Went to see a house near the freeway at about 46th Ave. Instantly liked what I saw. A few days later saw the inside. Quite compact but enough for one or two people. Has great views - set above the street by about 25 feet. Has a spacious deck.

Are there any drawbacks. Yes, three.

1. Principally, noise from the freeway. At street level it is modest. At deck/garden level it is significant. Inside the house it’s not very noticeable.

2. It sits on a hill that in an earthquake may be prone to slippage.

3. 28 steps just to get into the garden. As I add years will I still be able to climb them?

Overall I am definitely favoring it. I’d like to see a couple of other places in the same price bracket before I put in an offer. Why does my agent have to be out of town for a week or 10 days?

M.

Two houses so far:

E 25th St at 26th Ave

Brookdale Ave at 32nd Ave

The first had the advantage of being in an L-shaped cul-de-sac in the corner of the L. To the right there was an empty plot of land that belonged to the water district. No chance of anything being built there.

Its main drawback was a noticeable crack along the front and one side of the foundation. It may be an old crack but it could equally well be recent. A horizontal crack between bricks in the chimney suggests that it may be recent. the house is on a slope. Replacing a foundation is costly.

The second house was on level ground. It too had a horizontal crack between the bricks of the chimney. The foundation wasn’t visible.

There were two things that concerned me. When I arrived a car was parked with 4 people in it, some of whom were smoking what appeared to be marijuana. Do I want to live near such open drug use?

The other thing was after viewing the house both inside and out, as the agent was locking the door, there was the sound of bass from someone playing music loudly. Something that I live with from time to time, now, and something I want to move away from.

M.