the house hunt begins

I've been watching many, many episodes of House Hunters this year, thanks to hulu.com. I spend most of the viewing time mocking the "hunters" for their mindless wish for the exact same thing as everyone else ever featured on the show. (I swear they are coached!) The show provides fascinating insight into the priorities of the American public.

Every single couple is after hardwood floors, dark kitchen cabinetry, stainless steel appliances, granite counters, double vanity sinks in the bathroom and more square footage than they can possibly need. And every single woman ever featured on that show wants a closet the size of my bedroom. Oh, and they all adore tray ceilings and crown molding. (Incidentally they call all molding "crown" molding.)

This not to say that these are not good attributes in a house, but I just wish House Hunters would find a new story. I am slightly ashamed to admit that I was not-so-secretly delighted to learn that some granite counters can emit potentially cancer-causing levels of radiation. Take that House Hunters!

The husband and I are about to begin the hunt for our urban homestead and I've been thinking constantly about what I am looking for in a house. If we were featured on House Hunters, the opening sequence would be us detailing the following wish list.

Best Case Scenario House

• .25 Acres
• 3+ bedrooms (separated by floor plan or multi-story)
• 2+ bathrooms
• Wood flooring throughout (tile in kitchen, bathrooms)
• Open kitchen w/ island and window(s)
• Natural, solid-surface kitchen counters
• Wood cabinetry
• Gas cook top
• Electric oven
• Energy efficient refrigerator
• Dishwasher
• Double sink
• Designated dining room
• Laundry room with sink and folding counter
• Detached (or low focal point) garage
• Near good elementary school, library, shopping, parks
• Established neighborhood with sidewalks
• Central Location (20-40 minutes to Forest Grove, Portland and Oregon City)

(This is the point in the post when I know every homeowner reading this is rolling their eyes and I shaking their heads at my silly naivete.)

Of course I won't find all of these things, but I hope we can have the potential for most of them in our home.

We're nearly finished saving for our down-payment. Our next step is visiting with a mortgage broker and then hopefully house hunting by this time next month!

Stay tuned -- perhaps I'll post three houses with a chance for guesses as to which we'll pick!