Home sweat home

I got a quick course in real estate today:

A "full basement" does NOT mean finished.

A 30x100 lot is not big. In fact, it's a scrap of a yard.

Taxes... are a bitch. They can change from one block to the next and from year to year.

Quesadillas are still edible but overcooked at 350 for 10 minutes. (Oh wait, that's an unrelated lesson from today.)

Bigger is not better. Heating a bigger home could cost upward of $600 a month during winter.

Look up.

"As is" or "motivated seller" really mean "stay away all single-mom first-time homebuyers."

Friends are priceless.


Aimee navigates both the Pittsburgh map book and my haphazard pile of property listings.


My real estate agent refuses to offer opinions about school districts, but she's more than forthcoming about her sales tactics: "I think you need three bedrooms. It will be easier for me to sell three when you come back to me as a seller."

I'm not sold, but here's my newest favorite: