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In this hot market, homes for sale in my neighborhood come across my news and mail feeds all the time. Sometimes I click the link out of curiosity, but most of the time I scroll on past. I don't know what it was about the place I saw yesterday that made me go even farther than usual. 

It could have been the price, which seemed almost suspiciously below market, or it might have been the address, just up the hill and back into the neighborhood, or perhaps it was the size of the backyard, very spacious, or maybe the quirky style that came through in the 59 photos. 

Whatever it was, I made an appointment to meet a realtor and see the place in advance of the open houses today and tomorrow. "There's a lot of interest," she told me on the phone. "They are expecting to open offers Tuesday, and I expect it to be gone by then. Are you pre-approved?"

I was not, of course, since we're not actually in the market for a house, but she assured me she could connect me with a lender and have us pre-approved by Monday, if we "fell in love with the place."

So off we went in the middle of packing for the beach to meet her at noon. A tiny 2 bedroom bungalow had been stretched out and added onto in the most peculiar way. Both bedrooms had been turned into little offices, and the attic had been expanded to an a master suite that overlooked the kitchen like a loft. There was also a mini-loft above the added great room that housed a pinball and slot machine and opened onto the upstairs deck. 

But the decks! They were like the Swiss Family Robinson built them-- multi levels with wooden steps connecting them. At the ground floor of the house there was a sunken hot tub flanked by four seats salvaged from a baseball stadium and a tiki bar. Sliding glass doors led into a small space between the kitchen and one of the bedroom-cum-offices, and a trio of spiky potted plants hid a full-sized porcelain urinal. A hand-lettered sign read Fully plumbed! Move the washer and dryer here or maybe a butler's pantry!

After the mirrored backsplash, pressed tin ceiling in the kitchen, and cork floor, tile floor, and hardwood floor all leading off from the kitchen, I was not sorry we had come to see the place, but it was definitely a hard no.

"But you should get pre-approved!" the realtor said, so that you can move on the place you do love."

Maybe.