regardingjohn

(pics follow commentary)

A month into my job at the university, I’d just moved out of my friend’s Sundstrom St. house to give my roommate and his newly-moved-from California fiance some room to nest. So I found a three-month gig house-sitting in the Willy street neighborhood, and started thinking about where I’d live in April. I talked to a realtor, Liz Lauer, about beginning a leisurely-paced process of looking for a house, figuring that I had all the time in the world. My ultimate goal was to find a single family house of ~1000 square feet, in good condition, in a walkable/bikeable neighborhood that I liked, for $150k-$200k. I looked at 50 or so houses online, and saw eight. It appeared that my goals were on the unrealistic side of optimistic. Nothing I saw felt right, and many of the places under $180k were dumps.

On Wednesday, Jan 13, I took a 40 minute look/walk though of 3150 Lindbergh, listed for $209k. I figured it was too much as listed, but might go for quite a bit less, given the market. It’s a solid 2-flat that could easily be re-converted back to a single family house. It’s dry and has good structure. It’s in a great location, across the street from friends of 7 years, and a house away from Olbrich Gardens (Madison’s version of the Domes). Also 3 blocks from lakefront park. Ice skating across the street.

On Saturday, Jan 16, I invited my folks to come take a look at it. I liked the place, but was pretty sure my perspective was clouded, and I must have missed a number of really important things. My older brother was en route to Minneapolis that day, so he and his family stopped by a showing at the same time. I had missed a few things, but not many. I still really liked it, and my parents and brother both agreed it was a pretty solid house (parents thought it was overpriced, but I suspect that since their 48 acres and 10-building farm, with two houses on it cost them less than $100k in 1972, any house in Madison would seem like a lot of money for what it was.

I did the math and determined it was a great deal for a two-flat in that neighborhood, and meant that I could live in a better quality 993 sq/ft flat than any of the other options I’d seen (~$139k, but with the “string attached” that I also buy a 495 sq/ft rental unit with it for ~$70k). So on Martin Luther King day, I made an offer, and on January 20 — one month after graduating with my PhD, and two months after getting my job appointment letter — the offer was accepted. All told, it breaks down to $140 sq/ft, which is pretty competitive for its quality — especially considering it has 2 kitchens and 2 baths. I can have someone pay a portion of my mortgage without having to share a kitchen or bath with them. Sweet.

Main Floor

Woodwork is solid and refinished (was painted). Floors are beautiful hardwood (maple, I think) (not laminate), and extend into all closets. New bathroom addition (huge) added, maybe 20 years ago(?) also includes a massive walk-in closet for storage, and an oversized linen closet. Two bedrooms of good size with nice closets. Bedroom electrical updated a bit to include new outlets in baseboard trim of Master bedroom, but 2nd room is lacking enough outlets.

Kitchen was redone during a sad time in the 70s, but is very very functional. Recessed can lights, ceiling tiles, solid wood cabinets. Great functional layout. Linoleum 12″ tile floor.

Living room has textured (redone) ceiling, recessed lights and a nice Hunter (?) ceiling fan, wood floors. Great light. Windows throughout are original and redone (bathroom has newer wood window).

Basement

Basement is full-sized, cement, and poured to 8″ above outside ground, so only about 4′ of basement is below grade, thus windows are oversized, and there’s pretty good light down there. It looks like it was going to be finished, or semi-finished, into a recroom, but maybe never got there. The “rec room” walls are paneled in really nice board (not sheets). The floor is dry, and recently painted. There is the beginnings (or re-beginnings) of a bathroom there, with toilet and shower stall, that looks like it will be a good quality bathroom (vs. standard basement bathroom closet). Furnace is forced air, and was new in 95. Looks like most of the ductwork was replaced then too — all clearly labeled as to where they end up. One furnace both units, and although the upstairs has a thermostat on their wall, it “doesn’t work” and they’re at the mercy of the downstairs owner. Water heater looked pretty new too. I forgot to look at electrical because I got side-tracked discussing the half-wall foundation with the realtor, but I did notice there was a lot of newer conduit, and some flexible plastic cable, all pretty neatly laid out, the way I like. [update: 100amp service. notes in photos]

Exterior

New roof and vinyl siding in 2000. The garage is a fairly solid 1 car, but needs a better door. It’s currently set up as a wood shop right now (but not insulated). [Update: Shared driveway with legal joint driveway agreement. There's a slight dip in the grade at the front of the house that results in an interruption of drainage. I'll have to take a closer look, but suspect that this is the source of the *very minor* water damage I saw inin that corner of the basement. The garage is in sound structural shape, but the garage door needs repair, as it doesn't close all the way; and the exterior of it needs to be scraped and painted—probably in order to qualify for the FHA loan. The backyard is smaller than average, which is one of the things that I actually wanted because I'm not a fan of mowing, and would rather have a smaller but higher quality lawn (courtyard-style) than a larger field. There's plenty of light in the backyard for a garden, currently fenced off behind the garage with a nice entrance gate arch.]

Upstairs Flat

Upstairs apartment isn’t as nice as the owner-occupied flat, but it’s pretty cute. It’s accessed via steps in the back of the house, leading to a ~12′x8′ deck. The steps should probably be covered to prevent snow and ice-related accidents. Cheap (but in good shape) Techline-style cabinets in kitchen, but nice open living room with huge inside window (half wall) open to kitchen and hallway. Skylight and big window in living room area. Massive storage closet (with nice hardwood floors) in living room. Bathroom is pretty standard. Could use some love. Bedroom at front of house with 6×16′ deck. BR has 2 deep “eave” closets (also with great wood floors in them). [Update: shower is next to window, and consequently, the trim is wet and paint peeling. This is probably also the cause of the water damage in the living room ceiling directly below. If the inspection doesn't reveal anything major and I end up buying the house, I may live in the upper flat for a year and take care of the things that need to be fixed, while renting out the lower, nicer,  2-bedroom flat for ~$1000].

Links

Photos

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