Competition is On!

We viewed three houses in our neighborhood yesterday after work within the same price range that we will be listing our house to see what kind of competition we're up against:

House #1 - Located on our street a few blocks away. This house is nice, a bit smaller than ours, minimal view and situated on a part of the street that is thick with trees and covered in shade all year round. This means higher heating bills and the snow falls and never melts. This is the third time in the 4 years we have lived in this neighborhood that it's been on the market - No competition here!!

House #2 - Located on a street which overlooks the town. Nice north view and a view of the lake. Floorplan is okay if you have a family and the kids spend all their time downstairs and Mom and Dad don't want to be bothered and like to keep secluded in their 3rd floor master suite -- which has the better views. How many adults with kids stay in their rooms? The electric burner stove top is on an island in the middle of the kitchen with no counter space surrounding it -- total turnoff for me. I need counter space by my stove to keep the prepped items at hand so my momentum is not interrupted and a spice cabinet within reach of the cooking area. Also, this house is situated in yet another shady area of the neighborhood so this means once again snow in your driveway and yard from Thanksgiving to late April or early May. -- Minimal competition here.

House #3 - Located on street which looks onto a wooded cluster area with a minimal view. This floorplan was very unique, but in a way that could seem confusing. The first floor had no bedroom, the second floor had one bedroom and some type of banistered catwalk that jetted out over the living area. Perfect for those wanting to relive their drunken days on a Bourbon Street balcony tossing beads to the people below. I don't think I ever found the master bedroom. There was more of the house in the finished basement (I guess it was down there) but the basement was pretty much underground with no window wells to allow light in. -- No competition here!!

So, overall our house is pretty good. Compared to the three other houses, our view is far superior - we overlook the lake, you can see the town, the Eldora ski slopes and the Continental Divide. Our driveway faces southwest so the snow melts quickly. We never have lingering snow in our driveway. We get plenty of natural sunshine beaming into the house if you choose - if not you can lower the new pleated Bali Blinds we had installed last year. Oh, and one more thing our driveway is asphalt which prevents the rain eroded ruts from forming when we get those occasional downpours in the summer. The others don't have that.

I'm feeling a sense of accomplishment everyday that a new task is done. We have our flights and hotel confirmed for our trip to ATL on the 15th. This weekend we'll go through all the rental listings and send the realtor a list of what we would like to see. Most houses are ready to move in on April 1, so our plan is to sign a lease while we are there and schedule the movers to have our furnishings delivered to the new address by the first week of April. I love it when things just fall into place!!