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Or could they? That’s the question I’ve been asking myself for the last three hours since I made an offer on a cute little two-bedroom house in Chesterfield.

Of all the houses I’ve looked at, this is probably the newest. It’s also one of the smallest, but it’s still more than 50% larger than my current digs. It’s in move in condition, but I’ve got some ideas for things I’d like to do… eventually push out the back wall and make a really nice kitchen and add a Florida/Sun room that’s accessible from the master bedroom.

It’s a great place, and I’d like to get it, but I don’t think my heart will be broken if they turn down the offer. I saw another house today that’s comparable… a little order (built in 1980 instead of 1989), a little bigger (1158 sq ft versus 924), and it’s on an awesome lot. Again, it only has two bedrooms, but it has two full bathrooms instead of just one. The downstairs bedroom has a sliding glass door that opens on to a deck. It also has a fire place. Of course, the asking price is $20,000 more than the offer I made on the house pictured above.

However, if the offer is rejected (and the offer is only live until 9:00 PM tonight), I’ll put in an offer on the bigger place tomorrow first thing. Both houses have a lot going for them, so it’s really a toss up. The second house will need a little more touch before it’s perfectly livable (the current tenants haven’t been kind)… but it’s all cosmetic.

So, 54 minutes and counting…

The word is that there is no word, except that the seller’s agent isn’t expecting this to drag out beyond the weekend. I might hear something tomorrow, but Paul thinks it will be Friday. There’s no clue as to whether that’s good or bad.

In the meantime I’m having Paul open up the search parameters a bit. I had found a bunch of stuff online; all but one were already off the market by the time he dug into them.

I went out on my first house hunting expedition yesterday. The agent showed me three houses. Two were absolute hovels, but the third has a lot of potential: three bedrooms, two baths, a living room, dining room or den, eat in kitchen, a laundry room, a mudroom, and a two car garage… all this wrapped up in about 1600 or so square feet on a corner lot. It’s only 16 miles from my office. As far as I can tell, there are two problems: 1) Someone else has already signed a contract, and 2) it has no air conditioning.

The first problem is sort of in a holding pattern. The financing for the prospective buyers fell through at the last minute and the sellers are giving them two weeks to make other arrangements. I hate to wish bad tidings for someone I don’t even know, but whatever mojo you can send my way will be appreciated. My agent is going to make some calls tomorrow to see how likely this place is to be available.

The second problem, I think (and will confirm this week), seems reasonably easy to resolve. There’s a hall that runs from the kitchen to the other end of the house that could easily be modified to allow for the addition of ducting that could reach every room in the house. The agent and I will be meeting a contractor at the house sometime this week to see if our hunch is right.

The garage is huge, but has a wall running down the center of it that splits it into two bays. I’m also going to see what the contractor thinks about pulling that wall and ceiling out to make it into one large space. If he can do it, and I end up with the house, the garage will be turned into a photography studio.

Even with the AC situation, I just see so much potential in the house. The kitchen is huge. It needs some updating, but it has good bones. The appliances, while old, should be okay for the time being. The washer & dryer are included as well.

At first glance, the neighborhood seems to be decent, about in line with where Mom & Dad live. The primary schools are average, but the high school has a good reputation and is brand new.

I really see good opportunity with this house, and I’d love to make it mine. Keep your fingers crossed that my agent comes back with good news tomorrow. If I get good news after the meeting with the contractor I’m going to submit an offer.

Keep good thoughts for me.