House Hunt I.

Gem City furnace, a huge octopus in the basement of house number

Eight houses.

We looked at eight houses today.

Seven of them were awful. In ways that cannot be repaired easily or cheaply. Some taste cannot be covered with a coat of paint.

I’m still not understanding construction from the past three decades. What is wrong with trees? Or a little space between houses? All the new stuff seems so hollow. It’s bizarre, and over-priced. Give me wooden doors.

One house however, was dreamy—but out of the comfort zone price-wise (thanks to my craptacular inability to contribute meaningfully to the mortgage in the eyes of the bank.)

No matter, it was a learning experience just looking. I now realize that location may not be everything, but it’s a heckuva lot. A 10×11 master bedroom is too small. New concrete around the edge of a basement means they’ve done something to prevent leaks. Traffic matters. Taxes are complex. There are really ugly countertops still being manufactured. Beige gets old.

Current music: Morrissey “Life Is A Pigsty”