My Not-so-Secret Garden

My Beau and I were playing around online today and meandered our way onto Windermere to look at what the housing market in our area was doing. Naturally, we started looking for houses in areas closest to where he will hopefully (fingers crossed) be teaching next year after he graduates (Scottsdale Community College) and then in areas within a 30 minute driving commute for him. To our amazement we found incredible houses 30 minutes away in North Phoenix (the good part) with pools, big backyards, modern updates, 4 bed, 2 bath, and no HOAs for $40,000-90,000!!!! We did the calculation and our mortgage would be $200-350! That's almost 1/3 our rent we pay now for a one bedroom, one bath, 650 sq ft apartment! Needless to say, we are now antsier than ever for next year to get here. He graduates in Spring, teaches in the summer, we get married in August, and hopefully he starts teaching in September at SCC and we move into a huge house with a huge yard for almost the price of purchasing a luxury car! Who needs a BMW when you can have your house paid off within 2 years?!

House 1   House 2   House 3

With a little paint and some updating in a few of these houses would be a perfect start!
House 1:

• Paint the exterior and trim darker, richer
• Remove all the gravel in the front lawn.
• Put in a medium height chain link fence or white picket.
• Plant garden in front yard.
• New front door.
• Keep the tile- tile is a pain in the butt to remove, so it's gonna have to stay!
• Paint interior walls warm, designer color schemes.
• Update fans
• Backyard mentioned below:

House 2:

• Paint exterior and trim rich colors
• New door
• Build short fence around front yard. 
• Plant garden in the front yard.
• Update kitchen, possibly update the cabinets.
• Update fans
• Paint interior warm, earth colors

House 3: (my fave)

• Paint the exterior a deep mocha color to match the river rock entry way.
• Remove and sell the cactus in the front lawn.
• Clear the front lawn and remove all gravel from the property.
• Plant a flower garden in the front lawn area. 
• Section off the property to have a back yard.
• Create an official driveway for the cars. Build a nice carport.
• Although the gated front is nice, need to build or create more privacy. Tall plants?
• Interior needs paint and designer scheme. Earth colors.
• Love the kitchen, put in an island?

- I originally started writing this July 5th, 2010- and am just now getting to look at it again. I don't plan on completing this blog, so I'll post it now. :)

Happy House Hunting!
~Birdie!