23 S Underwood

Sorry about the delay, folks. My new computer doesn't have a slot for the camera memory card, so I have to wait for Ian to upload the pictures and share them with me. In the week since I last posted, we have actually seen three houses. No, one of them was not 1803 Thompson. That one the owner never got back to us due to an illness, and we found out that while it was two bedrooms, the rooms were on different floors--not conducive to a new family. So we passed on that one. The other two we saw were 95 Goethals (no off-street parking, little hot yard, and one of the bedrooms was very small and disappointing) and 1622 S Everett Place (small yard with no fence, and the previous owners had a weird habit of just building shelves over unwanted doorways). We didn't even bother taking pictures at Everett Place, but I have a few of the Goethals house that I might post later.

But on with the real prize... 23 S Underwood!

I fell in love with this house the instant my coworker Christy showed it to me. I never would have looked at it if she hadn't pointed it out. It's got this beautiful 1950s exterior and a metal roof. Many of the windows have been replaced with vinyl, though not all. Central heat and air have been installed throughout, though there's still a wall A/C unit and they didn't bother to remove the wall heating units, though they're not hooked up. There's ugly carpet throughout, but underneath much of it is the original hardwood floors. There are three bedrooms and 1 1/2 bath, where the 1/2 bath is SOOOO ready for a shower, it just needs a basin and a shower head. The kitchen has the start of a remodel that just never got finished. There's a giant backyard with a nice old-growth maple and a covered patio. There's room for our future hot tub, and room for many parties. I can even imagine our baby getting married out there. There is lots of work to be done, but for our list of dream houses, this one fulfills so much, we knew we had to try for it.

So, without further ado, here it is:


Walk in the front door and the living room is off to the right. Yes, those ARE fluorescent lights on the ceiling! Don't worry, we're looking forward to revamping things in the 30 years to come. :)






Here's the little dining nook to the left of the front door. That doorway you see leads to the kitchen. We'll get to that later.







First bedroom in the original part of the house. Left window looks out over the covered patio... lots of potential to add French doors leading out to the deck someday!! Right window looks out onto the backyard.





Second bedroom in the original part of the house. Little window looks out onto the backyard, big window looks into the side yard, which currently boasts weeds taller than I am!






Very mod bathroom in the original part of the house.











Here's the little kitchen. As you can see, there's new sink, new oven, kinda older fridge, and some new cabinets. Some cabinets have the original doors, and some cabinets have no doors at all!






Here's where the dishwasher will go, but there are currently no hookups. Beyond that is the second living area.










Very stylish second half-to-almost-three-quarters bathroom









And here's the really-wants-to-be-a-shower







Kitchen cabinets looking into the second living area in the addition onto the house.







Third bedroom in the addition. That window is the one under the carport in the front of the house.







Big back patio, very nicely done.








Looking out onto the back of the house.








Big backyard, fenced all the way around. We could get a dog right away if we weren't facing the threat of five cats. Yikes!







Overgrown side yard. There's the cooling system buried somewhere in there. This is where my garden is going to go next spring. :)





So we put an offer on the house. We asked for $124,500 with the seller paying $4,500 in closing costs. We're supposed to hear back any time now. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

Next up: Counteroffer?