I met this really cute house this weekend

House shopping is a lot like dating. On Saturday we saw this one Victorian house up near Rogers Park. It's like meeting a guy at a party. He seems nice enough, but no instant sparks. Then, you find yourself thinking about his smile, those really nice forearms, that really funny joke he told, the way he offered to walk you to your car. You get a little dreamy. But there are issues. Maybe fixable ones, like wearing white socks with black shoes and trousers. Maybe ones you can overlook and eventually find really adorable, like ears that stick out. Or something that might be fixable, like drinking Budweiser. ("You seem like you have such good taste, I just don't understand why you like drinking urine." Not that I have ever tasted urine but I can't imagine it tastes worse than that shite.) But maybe you meet him a second time and find out that he doesn't know who Duke Ellington is or thinks Dick Cheney is a really great guy.

So, this house on Wolcott. It's huge, charming, great layout. But it needs a new kitchen and HVAC. I mean, I wouldn't even contemplate moving into it without a completely new kitchen. Eventually, I would want to re-do the bathrooms, reglaze a stained glass window and strip the millwork in the livingroom (already stripped in the dining area and is gorgeous!), but those would give me some DIY projects to keep me out of mischief. But a new kitchen will be $15k-$20k and HVAC could run from $4k-$14, depending on zoning and the like. I am pretty sure we could get that knocked off the list price, but then there's the headache of all that work and waiting for the contractor(s) to finish. Is it worth it? We may have to meet for coffee.