Tuesday, December 01, 2009

BIG NEWS!

Myfanwe and I have made a big purchase. Monday we made an offer on a vacation home in sleep Watervliet, Michigan. It was rejected. An improved offer was made today, and it was accepted. It is a beautiful, quirky little place on Main Street. The back overlooks a river and a beautiful park. It used to house a store in the front, hence the way it looks...



It has a lovely deck over the garage, and it has a large screened in porch. Noticed the terraced gardens on the left. They are lovely, and NO LAWN TO MOW! Yeah me!

This shows the dining and living areas...

The floors have been re-done since these were taken. We purchased an antique Ford & Johnson arts & crafts pedestal table and 4 chairs for the dining room from an estate sale here in Hyde Park. It is a beautiful set.


The kitchen is small and very workable.

And THIS is the crowning gem -- the old storefront. Which will be our rumpus room. Try to picture it with the shelves stocked with board games, an air hockey table, a ping pong table, a couple of comfy chairs, and -- someday in the distant future -- a woodburning stove or fireplace!

This is the smallest of the three bedrooms. I don't have pictures of the other two, but I will after the housing inspection.


We close on the 29th, which gives us the opportunity to start the new year in our new (vacation) home!

8 comments:

Sarah said...

Congratulations! It looks great! Love the old store front.

blueyed wench said...

What a lovely looking house!

anne marie in philly said...

mazel tov! hardwood floors, nice kitchen...what's NOT to like?

Leslie said...

Looks wonderful and I hate to put any sort of stick in the fire but... Please have somebody check out that tree limb hanging so gracefully over the roof. If it's at all diseased it stands a chance of crashing into the roof with heavy snow/ice.

I live in the woods - I think about these things.

Aidan said...

Leslie, not to worry. You can't tell by the picture, but the limb doesn't actuall extend over the house -- it hangs over the boulevard. But the shade will be much appreciated come summer!

Leslie said...

whew! Thanks for telling me :)

Angry Professor said...

How delightful. I've wanted something similar for so long!

Aidan said...

Well, my Dear A.P., now is the time. I'm not saying it was EASY to find a place in such good shape, but it only took us about six weeks of concerted looking. We did, however, see some scary stuff in those six weeks.

My advise is to find a good real estate agent. We probably lost our dream home (see an earlier post) NOT because we couldn't afford it, but because our first agent was about as aggressive as a ladybug. Thank G-d we didn't sign an exclusive agreement with him. Our second agent -- recommended by a friend who buys real estate -- knew Berrien County, MI like the back of her hand and worked hard for the money. (Yes, every time I talk to her I hum the song now.) We really owe this house in large part to her hard work.

So if you and the Baker Boy really want something like this and you can swing it, I say go for it.

I'm heading there today for the inspection -- and they are expecting lots of snow. I couldn't be happier! More pics later.