I’m beginning to think finding a decent house in the Hagerstown area in the $150,000 price range is about as difficult as finding a unicorn. I don’t understand why this has to be so hard.

Yesterday we went to look at a house we looked at early on in the process. We liked this house a lot when we first looked at it. The only reason we didn’t submit an offer when we first looked at it is because it only has one bathroom. We would like to buy a home with at least two bathrooms or one full bathroom and a half-bathroom. Other than that, the home offers everything we wanted. It has three bedrooms, hardwood floors, a fireplace, a carport, and has a full basement, including a portion that has been converted into some sort of rec room.

Not that we are in need of a rec room. In fact, if I had my choice, I prefer a basement to be just that, a basement.

As soon as we opened the door to the basement rec-room, we knew there was a problem. The room smelled heavily of mildew. Upon inspection of the back corner, we discovered a large wet area. The carpeting was soaked and the cheesy wood paneling was wet and warped.

We’ve had a lot of rain lately. The house obviously has a drainage problem. Our agent tried to convince me that it wouldn’t be too hard to fix this problem. My issue with that is if it was so easy to fix, why didn’t the home owner fix it? Why did they install track lighting in the kitchen and install new cabinets if there is a mildew and possible mold problem in the basement? What else did they not do? I could rip out all of the carpet and paneling and take it all to the landfill. I could also make sure the property drains properly. That’s not the point. My problem is that I cannot understand why the current owner didn’t do it.

I never realized how tiring house hunting would be. I now see why I’ve rented my entire adult life.