There were a lot of open houses this Sunday. We visited the one that we were mildly interested in and afterward we drove around a bit running some errands. It seemed like every street we drove past had a sign or two pointing us to an open house. It was the first Sunday in August and you have to think that some sellers are getting a bit worried. We’re getting a little worried too as my wife’s due date approaches and it looks like we won’t be in a house before then.

16 Lowerre St

This is a house that my wife has been drawn to for some time. She loves older, Babylon houses like this, homes with plenty of charm and personality. Originally, we ruled this one out because, even though it’s in Babylon Village, it’s not in the Babylon School District. It’s on the west side of Route 109, just over the line that puts it in the less desirable West Babylon school district. But sometimes compromises have to be made. I saw the house on the open house list and off we went to see if it was one we could live with.

The one thing you can say about this place is that it’s small. The downstairs has a small living room with barely enough space for a couch and a TV, a very small kitchen and a servicible dining room. There’s a small, enclosed porch which works as a coat area. The upstairs is also pretty limited in space. The master bedroom is a reasonable size. The second bedroom, now converted to a nursery, is a reasonable size for that or for a small child, but the third bedroom is too small for anything except an office. Right now it has the washer/dryer and a small desk in it. Even if we put the washer/dryer back in the basement and took out the desk, the room would barely fit a twin bed and a small dresser.

Unfortunately, moving the washer/dryer back to the basement is problematical. The basement is so short that I can’t stand up in it unless I put my head between the joists.

The house has a nice yard and a deck, as well as an above-ground pool that would have to go right away if we bought the place.

In the end, the place is just too small for our needs. The Realtor tried to sell us on the idea that the house could be easily expanded out the back, and it probably could, but I’m looking for a house, not a construction project.