No house, then house.

Have I ever said that I hate house-hunting? The short of it is I pulled our offer on the previous bungalow after the city housing inspection left me queasy. That, and a big stretch of recurrent stagnant water in the central part of the yard which defied easy remediation. I pulled it and felt much better, as those who Facebook know.

So, we kept looking. And found another bungalow. Only bigger (1700+ sq. ft). And in better overall condition, everywhere--save an ancient (if functional) furnace, which gives me pause. But it's a beaut, and the fourth bedroom is ideal. The downside--and mostly from the reaction standpoint--is that it's north of, but mighty close to, Eight Mile, though you'd never be able to tell from driving about. We're within easy reach of Harper Woods, if that helps with the coordinates. Then again, because it is close to 8M, that means you get a lot of house. Moreover, this isn't a "bars on the windows" neighborhood--far from it. Kids are riding their bikes around, the elderly (including the seller) move about unmolested and so forth.

With our price (no pun intended) range, it's big house close to 8 as opposed to little house with big(ger and bigger) problems the further north you go. The tradeoffs are a zero sum game, as has become painfully evident. We need big. We're going big. Here's hoping it passes the inspection, because it's a really, really nice one.

Um, about that whole "going silent again" thing...

As noted somewhere below, Stately Price Manor 1.0 is in desperate need of an upgrade. We have, over the course of the past few weeks, started house shopping, a task I sorta like and largely hate.

The upshot is that we've managed to find a likely candidate over the past week and have outbid the impudent lout who dared to submit an offer. We are going to be having the place inspected over the next week or so, and if it passes muster will likely be moving in May. It's a 14oo sq ft brick bungalow with an addition, bath and a half, a partially finished basement, a two car garage, a deck, central air, a yard big enough to play and garden in, and a dishwasher (as opposed to the dishwasher I married, as my Much Better Half puts it). Oh, and a nice neighborly widow to the north with two statues of the Blessed Virgin in her yard and an unfeigned delight toward our brood.

Our heads are spinning, and prayers and good wishes are welcome. Thus, updates will follow accordingly. As will email responses--sorry I've been neglectful of that, too.

Any heads up on landscapers who can supply black dirt (the back yard was scarred by an above ground pool and some exercise in canyon-digging), and a Metro Detroit moving company would be greatly welcome. I'll even invite you to the housewarming and cover your first several rounds...