My weekend, when I was not developing crushes on numerous NCAA athletes (Mike Gansey! Call me!), I was out house shopping. Okay not house shopping, as the word "house" implies, well, one single dwelling. No no no, an actual house- by which I mean: the roof is not falling in, the plumbing works, the carpet does not smell like cat pee, and is situated in a neighborhood where you are 99% certain that crystal meth is not being produced in the near vicinity- requires about a frillion more dollars than what we've currently got in our New House Jar. But we were townhouse shopping which is somewhat within our financial reach.

Some thoughts on Townhouses, especially the spate of new ones going up north of Green Lake.

1. You cannot buy a new townhouse without granite (or slate or some synthetic yet very snazzy) countertops. Now why, you ask, would I NOT want granite countertops? It's not that I don't want them, but when you are out to buy your first home, like many of us townhouse shoppers, it seems a bit much. As does the

2. full bathroom in every room. Again, not particularly complaining, but I wonder how much these amenities jack up the final price.

3. The tiny living rooms! TINY TINY TINY. In 75% of these townhouses, there is no space for my dining room table, which, it must be known, is MUCH more important than granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and a shower in every bathroom. How are you supposed to have a PARTY inside these places?

4. The "third" bedroom is a joke. The "third" bedroom is about as big as the master bedroom's walk-in closet. It might have a tiny window, it might have a sliding glass door onto a teeny tiny patio. It is barely large enough for my husband's fourteen computers and monster desk (and you know he can't have the second upstairs bedroom for all that stuff!) Not much impressed by the "third" bedroom, although I was mightily impressed by the townhouse that added a FULL BATHROOM to this "third" bedroom.

They are pretty and sparkly, but they seem small and cost too much. The townhouse that we want? Has three bedrooms and the "third" bedroom is way bigger than the two rooms upstairs. It has about 400 more square feet than the others. It doesn't have hardwoods or granite countertops, but it does have more bathrooms than 2 people really need. Also a fairly scary bright red hallway that my interior decorator and I are seriously going to have to discuss. AND CAN I HAVE IT PLEASE PRETTY PLEASE???

We talked it into the ground all day and I emailed our agent around midnight. We faxed her the pre-approval letter. She's handling the paperwork and we're going to see it again tonight. All that's left to do is Completely Freak Out and, of course, I've got that covered.

Comments

[lee]

so is the townhouse in question actually one of the new ones near greenlake, and if so, whereish? i'm just saying: the cookazzoli house is near the greenlake, scott and andre are moving into a house near greenlake next weekend, and of course a country mile away is the current residence of dana, aryn & mel. so convenient for summer bbq parties!