My mother, since my dad died, has a habit of falling down and hurting herself, and then forgetting to tell anyone about it. So when she called to say, “Guess what? I sold the house!” I knew this was the opportunity I had been hoping for, when I wrote on my wish list in The Artist Way class, “I wish my mom was in a better place”. My brothers and I had a texting conference, in which I was unanimously chosen to move her in and take care of her.
All this to preface the events in which we, my Mom, Kenny and I, find ourselves living in our very own real life episode of House Hunters, as we try to find a house that hold all three of us and our specific needs.
If you have watched HGTV at all, you know that real estate is the latest obsession, and following people around as their agent takes them through the Goldilocks story over and over is popular entertainment. I assumed it was completely staged, because surely housing choices don’t come down exactly 3 choices every time.
Well, perhaps they do.
After 30 days and countless home showings, we are down to this:
1.A beautiful, move-in ready home CLOSE to the area my mom can easily navigate by herself, with a posh living area for Kenny and I (a fireplace! Our own jetted tub!) and a rather tiny but use-able space to work in clay. No privacy in the backyard. Its, way, way at the top of our budget and we would have to install a chair lift to get mom up to her suite.
2. A beautiful, move-in ready FARTHER away from the area mom can easily navigate. Mom’s space is completely level and beautifully updated. We would have to move the laundry upstairs and put in another bathroom, but it has more space for Kenny and I to live in, and a bigger studio space. More privacy in the backyard, and the price is nice.
3. An ugly, terribly laid out house PERFECTLY located, right where my mom can get herself to the post office and grocery and doctor. We would need to raise the floor to eliminate the steps to the added-on master suite, but the kitchen is beautiful and baths are updated. It has a huge studio space, as well as plenty of parking, if I should decide to open my own studio for classes and sales out of my home. Plenty of room on the property for gardens and orchards and outbuildings, and the price is well within our budget. Did I mention the house is UGLY?
To be fair, there are 2 other choices in our perfect location, but one is deep, deep in the heart of Adventist land and needs new flooring, paint, trim, and updated bathrooms; the other has a swimming pool and detached garage with loft and almost 2 acres…but the house is a disaster, requiring major renovations beyond our budget. We have eliminated them.
So, which one will they choose?
Cut to commercial break.