Hello 
I'm Siobhan Curran/Kisa Naumova, and this is my weblog. I tend to write about stuff like crossdressing, Macs, code, cats, wine and Second Life, but in general it's just an ongoing conversation about all sorts of stuff. If you'd like to know a little bit more about what this all is, I recommend starting on this page which has a little bit of info on who I am, and what I'm trying to do — or you could dive into my five years worth of archives if you like.
Otherwise, feel free to close this box and explore...
Adventures In Househunting, Chapter 3
I'm not — as anyone who's ever been to my house will tell you — the most fastidiously hygenic person in the world. I do tend to leave things lying around, and I don't always wash up immediately after eating, or wipe up the odd spillage the miniute the wine hits the floor...
See?
Having said that, even though there's probably enough dirt and germs and stuff cosily cohabiting with me in my little hovel in Lancaster, it astonishes me sometimes to see the conditions that other people live in.
Or, perhaps I should phrase that differently 
What right do I have to comment on how other people live..?
Having said that, as you may know I went to see another house this morning. From the little picture on the details it looked lovely — a brick terrace in a decent part of town, close to a railway station, with a hedged front garden and a decent number of rooms.
Even a basement 
OK, so it's a back-to-back — which isn't really what I'm after — but still. Potential, perhaps?
Part of me was distorting the picture into some kind of posh London townhouse, so I was a bit nervous when I pulled up to it in my car a couplpe of hours ago. "What if this is the one?" I wondered...
The sentence "Tenanted until June" should have been a warning sign, perhaps As should the myriad of plastic bags and rubbish lying all over the front garden. Also a Bad Omen™, perhaps, was the grimace on the Estate Agent's face as he prepared to show me (and another guy) around.
...
You know, I'm really disappointed right now. I'd built up an idea in my head that this was the perfect little place for me, Biscuit, and Tish — but the inside of it was awful.
Not 'awful' in the "that's a really crap house with no potential" — 'awful' in the "I don't want to touch anything, because I'll need a tetanus shot afterwards".
/me gutted
It didn't help that the tenants were still in bed and we didn't get to see one of the bedrooms, but I'm having a really hard time trying to muster my usual ability to see through layers of decoration and mess, and picture the potential hiding underneath.
Yes, walls would have to come out, and dammit I wish there was a back door — but nope, even though the Agent said I could probably put in a lot lower offer than what they were asking, I don't think I could face that again.
...
Normally, when you're looking at houses to buy, the little information sheets have photographs of the interior all over them.
Lesson for today: If there are no interior photos, take that as a sign.
Depressing, isn't it? 
Tell you what though, my mind was further made up on that one by talking to a student who used to live on the street — up the road is a really rough pub, and two streets up is the local Conservative Club.
If I ever needed further reasons to discount that house from my list of potentials, I can't think of two better ones.
At least the agent had the good grace to be embarrassed. It’s always worth having a second look a night too and checking a map to see if any footpath routes go pass it – been caught out there.
Ciara
Mind you, several of the houses did make me rather embarassed about the state of the one we are selling.....
If a house has a basement or cellar: check the walls. You can often find a waterline, or evidence of old water problems.
Also, check to make sure any damp-proofing is above the sidewalk/pavement. I had a house once where the damp-proofing was below the sidewalk. With predictable results...
Carolyn Ann
Oh, and keep looking! You'll find the "one"! (We did 30 or 40 house interiors, who knows how many exteriors before we found this place!)
(Sorry, forgot to put this on the end).
Carolyn Ann
Also, go back without the agent and see if you can talk to the neighbours. Check out the local pubs and eat in the local restaurants.
Use the opportunity to plant unobtrusive surveillance devices in the street. You don't want to move in next to an axe murderer or a Tory councillor.
If you like facts and figures theres also some useful postcode based things at www.upmystreet.com — how meaningful they are I'm not sure. But, there they are.
Also, yeah — it may take a while to find the right one...
I know what you mean, still being in the throws of moving house. We saw one house recently that looked fantastic from the outside and I had high hopes after looking at it on RightMove, but was terrible inside. Not totally filthy like the one you describe, but was just horrible. It would need gutting and starting again, and I am just not a DIY kind of person.
We were lucky in that we'd booked in 7 houses to see in one day, and of those only two were definite horrors. The rest were quite nice.
Now if I can just get my bloody solicitor to hurry up we may even move into it one day.....