{to buy or not to buy (i.e. to rent)}

stevie bevie and i have decided to journey north to salt lake this fall. we anticipate a stay of around three years (the length of law school). we have begun the housing search/dilemma and we seriously need your input, bloggy friends. i found this cute little remodel in salt lake. right downtown in the action. new electical wiring, new plumbing, new flooring, fully fenced huge yard (i mean HUGE for a downtown lot). and...here's the kicker: exposed brick. have i ever mentioned how much i love exposed brick? it makes me week in the knees. stevie bevie asked me the other day if he were made of exposed brick, would i love him more? the answer is a definite yes.

so, let's start off with some pictures, shall we?



this is the living room. exposed brick. laminate flooring
(because it seems no one will spend the extra dime on
real wood). wainscoting, bay windows. ceiling fan. new
paint...it's basically a new space. it's a good size, clean,
and bright. plus, did i mention it has exposed brick?




this is the kitchen. it is small, but oh so perfect.
dishwasher and sink with these cute shelves on
one side (mounted on exposed brick). fridge and
stove with hood mounted microwave on the
opposite side. the big window wasn't replaced
when the others were, so we'd probably fix that.
i'm thinking glass block (another personal fav).



this is the cute little (and i mean little) bathroom. it's
totally revamped. new tile. new sink and mirror. new
fixtures. but it's a bit awkward, as most city dwellings
are in the bathroom department. there is about two
feet between the tub and the wall that runs parallel to
it. not a lot of storage.



this is just the doorway to the bathroom. to play up
the exposed brick and the large mouldings. which i
like. the 2 bedrooms have new carpet and there is a
small linen pantry in the hallway as well.




pros: a very very large yard. there's no garage or extra storage (except for a crawl space below the house), but there is plenty of room to build both. the location is awesome; just down the street from the Gateway (where I may be working) and a Trax stop (so Steven can take trax instead of driving). The only things that I would like to fix are mostly aesthetic and aren't urgent. it's small, so any updates, additions, changes would be low in cost. it's perfectly livable and cute and there is plenty of room for improvement (i.e. raise the value) later when we have the time and money to do it. plus....we'll own it. and i hate renting.

cons: it's 917 sq ft. the furnace is just fine right now, but it's old so there is a chance it will need replaced ($2500 ish). there is no A/C, but the house is surrounded by mature trees and stays quite cool. the bathroom is funny (remember the 2-foot space between the tub and the wall/). there's not a lot of storage so we'd have to get a shed right away ($300 minimum) to store bikes, lawn mower, tools, and my loads of christmas decor.

so....is it even possible to find something to buy that is in our price range that will be better? i don't know. from what we saw yesterday, i'd say no. we love the idealisms of the place. tree lined street, big fenced yard, exposed brick. but will we feel too crammed in? will it appraise enough to make it worth it? and will we be able to haggle it into the middle of our price range? so many things to think about... input please!!!