This past Wednesday Pam and I and took time off work to meet with our realtor in Montrose and visit five houses. We had a better-than-average outcome; three of the houses would be quite acceptable but one stood out more than the others.
We began near Montrose, looking at a home on Highway 90. It was a “vintage” home that had a more recent addition but would require a lot of work. Worst part: sagging floor in the enclosed porch indicating foundation problems and a kitchen that would need a remodel before we moved in. (Pam called the kitchen “museum quality.”)
Hwy 90 house kitchen
We decided it would be too much work. Possibly in our younger days we would have taken it on, but not as a retirement project.
Moving on, the next house would be the best of the day although we didn’t know it yet. The house is located on Chu Chu Lane. Larger, more modern, the house is unusual in style and lacks a true garage, but it was appealing all the same.
Chu Chu Lane home is styled as a farm building
Kitchen is neat and clean (compact)
Some storage and covered parking is provided
Biggest drawback is the price as it is listed at $309,900.00. We are watching to see if the price drops in a couple weeks. If so, we may make an offer.
Then it was off to Jig Road for our next viewing. While the house was also neat and clean, as well as newer, the lack of any bedrooms on the main floor ruled it out for us. We just do not care to have to walk up or down to get to the main bedroom.
Jig Road home
I don’t have any photos of the next place, not because it was not nice ( it was) but it was in a subdivision with neighbors all around. Probably not a good spot for dogs and cats. Not really “our thing” any more after living in De Beque, as Pam puts it.
The final house of the day would be our 2nd most liked of the day. In our price range, it’s an older home with an addition, character and charm. And, how could you argue with the good vibes of an address on Church Avenue?
Church Avenue home
Living room addition. Other side features a working fireplace.
Kitchen featured an in-wall oven that Pam is looking for.
With two bedrooms and 1 3/4 baths on the main floor plus two small bedrooms upstairs, this place could be a contender. Drawbacks are no garage (but does have a separate craft building) and the neighborhood is decidedly low-brow. Privacy fence would be a must. Still, there is a charm about some older houses and this one, with formal entrance and arched room dividers, had it. The lot backs up to a very quiet river (can’t really hear it) and the bank is quite steep, rendering this aspect of the lot pretty well unusable. It would give Pam her “water feature.”
All the houses had attractive and not-so-attractive elements. The Chu Chu Lane house would fit our lifestyle and give us the room (3 acres and separation from neighbors) that we are looking for and enough storage to get by for now. A garage would come later, along with a decorative pond. It’s also the lowest priced house in a very upscale subdivision, so neighbors would presumably not be junk collectors. We’ll have to keep an eye on the price and, if the listing price falls, we may move ahead with an offer within our means.
ATV note: The long (13:55) version of my Hall Valley ATV trip is now on-line. If interested, go to my ATV Videos page and click on Hall Valley 2016.
Motorcycle note: I have created a gallery of photos taken during last week’s motorcycle rally. You can see it at Colorado 2016.
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Two Cents Worth:
Finding any property that both Fields and I can agree on is an accomplishment. Chu Chu Lane met that criteria. In addition to the higher price and financial implications of making an offer on Chu Chu, can we live with the name of that Lane – Chu Chu? It’s different.
At the specific request of my dog sitter, I’ve taken on another foster kitten litter (#26) and, true to form, one of the four kittens appears to have a life threatening health issue. Now I remember why I stopped fostering.
Happy Trails.
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