Today we have scheduled a viewing of another house, and a second viewing of the house we like the most, only with a colleague of Johan’s. We are quite positive about that house!
The new house to consider was impressively huge: Huge garden, huge pool, huge house with huge rooms. Very well shaded, too. But, the term “gone-to-seed” seems the best to describe the property. A real pity, as this house offers incredible privacy. And the study was big enough for me to have room for everything and feel uncrowded. Also, a jacuzzi!
But cracked tiles here, and worn-out linoleum there, combined to create a feel that wasn’t quite up to standard. Absent entertaining, I’d be happy to live there, I don’t doubt–Unless the shade which kept things cool in hot weather would keep things too cold in winter (heating is not typical).
After that we attempted to find some beer we (I) would like. I don’t care for ordinary lager beer (typical American beers are lagers). We didn’t find any, but we were able to order some Leffe Brown (Belgian abbey beer). Not the best Leffe, but better than lager. We bought a few bottles of interesting South African liqueurs, and some other beer to try.
Then we visited the house. It was mostly better than I’d remembered. When seeing several houses, I tend to get a little confusion about what aspect was part of which house. Johan’s colleague was very helpful, she knew what questions to ask and some useful things to request. Mostly, like 95%, we are certain we want it.
We are concerned about how hot it might get in there, and whether there is adequate means to get the air to flow through. One end has limited windows, the other, none at all. The street side has very few windows, most are on the back facing the fabulous view and the pool. It was quite warm today, at least 30c (86f). Early in the season for that, but it doesn’t get much warmer in summer. It was uncomfortably warm in the bedrooms. I didn’t think the windows were open as much as I’d have them.
As near as I can figure, and I forgot to specifically check, the back windows faces east/southeast. It will take quite a bit of sun in the morning. The pool, I think, will be shaded in late afternoon. Air conditioning, at least in a room or two, is not impossible, but it will mean closed doors, which I don’t much like.
So we are still not able to entirely decide. I am anxious to have the hunt behind us, especially since Johan starts work on Monday, making it more difficult to do viewings. Also this house has not yet been advertised, and we don’t want to loose the opportunity. Rental houses don’t stay available for long, we understand. There’s a shortage, we’ve only managed to see 4 that meet our criteria (the difficulty is having a pool).
After the viewing we mentioned to Johan’s colleague that our airfreight wasn’t being delivered as promised, and we missed our DVD player. She had an extra to loan, so we followed her to her house to get it. Very kind of her, and we are already quite grateful. The free TV in our temporary place leaves much to be desired.
But at her house, we found out what a really great view is! Click on the picture to see a larger version.
What a view
