Mike and I have officially crossed the Catonsville house off of our list. We took a second look at it a few weeks ago, and definitely saw somethings that we had not noticed (or possibly ignored) on the first look. For example there was a lot of shotty wood structures built around the front porch and back yard that would need to be ripped down. There was also still the issue of it only having one bathroom. Mike also started to notice the noise. While noise isn't an issue for me (given where I grew up) I would still prefer not to be so close to the beltway.


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This past weekend we looked at 9 different houses in the Elkridge, Odenton, Columbia and Catonsville areas. We saw some good things, and some really horrible things but considered the outing a success because we saw 2 places that we might consider putting an offer on.

The first place is located in a community of relatively new construction in the Elkridge area.




Pros:

- Lots of space, according to the listing its a whopping 2,500 square feet inside.
- Private view-- we aren't looking into any ones backyard, and even our front windows look into an intersecting street, not the neighbors.
- Finished basement and a 2 car garage!
- At the top of the market these homes were going for $350+

Cons:

- Our view is of the communities drainage pond.
- HOA and C/C fees that tack an extra $200 a month onto our mortgage and taxes
(seriously cutting into our buying power).
- Not much character or grass in the area.
- only parking is in the garage, and designated parking areas around the community.


Final decision: We love it, but with the monthly fees it puts it a little out of our price range.




The second home is a little off the beaten path in a quiet neighborhood in Catonsville called Patapsco falls.




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Pros:

- It has most of the stuff we are looking for (3 bedrooms, a master suite, a finished basement, a deck, and view.
- Backs to part of the Patapso Valley State Park.
- Large kitchen.
- Lots of closets.
- Priced at $250,000 makes it a steal for the area because other house have sold for $300+
- Close to downtown Ellicott city. (reminiscent of Manyaunk)


Cons:

- Needs new flooring on all levels.
- Needs new cabinetry and counter tops in the kitchen, and also maybe a wall knocked down to improve flow.
- Small master suite, no walk in closet.

Final Decision:

We maybe putting an offer in. Luckily, Mike's Dad is a bit of a handyman and has volunteered his services for some of the work. We went to see it a second time after walking through it on Saturday and we just fell in love with the location and character of the house. Also, its a great opportunity to earn some equity of the next 5-7 years.


Its a short sale, so it will take about 45-60 days to find out if our offer has been accepted by the bank.

So we'll see....