The Great House Search Continues!

We are currently looking for a new house and have been looking for several months now. We are very, very, VERY picky about what we want in our new home. The good news is that we plan on keeping our current properties as rentals, so nothing to sell. That's a BIG bonus in this market, where houses sit on the market for MONTHS. But, that also means that there aren't many houses, fitting our criteria, hitting the market. Here's what we want....

• 4 bedroom
• 2.5 bath
• Non-basement Laundry (I am willing to give on this one)
• 2000-2500 square feet
• Sidewalks to take the stroller on
• Old house character
• Front Porch
• Backyard to play in

That's not too much to ask, is it? There are very few houses that get anywhere close. So, we have opened up our search area. It used to be Dublin, Clintonville, Worthington, Gahanna, and Upper Arlington. We then realized that the commute to many of these areas may be prohibitive with the current rise in gas prices. So, stop, reevaluate. Let's keep it inside 270. Now we are looking at Old Worthington, Clintonville, and Upper Arlington. Just recently Dan decided to add Victorian Village, Harrison West, and Dennison Place neighborhoods. All of these are near the Short North Area which is fun and artsy, but substantially more Urban in their feel. After many, many house showings....thanks Doug for letting us take you away from your family so often and thanks Brandi for letting us take him.....we may have narrowed it down to 2 houses. Or lets say...there are 2 left that are close to hitting all the marks.

The first is a house on Northridge in Clintonville. Very stable neighborhood, walking distance to the park and community center, safe feel, not much potential for property value growth. Two of the bedrooms are pass throughs to other bedrooms, so that would have to be worked out. It needs a new roof. Basement has storage. Laundry is in the basement :(

The second house is in Dennison Place. This neighborhood has a much more Urban feel and is currently in transition. At one point this neighborhood was full of high powered, Elite, well to do Columbus socialites. Then as the suburbs sprang up and people moved out of the city, the single family homes were turned in to duplexes and triplexes. Now they are slowly transitioning back. How long with that take? Who knows! It seems that from some statistics I read, the area is 75% owner occupied and it is increasing. But, as Dan often reminds me 94% of statistics are made up on the spot. :) But, having said that, the house is gorgeous with lots (4 possibly 5) of bedrooms, lots of old house charm, a big kitchen, totally renovated, mother-in-law suite, 2 car detatched garage, beautiful staircase, and 1st floor laundry. It doesn't have any storage space. The closets are small. The garage needs a lot of work. There isn't any workshop space for Dan. There is no AC, but it could be installed. The neighborhood safety needs to be investigated. There is a park nearby, but I need to find out who frequents it. The neighborhood elementary is not as good as the Northridge neighborhood school. The Clintonville neighborhood is a known quantity....the Dennison Place neighborhood warrants more investigation before I feel comfortable.

If you want to check out the listing pages and read more about each of these houses, please feel free!

Northridge House

Dennison Place House

Let me know which house YOU think we should pick.....