Choose-A-Home Competition 2012

Hello, ladies and gentlemen.  As you may know, five people in a three bedroom apartment on the third floor of a building with no elevator is tricky business, so we are entertaining the idea of looking elsewhere for our living needs.

That's where you come in!  There are a lot of homes on the market, and given our history of indecisiveness, it's impossible to make such an important decision on our own.  So we've selected a handful of representative house styles within our price range, which you can vote on to guide our future.

So without further ado, here are the finalists.

1. Classic Suburbia

This type of home seems to be all the rage these days. Comes with a nice, quiet neighborhood full of middle class families far from the hustle and bustle of downtown and where all the houses look the same.

2. The Deck

This type of home has proven popular with others in the past. Located on a hill, the chances of it being wrecked by a flood are low, but you have to do your own cooking.

3. The Manor

This home would do well to prevent the "stuck staring at the same four walls" syndrome so many other houses can cause. Another plus is that you could get away with three screaming kids throwing tantrums and not have to worry about all your neighbors hearing you. You can also put all the water you want on the driveway without fear of the cops getting called, which is good if the fountain ever starts leaking.

4. The Basketball Jones

This is the ideal home for the up-and-coming Basketball Jones. Just look at that basketball hoop location and imagine all the trick shots you could pull off. Throwing the ball through one window and having it bounce out the other and into the hoop is just one of countless possibilities.

5. The Yo Shack

We're rather partial to this one. It's on the lower end of our budget, meaning we could fill it with better furniture, a quality entertainment system and lots of fancy toys for the kids that we wouldn't be able to afford elsewhere. And should a natural disaster ever happen to destroy the place, rebuilding it is a simple one-afternoon affair.

6. The Castle

This provides a good balance between all the other options.  Looks fancy but stays modest, and it would be great to come home to in the winter where the warm glow of the fire is waiting with marshmallows and hot cocoa.  We could also play host to murder mystery dinners without any extra effort to fit the theme.

7. Home Sweet Home

It might not have the height of its neighbors, but this cozy split-level is far more homely. And it's got a flagpole. You don't get much better than a flagpole. The lawn is also impeccable and it has a spacious, fenced backyard - perfect for our plans to add one mini-golf hole a year for the next 18 years.

8. Bane of Mailmen

Moving closer to older part of Madison, this would provide both a nice location and vintage feel. But it probably has a mail slot, so not only would we need to subscribe to as many magazines and catalogs as we possibly can, we would also need a dog for the porch area to sit guard and wait to snap at any tasty fingers that might poke through.


So there you have it. Where should we live? Cast your votes now in the comments section. Don't let this opportunity to take part in the Heit Family's future slip by!