Let's live there!

We're looking for a house to buy and that has become an all-consuming task. I mentally move us into every house I see for sale and then try to figure out if it's something we can afford. There are huge chunks of town I am, for various reasons, not even willing to entertain and that puts some limits on where we'll end up.

What we need is at least 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and 1300+ square feet. Beyond that, we need a garage (not a carport), a walk-in closet in the master, a study of some sort (maybe a fourth bedroom...just somewhere out of the way for computing and homeworking and researching), and a kitchen that has enough cupboard space to store our ever-growing collection of kitchen delights. We also need a yard that has enough room to play and it's extremely important that the house is near bike trails that lead to campus. Bike lanes on major streets just won't do. 

What we want is all of the above in an open, one-story layout. Two-story houses can be considered, but the story of my life with stairs is not a happy tale. Air-conditioning would be awesome, but the lack of it wouldn't be a deal breaker. A laundry room would be nice, but we can live with the washer and dryer in the garage, if need be.

...and we'd like to find a way to get all of that for under $245,000. It's going to be tough, but not impossible. To make things easier, we're meeting with an agent tomorrow (a broker, technically). If we're going to spend nearly a quarter of a million dollars on something, I'd like to make sure we do it right, so I have no problem at all calling in a professional. Not only does she come recommended by her peers, but she's also the listing agent for the places that have captured our hearts and our wallets. 

If I could just find a way to justify a personal assistant, I'd be set.