While Kurt and I hate actually moving (having our stuff packed, unpacking, the logistics of moving, buying new condiments, etc) we actually like moving to new places and finding new homes. House hunting (rental hunting) in West Point was more difficult than we both expected though. There weren't many listings on our two typical websites, so we went up with only about 4 homes in mind that we wanted to see. Before we got up there two of those homes had been rented, so we had to expand beyond our ideal parameters. We ended up seeing about 8 homes on our first day up there, and it was exhausting. All of them were workable, but none of them ideal. We had pretty much decided that the best fit was this old colonial house out away from everything a bit on 7 acres of land owned by this art center trust. It was a bit expensive, but it was bigger than most and had a big yard with creek running through it and a really nice three car garage. We were holding off on sending in the application because there was one last home that we were seeing the next day at 1000. The last home was listed as a 4 acre horse farm, ready for 2 horses, with a completely fenced in property good for dogs too. We initially ignored this ad as it was an old home and it didn't show many pictures of the inside, but changed our mind because it was significantly cheaper than the other homes and didn't have an outrageous realtor fee like the others. We were pleasantly surprised by how cool the property was - vegetable gardens, a grape arbor, raspberry bushes, a small pond, two horse pastures, and just cool places that the kids will love exporing and playing. The completely fenced in property is really nice too as I'll have a bit more piece of mind with Jon and the dogs running around. It hasn't been lived in for a while and needs some TLC, but the landlord was all about letting us do whatever outside. Kurt will be busy during the summer months. While the house is over 200 years old, it is in surprisingly great condition. It didn't feel nearly as drafty as the colonial we were looking at and the landlords are going to pay half the heating (can't beat that!). They'll also do the mowing and they are leaving a snowblower, but their nephew will come by and plow when needed. Score. The house has a lot of character, something that was important to Kurt, and has plenty of room for all our furniture. And you might think that a 4 acre horse farm would be out in the country a bit... nope. It's right smack dab in the middle of a neighborhood. We're thinking the farm is the oldest thing there and the neighborhood grew in around it. We were told the neighbors are very nice.
Front of House - old picture
New Picture
Back of House
Side of house
Barn and Stables (we won't be using, told the landlords they could use it for their storage)
Driveway from the house
Walking out the backdoor towards the driveway
Back Patio - kitchen door straight ahead, door to main hallway of house on the right
Kitchen
Dining room
This used to be the kitchen, that's a cooking fireplace. Room will probably have a pull-out couch for when we have guests.
Front Living room
Back living room (looking into front living room) - will probably be our office
Part of the yard in need of some TLC
Walkway up to the front of the house is to the left
This isn't our house. This is the military academy. It was cool to drive through.
Parade Field
Took this picture for Gabe
As we were driving out of town (10 minutes out) we stopped for gas. I looked across the street and this is what I saw. I had no idea it was so close! New Windsor is indeed in Orange County, NY.
