Of all the houses we've seen, this was the house I had the most immediate emotional response to. Originally listed at $525k, sold for $400k, in a lovely Chicago neighborhood called Peterson Woods. It caught me by surprise because I'm rarely sentimental. I'm also wary of kitsch - I like mid-century design because it's practical and clean-lined [...]
This is the house I'm still kicking myself over: a mid-century split-level priced at $314,900. For those of you who don't live in Chicago: mid-century houses are really rare here, especially in our part of the city. This is a pre-1930s bungalow town. Per the Historic Chicago Bungalow Association: "With more than 80,000 bungalows still standing [...]
Jarrod and I started the house hunting process this past summer by biking to open houses on the weekends. The biking was great because I became more comfortable riding in the city and it gave us the opportunity to explore new streets. (The neighborhoods in which we'll be able to afford a house aren't neighborhoods we [...]
An Open Letter to Matt & Jen Warship: Do you think your realtor could get us a first-time homeowner two-fer-one deal? If so, we'll take this California ranch: 4607 Southwest 16th Street. The real estate pictures are hilariously crummy (three of the shed and none of a bedroom or bathroom?) but I was sold on this [...]
Guh! I shouldn't look at real estate listings for non-major-metropolitan areas. It weakens my resolve to be Chicago For Life. All I want is a sub-$200k, 3 bedroom, 1.5 or 2 bathroom ranch, built between 1955-1975 and preferably not updated since that time. I don't want to pay $30k more because you installed cherry cabinets [...]
Project Palermo 