so it turns out

this is going to be el ano de la casa. i am going to buy a house. or at least i hope i will. i have been consumed by it since the beginning of the year. only 13 days into the year i have:

• hired an awesome realtor (larissa fain)
• talked to my friend herb riggs who is a mortgage broker and found out how much i can borrow.
  
• seen houses in: eckington and capitol hill
• made appointments to see houses in so/flo (no map but it is just north of cap hill. the boundries east and west are the same as cap hill. but goes from 7th NE to florida.) and in columbia heights

i have found 4 houses that are maybes but nothing is perfect. the big question is do i want to do a total rehab or do i just want to move into a house? i am really really in love with the idea of making my house super green. and i have always loved the idea of doing the "this old house" thing. so maybe this is my chance.

if i do the green thing, i will get a bunch of tax breaks (hopefully, i guess that congress hasn't yet passed the bill). also, i can qualify for a special loan: 203K loan that is somehow administerd thru HUD. i guess others mingle that loan with the "energy efficient mortgage".

the green stuff i would like to do includes:

• radiant heat floors
• grey water collection
• dual flush toilets
• green roof
• tankless water heater
• skylights (of course)
• whole house water filtration
• whole house fan
• and sun tunnels

things that i really want in a house include:

• a basement that i can either rent out or keep my bikes, luggage, and etc. in
  
• a yard where i can have my garden
• lots of sun
• fireplace
• roof access and a roof i can make green
• wood floors