Once we knew I was pregnant, Kevin and I knew that we wanted to try and move into a bigger house by the time the kid came. Before he went to Hawaii we figured out what we could afford and looked at a few open houses. We developed a pretty good idea of what we wanted and what we could afford. But there wasn't much else we could do until he came home.
We hit the ground running when he did get home. We made a list of the work we knew needed to be done to the house (paint and new carpeting). We went to a few more open houses to make sure we were still on the same page. And then we met with a realtor to figure out some of the details.
The meeting left me reeling a little. It turns out there's a lot you need to do to get a house ready to sell. And considering that it takes 60 days to close we suddenly realized that we needed to move fast. Our to-do list exploded, our time frame shrank, and both of us are busy enough at work that we're not sure how it's going to all get done.
It was incredibly stressful for a while. I was already wondering if we could actually get into a new house in time to prepare for the baby, or if there would end up being a major crunch. But we made a to do list, and we've slowly been knocking things off of it all weekend. Most of the work right now is packing up stuff we don't need to get ready for an open house. This includes my library, a bunch of clothes, and a surprising amount of furniture and kitchen stuff.
At the moment our house is a mess of boxes and trash bags. Despite the way it looks, we've made good progress this weekend, and we're much more confident about our time table. The goal is to have the open house in three weeks, or at least be ready to. We won't put the house on the market until we're ready to make an offer, because we're expecting it to sell very quickly. But we want to be ready to pull that trigger at a moment's notice.
Now we just have to hope that everything else comes together. The goal is to be in a new place by August, which would then give us two months to unpack and prepare for the baby. Which should be enough time. If we can't get our act together, then it isn't the end of the world. We can have a kid in our current house, we'd just have to forfeit the guest room to do it. But we could make it work. I just hope we can get this all settled before hand.
Showing posts with label house hunting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label house hunting. Show all posts
Monday, May 23, 2016
Sunday, May 22, 2016
Houses, and Parties, and Moms, Oh My
About three hours after Kevin got home from 6+ weeks in Hawaii, my mom arrived to visit for a week. My brother had time off between Spring and Summer term, so the two of them did a bunch of tourist stuff, including the Air and Space Museum/Hangar and a visit to Monticello. Meanwhile Kevin and I worked and tried to catch up with life and met them for dinner.
We spent most of the weekend looking at open houses. Kevin and I are getting ready to start looking in earnest, and my mom wanted to see the sorts of houses we're looking out. Plus it's always fun to go tour homes that aren't your own.
We saw a big variety of homes. There were one or two we could see working out (ideally we would move one of the houses onto the lot of a different house, but that's not really an option). There were a few that had stark deal breakers (lack of yard, unworkable kitchen, stuck in the 70s). Most fell somewhere in the middle, and by the end of the weekend many of them had begun to bleed together. The upshot is that Kevin and I have a pretty solid idea of what we want, but we haven't found it yet.
We also went to a party thrown by Kevin's party on Saturday night. It was a Moulin Rouge themed casino night, and I had an absolute blast even though I couldn't drink and didn't really know anyone. There was fantastic food, including a mac-and-cheese bar. There were lots of gambling options, and I sort of learned how to play craps. I had more fun playing Texas Hold'em, though. And since everyone was playing with fake money, the dealers were pretty forgiving. Especially the blackjack dealer who routinely gave herself a worse hand if she was initially dealt 20.
It ended up being a jam-packed but thoroughly enjoyable weekend. And someday soon I'll have a weekend to myself again. Maybe. Actually, it doesn't look like that's going to happen for the foreseeable future, which makes me even happier that I refused to make any plans the weekend before Kevin came home.
We spent most of the weekend looking at open houses. Kevin and I are getting ready to start looking in earnest, and my mom wanted to see the sorts of houses we're looking out. Plus it's always fun to go tour homes that aren't your own.
We saw a big variety of homes. There were one or two we could see working out (ideally we would move one of the houses onto the lot of a different house, but that's not really an option). There were a few that had stark deal breakers (lack of yard, unworkable kitchen, stuck in the 70s). Most fell somewhere in the middle, and by the end of the weekend many of them had begun to bleed together. The upshot is that Kevin and I have a pretty solid idea of what we want, but we haven't found it yet.
We also went to a party thrown by Kevin's party on Saturday night. It was a Moulin Rouge themed casino night, and I had an absolute blast even though I couldn't drink and didn't really know anyone. There was fantastic food, including a mac-and-cheese bar. There were lots of gambling options, and I sort of learned how to play craps. I had more fun playing Texas Hold'em, though. And since everyone was playing with fake money, the dealers were pretty forgiving. Especially the blackjack dealer who routinely gave herself a worse hand if she was initially dealt 20.
It ended up being a jam-packed but thoroughly enjoyable weekend. And someday soon I'll have a weekend to myself again. Maybe. Actually, it doesn't look like that's going to happen for the foreseeable future, which makes me even happier that I refused to make any plans the weekend before Kevin came home.
Monday, May 2, 2011
We Got It!
Remember that townhouse I was gushing about a couple of weeks ago? The one that was absolutely perfect in every way? The one that we'd never be able to get our finances together in time to make an offer on?
Boyfriend managed to pull his finances together and made an offer...a few hours after someone else had made an offer. After a bit of back and forth, the owners decided to go with the other offer (it was there first, after all). We became the backup and made plans to look at more townhouses with the hope that we could find something nearly as awesome.
Well, the other guy ended up losing his job and had to pull his offer out. So we* were invited to resubmit and they accepted! I feel a bit bad celebrating the fact that someone lost their job. It's good news for use, though. It looks like we'll get the house.
And it truly is perfect.
The location is unbeatable. It's less than half a mile from the metro, which will do wonders for my commute. Not only will I not have to deal with traffic, it should shave 10-15 minutes off each way. Plus, the back opens onto a park. That means privacy and proximity to walking trails. I think it's closer to bike trails, too, so that should make it easier to go on bike rides.
Inside it has three levels. Three bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs. We'll end up using two of the bedrooms as offices, which I'm really excited for. I can't wait to have my own space. The main level has a newly renovated kitchen, a living and dining room with hardwood floors, and a half bathroom. Off the back is a fenced in patio area that looks out to the park. Downstairs is a rec room, laundry/storage, and another full bathroom.
I think Boyfriend and I are going to hire a cleaning service. He's never going to clean a toilet, scrub a shower, sweep, mop, or dust, and I'm just going to end up resentful when I end up having to do all of it. Cleaning one toilet is bad enough, I don't even want to think about cleaning four of them. So we're throwing money at the problem to avoid the inevitable arguments. Privilege certainly has it's perks.
If everything goes according to the current plan, we'll be moving in at the beginning of July. The home inspection is tomorrow morning. Fingers crossed that everything works out.
*Technically Boyfriend is buying the house and I'm paying him rent. It makes the most sense for us.
Boyfriend managed to pull his finances together and made an offer...a few hours after someone else had made an offer. After a bit of back and forth, the owners decided to go with the other offer (it was there first, after all). We became the backup and made plans to look at more townhouses with the hope that we could find something nearly as awesome.
Well, the other guy ended up losing his job and had to pull his offer out. So we* were invited to resubmit and they accepted! I feel a bit bad celebrating the fact that someone lost their job. It's good news for use, though. It looks like we'll get the house.
And it truly is perfect.
The location is unbeatable. It's less than half a mile from the metro, which will do wonders for my commute. Not only will I not have to deal with traffic, it should shave 10-15 minutes off each way. Plus, the back opens onto a park. That means privacy and proximity to walking trails. I think it's closer to bike trails, too, so that should make it easier to go on bike rides.
Inside it has three levels. Three bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs. We'll end up using two of the bedrooms as offices, which I'm really excited for. I can't wait to have my own space. The main level has a newly renovated kitchen, a living and dining room with hardwood floors, and a half bathroom. Off the back is a fenced in patio area that looks out to the park. Downstairs is a rec room, laundry/storage, and another full bathroom.
I think Boyfriend and I are going to hire a cleaning service. He's never going to clean a toilet, scrub a shower, sweep, mop, or dust, and I'm just going to end up resentful when I end up having to do all of it. Cleaning one toilet is bad enough, I don't even want to think about cleaning four of them. So we're throwing money at the problem to avoid the inevitable arguments. Privilege certainly has it's perks.
If everything goes according to the current plan, we'll be moving in at the beginning of July. The home inspection is tomorrow morning. Fingers crossed that everything works out.
*Technically Boyfriend is buying the house and I'm paying him rent. It makes the most sense for us.
Monday, April 18, 2011
House Hunting
Boyfriend and I have begun looking at houses. The plan is to buy one sometime soonish. It's not a very fleshed out plan. We're not sure whether we want to get a real house now, if we can afford a real house now, or if we want to get a townhouse that we'd be in for a few years before upgrading. It's all very vague and confusing and exciting. But the best part (and the only part we've really done so far) is driving around and going to open houses.
Open houses are awesome. We ended up touring a bunch of houses that we absolutely can't afford. Houses with price tags of $1 million or more. And seriously, who needs 8000 square feet of space? It sure was fun to look at them, though.
The first house we looked at was actually reasonable, and more or less in our price range. It was move-in ready, but would certainly need work over the years (updating the kitchen, finishing the basement). That's pretty much fine with us. As long as the lot and the floor plan are good, and the house isn't actually falling apart or unlivable, we can certainly make those upgrades as we have time and money. Plus, that's a great way for us to add value to the house. But the bedroom situation was a little weird. Five bedrooms upstairs sharing two bathrooms. One of the bedrooms was actually off the master bathroom, and it was tiny. It would really only work as a nursery or office .
After that, we just started driving around looking for any open houses. The second house we came across was huge. The plot was over two acres, and there was a wooden deck, a stone patio, and a fireplace outside. Inside it was like a maze. Seriously, this house just kept going. I think there were six bedrooms and three offices, plus a workout room. Two kitchens, and a "coffee bar" in the master suite. Because it's just too hard to walk to the kitchen for a cup of coffee or nightcap.
Let's talk about master suites. Apparently, they need to be huge. Some of the suites we saw were bigger than the apartment we're currently living in. One was 1400 square feet. I mean, what do you do, besides sleep in there? But there's always a massive bedroom, two walk in closets, a ginormous bathroom, and at least one sitting room/office. Some had two sitting rooms (his and hers, I guess?). Several also had bar areas, complete with granite counter top and sink. I guess this is for those people who never want to see their kids. Because you would basically never have to leave one of those suites. We joked about renting out the master suite as a separate apartment, but then you get the headache of dealing with a tenant.
All in all we saw about six houses. Most of them were far out of our price range. And they also had more space than the two of us would ever fill. Boyfriend has started teasing me that his mom could move in, both to help us afford one of these houses and to help us furnish it. I shot that down pretty quick. Nothing against his mom, I just don't want to live with her. I want our space, where our is limited to Boyfriend and me.
At any rate, it was fun to look at the mansions. We got to ooh and aah and figure out which extravagances we actually want to spend money on and which ones are just ridiculous. So here's the current wish list
This neighborhood is walking distance from the metro. That would cut about 15 minutes off my commute, plus all the headache of sitting in traffic. The dining room/living room layout was a bit weird, but there was a really nice rec room in the basement. And it had three bedrooms, which means we would each get an office. There's even a nook where I could set up a table to do puzzles (which I totally just realized is what the nook is perfect for). The location means it would completely retain its value. And all the town houses in the development have basically the same floor plan (let's face it, all town houses are basically going to have the same floor plan).
So now even though we're at the very beginning of our search, I've managed to completely fall in love with one of the first place we saw. To be fair, though, we still don't know what we can afford (though that town house was certainly in our price range) or even exactly what we want. I'm sure we'll have a better idea in the weeks and months to come.
In the meantime I feel like an adult and like I'm just playing at being an adult all at the same time. I mean, I'm looking at houses? To buy? This is a huge life thing. And it's all sorts of awesome.
Open houses are awesome. We ended up touring a bunch of houses that we absolutely can't afford. Houses with price tags of $1 million or more. And seriously, who needs 8000 square feet of space? It sure was fun to look at them, though.
The first house we looked at was actually reasonable, and more or less in our price range. It was move-in ready, but would certainly need work over the years (updating the kitchen, finishing the basement). That's pretty much fine with us. As long as the lot and the floor plan are good, and the house isn't actually falling apart or unlivable, we can certainly make those upgrades as we have time and money. Plus, that's a great way for us to add value to the house. But the bedroom situation was a little weird. Five bedrooms upstairs sharing two bathrooms. One of the bedrooms was actually off the master bathroom, and it was tiny. It would really only work as a nursery or office .
After that, we just started driving around looking for any open houses. The second house we came across was huge. The plot was over two acres, and there was a wooden deck, a stone patio, and a fireplace outside. Inside it was like a maze. Seriously, this house just kept going. I think there were six bedrooms and three offices, plus a workout room. Two kitchens, and a "coffee bar" in the master suite. Because it's just too hard to walk to the kitchen for a cup of coffee or nightcap.
Let's talk about master suites. Apparently, they need to be huge. Some of the suites we saw were bigger than the apartment we're currently living in. One was 1400 square feet. I mean, what do you do, besides sleep in there? But there's always a massive bedroom, two walk in closets, a ginormous bathroom, and at least one sitting room/office. Some had two sitting rooms (his and hers, I guess?). Several also had bar areas, complete with granite counter top and sink. I guess this is for those people who never want to see their kids. Because you would basically never have to leave one of those suites. We joked about renting out the master suite as a separate apartment, but then you get the headache of dealing with a tenant.
All in all we saw about six houses. Most of them were far out of our price range. And they also had more space than the two of us would ever fill. Boyfriend has started teasing me that his mom could move in, both to help us afford one of these houses and to help us furnish it. I shot that down pretty quick. Nothing against his mom, I just don't want to live with her. I want our space, where our is limited to Boyfriend and me.
At any rate, it was fun to look at the mansions. We got to ooh and aah and figure out which extravagances we actually want to spend money on and which ones are just ridiculous. So here's the current wish list
- Nice kitchen, with a good amount of counter space and cabinet space (more than we currently have)
- Deck/porch with space for a grill
- Media room This basically boils down to a room that doesn't have windows or at least doesn't get much sun, where we can stick a TV and some couches
- Two offices. Boyfriend and I currently share an office, and it can get a bit crowded when we're both doing things on our computers that require sound. Also the air mattress barely fits in there since I got my own desk. It would be nice to have more space for guests
- Big closet in the master bedroom
- Bathtub
- Close to metro. My commute is already an hour long and I don't want it to be much longer
This neighborhood is walking distance from the metro. That would cut about 15 minutes off my commute, plus all the headache of sitting in traffic. The dining room/living room layout was a bit weird, but there was a really nice rec room in the basement. And it had three bedrooms, which means we would each get an office. There's even a nook where I could set up a table to do puzzles (which I totally just realized is what the nook is perfect for). The location means it would completely retain its value. And all the town houses in the development have basically the same floor plan (let's face it, all town houses are basically going to have the same floor plan).
So now even though we're at the very beginning of our search, I've managed to completely fall in love with one of the first place we saw. To be fair, though, we still don't know what we can afford (though that town house was certainly in our price range) or even exactly what we want. I'm sure we'll have a better idea in the weeks and months to come.
In the meantime I feel like an adult and like I'm just playing at being an adult all at the same time. I mean, I'm looking at houses? To buy? This is a huge life thing. And it's all sorts of awesome.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)