After seeing another batch of houses, we now can tell within about 90 seconds whether or not we’re interested in a house.

One sure sign that it’s not a house we want: a recently-deceased welcoming committee on the kitchen floor.

Another sign: cobwebs on the front door knob. If someone else doesn’t want to see it, we probably don’t want to see it either.

Still, Friday afternoon/evening we added two more to our “let’s think about it” list.

Candidate One

A brick ranch (we seem to hit those almost exclusively), the first home we really liked had a few advantages:

1. Nice kitchen (though pictures don’t do it justice)
2. Big dining room
3. Screened porch connected to an open deck
4. Fairly decent lot

Candidate Two

The big problem with candidate two: siding. We want brick. The more we think about it, the higher it moves on our criteria list.

	Top left: Good parking Top right: Skylight, openness, arch Left: Spacious kitchen

Candidate Two also had a wonderful little nook that could serve as a computer area, and it had a spacious, semi-wooded backyard with a lot of potential.

But siding…

Prime Candidate

The prime candidate is still the one with a wonderful backyard and a full basement. Indeed, it’s the lack of basement in the above two houses that really make them less than perfect candidates. A basement means one thing: storage. An unfinished (or partially unfinished) basement also provides the opportunity for weekend projects that will, if properly done, increase the overall value of the home.

Today, we’re going back to all three, though, to make some sense of them — which could be a euphemism for making an offer…