Crazy Houses

I am now totally done with children's choir for this school year. They were pushing the limits up to the very last second, too. We couldn't even meet in our classroom for five minutes to practice the song we were doing for the assembly without them standing on the chairs and jumping off (against one of the class rules we have to talk about every single week) and then running around and refusing to participate. But now I get a break for the summer. I think I'll be back next year, unless things get really crazy between now and then, though I may end up with preschool next year because the preschool people want to move up with the class they had this year.

I feel like my decision to put off selling my house and buying a new one has been validated, as there was an article in the newspaper this morning about how home prices in this area are currently inflated and there's some worry about a bubble. That would benefit me as a seller, but could be a longer-term issue as a buyer. I bought my house during a kind of "bust," so I got it at probably below value, and as long as I can sell it at all, I'm sure to come out ahead. I'd rather not overpay for the next house. This house may not be everything I want it to be, but I've survived this long here, and the only reason for moving is a whim and a changed financial situation.

The crazy house I looked at on Sunday has already sold -- the one with wacky stuff like a built-in aquarium, three tiny living areas instead of one decent-sized one, and a weird built-in dinette. Plus it had a backyard so narrow that I don't think my patio umbrella would have fit on the patio that filled the entire space between the back door and the back fence, and the rest of the backyard was Astroturf.

And that makes me really wonder about another house I've been watching. It went on the market in December and still hasn't sold. It's in one of the subdivisions I'm targeting, and the house itself seems very much what I'd like, but it isn't in a great spot for what I want. I don't think it's the specific location that's a problem, as a house a few doors down sold within two days of going on the market. The listing mentions that it probably needs a new roof, which might be part of the problem. Oddly, the price for the house keeps going up the longer it's been on the market. I suspect it's one of those where the sellers won't drop the price and the mortgage company appraisers won't approve a mortgage for that price because they don't think it's worth that much. Still, in a market in which crazy oddball houses are being snatched up before the Realtor finishes putting the sign out, a house being on the market since December would practically require holes in the roof, a couple of murder scenes where the blood can't be scrubbed away no matter how hard you try, and an endangered species nesting in the walls.

Hmm, sounds like a story idea ...