And The Number One Pick Is.........

Number 2!!

Owners packing for THEIR move and getting the house ready to rent, so things were in a bit disarray.

Each of these houses had good points and locations.  No highway noise, good backyards.  I didn't show option 2's backyard because the picture I have of it doesn't do it justice - there was a worker there sprucing up the outdoor patio area, but this is the picture I took.

Again, things are being readied for renters so we had to look beyond the tarps and tools.

Front yard.  It's a corner lot on a cul de sac.

Lots of plants, a wall safely surrounding the backyard so no Bostons will escape and a detached garage!  We've never had a garage!

Inside my picture taking was limited as the owners are still in residence and I was chatting a lot with the current owner that I forgot to take a lot of pictures inside.  

The current owners are the mirror image of us.  They have lived in the house for 21 years and are relocating to the east coast.  And they have a dog and a cat.  I think they could relate to us and felt we would be good tenants. 

As Laura stated in the comments, the rents are high out here, but we are renting "in the valley" where the neighborhoods are more traditional and the rents more reasonable.  If we had been in the hills or Burbank or another trendy neighborhood our rent would be double.  It's high for us, but we will tough it out for one year and then hopefully purchase a home thus lowering the monthly payments.

Pat hit the nail on the head for the room to be Mr. T's office - with the corner windows.  And Claudia and Razamataz thought like me and liked that vaulted ceiling and space in that part of the house.  The kitchen is very modern and was recently remodeled, my picture doesn't show how nice it is.  Another good feature?  All appliances included.  The other two choices were missing fridges, washers and dryers or both. 

Dining area for us, owners are currently using it for dining and as a office space as well.

So our move in date to our new 'home" in North Hills, CA is August 27th!

Back home in Orlando the Maven has been holding down the fort with the Bostons and letting in the buyers' bank appraisers, that is the final piece of the puzzle we are waiting for.  I fly home on the red eye tonight, Mr. T stays here for a couple of weeks and starts familiarizing himself with the new area.  The Maven will fly out here next Tuesday with Darcy the cat and will settle in the room that Bumby and we have been inhabiting.  Mr. T will get an extended stay hotel room closer to the area we will live (about 45 minutes from the Newlyweds) so he can scope out his territory and perhaps start running appointments.

Sneak peek at Newlyweds' home:

That's all the news that's fit to print other than the fact that I now must get serious about the packing!