Our Alaskan House Hunt - Part 3

We shared last night we had terminated our agreement to buy "the motel." It is a huge, lovely home....The seller was unable to do repairs which we needed done.  This would force us to use money we'd put aside to fix driveways, buy wood stoves and build a garage on these repairs. There was no way forward, if we couldn't attempt to  "meet in the middle" on the repair list. We had felt increasingly uneasy about committing to this home, so the fact they countered our request for repairs gave us a final opportunity to discern if we were simply having cold feet or if we should look elsewhere for a home.

We had seen this home while we were house-hunting in Alaska. We liked it, but some of the rooms were a bit small for us - the master bedroom, dining room and living room. It has the kind of  construction our friend, Steve, told us to look for. He's a contractor.  It was the first home we looked at, but our heart was still set on one of the 9 acre homes that early in the search.  This was the most expensive of our last three choices.....but when we  evaluated considering the improvements, repairs and such we'd need to do on each home - it came in cheaper. We don't have to paint, put in carpet, build a garage, install a tub, buy a new stove top, grate and gravel a steep driveway, buy appliances, and on and on. They are leaving appliances, washer/dryer, AND a wood stove which we will install.

Who knew?

This home is 5 br/ 2.5 bath. It's 3500 SF - which makes it twice the size we originally began looking for and about 1/2 the size of the first house for which we submitted an offer. It sits on 2.28 acres of flat, usable land. Some treed - some cleared.  It's near a recreation area....and was quiet and peaceful when we visited.

Lazy Mountain from the Dining room

Via MLS

I love these cupboards, it's BETH'S FRIDGE - which I wanted badly - AND it has a GAS stove. There's a nook through the kitchen - we're still discussing how to best use it. I'd love it for a quiet time spot....The floors are Brazilian cherry hardwood.  It's smaller - but cozy, and we can see ourselves living in the top floor and renting out the bottom floor in the future. It was built in  2009; the other was built in 1982. That means the septic, floors, roof are all 27 years newer.  

S Vickers Photography

The living room is long and narrow....but full of windows! There are two rooms and 1.5 baths upstairs.

S. Vickers Photography

It has a walk in basement. The laundry, 2nd kitchen, 1 bathroom and 3 large bedrooms are down here. I can see an island/bar to the right of the doorway to separate the kitchen from the entertainment/family room...and provide a spot to serve from, as well as put puzzles together.....Soda Shoppe stools with red vinyl seat covers. 😊  

S. Vickers Photography

This home really has all the things we were looking for: 5 rooms, possibility for a Air B/B, no covenants, allows horses/chickens, out of town, "close" to town, game room, spot for archery range, garage, wood stove....and there are HEATED FLOORS in this basement!

The current owners have already moved to their new home. If the inspection, repairs and appraisal go quickly, we may be in this one before the Gherkins arrive from Oregon.

If God opens the door for property, we'll be able to easily sell or rent this home. The other had limited market appeal due to it's size.

We are working on details and somewhere along the road we'll get the formal offer to sign and submit it.