The Showing

We had 5 interested parties come to the open house. Two were from the building "looking for someone else". No immediate offers, but in the current market that would be a shock - and it would have made us question our asking price.

During the showing we went to breakfast at Bickfords. Then we went house hunting. We decided to tour some of the high-end open houses. We went to one in Wakefield that was just under $1 million. It was new construction, a block from the big lake on the "good" side. Neither one of us liked it all that much. It was a show piece, not a "livable" house.

The next one we looked at was a $780K, 4000+ sq ft home in North Reading. The owners had built an in-law in front of the existing 2-car under garage. This created a massive garage under the house that could hold about 6 cars. The in-law had 2 bedrooms, an office, laundry/bath area, and an open kitchen, dining, and living room area. I think there was another room too. It connected to the main 4 BR house on the first floor and through the garage/basement rooms. The main house was built in the mid-80's, the in-law was built in 2001. Open kitchen, floor to ceiling windows on the front, deck with above ground pool behind, and a finished basement.

The last one we looked at was a cute 2 BR cape in Reading. It had a lot of new updates and charm. Great house for a single or newly-weds. Only 1 BA, but it was possible to put in a 1/2 BA on the first floor. Single car garage, fenced back yard.

Saturday after we cleaned and arranged the condo in preparation for Sunday's showing, we went to the Salvation Army on Rte 1 in Saugus. Then searched for and found the Building 19 in Burlington. It had an annex with great furniture and carpets. Also surplus hardwood flooring. We cruised around there for a while and Henry made friends with a 5 year old boy named Hugo who showed him how to run around and climb the piles of oriental carpets. Must remember to go back there when we start shoping for furniture and carpets for the new house.

We finished Saturday with take-out pizza from our "new" local Italian restaurant in Reading, Cafe Capri.

Here are some mandatory Henry photos taken a week ago at Martins Pond in North Reading. Joni's photos make a nice action sequence of the littlest 'swinger'.