Eileen and Jim have been married for a year and a half years, but they have been together for three and a half years. Eileen and Jim have an eight month daughter, Carolina, and three children from previous relationship, Jim’s two children, a 22-year old daughter who is away in college and Jimmy (20), and Eileen’s daughter, Mary Ann (17).
With such a large family, Jim and Eileen need to find a new place in indianapolis, IN that has enough room for the entire blended family. House Hunters and their realtor, Chris, plan to go the extra mile to get them their dream space within their $450,000 budget.
Wish Lists
Jim and Eileen want a home with about 5000 sq ft, and it has to have at least five bedrooms and three bathrooms. The couple would prefer a place with hardwood flooring, built-in cabinets, and a fireplace. The new home also needs to have an open kitchen with granite countertops. Jim has a bad cat allergy, so he would prefer a place where the prior owners didn’t have cats. With two older children living in the place, they want a home with a 3-car garage.
His: Jim wants a place with traditional brick. He also would like a boat dock.
Hers: Eileen wants a place with a bungalow style. It must have a secondary bedroom on the first floor for Carolina. She also wants a big master bedroom, and a pool and a front porch would be nice extras for Eileen.
House #1, $465,000
This home has five bedrooms, but only two and a half bathrooms. It’s a 2-car garage home, which still presents a problem for this large family with multiple drivers. Eileen and Jim love the interior of this home with its wood burning fireplace, stone elements, and high-ceilings bedrooms. It has plenty of open space but some defined areas. The color scheme of the interior is light and bright with plenty of white, blue, and grey coloring.
Unfortunately, Eileen won’t get a pool with this home. It was recently renovated, so it wouldn’t need many upgrades or improvements. It only has one bedroom on the first floor, so no room for Carolina. All the bedrooms are smallish and the basement is unfinished.
House #2, $490,000
This home has six bedrooms, and four and a half bathrooms. It’s a ranch style home with a 3-car garage. There is an office off to the side of the entrance, and the place has a full sound system throughout. This home has also been fully remodeled, so it has stainless steel kitchen equipment and granite countertops. The home has carpet everywhere.
This home has some fancy features like a sauna and a workout room. The home has lots of interior space but no real backyard, just a ravine.
House #3, $470,000
This place has a huge garage area, plenty of space for three cars and beyond. It has five bedrooms, and three and a half bathrooms. There are french doors on the lower level, a wood burning fireplace, and carpet. The place also quickly activates Jim’s allergies: the previous owners had cats. There is a gorgeous newly remodeled kitchen, a finished basement, and a boat dock.
This place still doesn’t have a pool.
Decision Time: House #1 was light and bright but didn’t provide enough extra space. House #2 had plenty of space but lacked a real backyard, and it would need some renovations. It was already at the top of their budget. House #3 had almost all the extra features they liked, but the cat allergies could be a problem with this home.
Eileen and Jim picked….House #3.
They bought it for $450,000 instead of the $470,000 asking price. They spent three weeks renovating it, getting rid of any carpet, repainting it, and removing anything that could flare up Jim’s allergies. They’re also planning to add a pool.
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