Today is the BIG Day!

No move drive bys!  The house will be ours today.  We do our walk though and paperwork today.  Say a little prayer for us as we start our new journey together!

Let the Count Down Begin!

We officially close this Wednesday!  Any tips before closing? We have started the process of changing over the utilities yesterday.  I am kinda excited about the recycling!  I won't be packing yet, because of the renovations that we will be completing.  It is good we still have our "free" apartment for as long as we would like.  

 

One tip I found from Our Family Place is "Leave your emotions outside the door. You will have plenty of time to swoon over your new home--now is the time to make sure the house is as you expected it to be."  This will be a hard one for me.  Soo excited!!

Consessions

They decided to give us $1,000 to fix the issues that occurred during the inspection.  We decided to take it because we thought we would get nothing, but we thought we would ask anyway.  We will definitely use it for a new water heater.  

 

Soon to be home owners!

Offer Excepted!  They reluctantly excepted our second counter offer.  We bought the house at 12% below the asking price. 

Offer #1

We put in our first offer on the house on Barton street!  I was not too worried last night because we think they will counter offer.  Only time will tell!  

Still House Shopping!

Today we look at 5 houses, the house we like again, and hopefully put in an offer on the house we like.  We will see what today brings us!!

Exciting Project?

Well toured this house yesterday and think it will work.  It has a lot of good things about it.  It needs a little work that we can complete.  Now we need to figure out the rest!

Next Hopeful!

Well the last house we want to look at was recently rented because it was not sold.  So this is the next one on our list!  We hope to see it this week.  My issue with this house is that it does not have a basement and has small square footage.  I guess we will see as the week goes on!  

More Manageable

We are starting to realize what we really want in a home.  We go house shopping for the first time tomorrow.  This is one of the houses that is currently at the top of the list.  Having a house like this will allow me to be a stay at home Mom, and get my Doctorate.  Then when we both have full time jobs we can move up in the world.  So please wish us 'good luck' as we move on in the house hunting process. 

Switching Gears!

After a good rest George and I realized that mold is something we don't want to worry about!  My Mom had us look at modular homes today and they may be a possibility.  I am glad George and I came to the conclusion at the same time.  During this process we are slowly realizing what we both want in a house.  Thanks Heather and Diana for your help during this week! 

Mold :(

Well we took the tour with our parents.  For me it is really coming back to the mold.  The house had a huge mold problem.  A pipe burst and it sat for a while.  Now the pipe is fixed and the mold is “gone”.  A test has been done to make sure it is gone.  But... is there still mold? We are doing some research but this is really disheartening. So we decided to take 3 weeks off to do some research and relax to decide what to do.  If the house sells in that time then the house was not for us. 

The House

You didn't think we forgot about the house... did you??  Well after a long holiday weekend, we still love it.  The cons are starting to go away as we are realizing the positives in the house.  We can even fix some of the negatives.  My parents are due for a trip up to LH, so we are going to see the house together.  I guess we we see what happens.  I will try not to worry until then! 

We really liked it! Now what??

We went it the house yesterday it we both had a very good feeling about it.  It was foreclosed and has been redone by a house flipper.  A pipe burst so there was mold in the house so he replace many things.  It now has been tested for mold and is fine.  But he did not just paint and put up new fixtures. He put in new floors and walls.  So now what?  I called my friend Heather to ask for some advice when we got back.  She said to make a pros and cons list so here it goes.  Maybe everyone can give me some advice when I am done?  Buying a house is scary! :) But I think it will be rewarding at the end.  Ok Pros and Cons in no specific order:

Pros

• AMAZING views 
• New Kitchen 
• New Flooring  
• Big Basement that can be made into a room  
• High ceilings in the basement 
• 2 1/2 bath  
• 3 bedrooms  
• Deck  
• 2 car garage  
• Great curb appeal 
• Close to campus 
• Can expand on the side or in the bacement 
• Already painted the correct colors  
• Most of the hardware is hardware that I will like and keep 
• It is in our price range 
• I feel like we would only get other houses in the area at this price and then have to fix them up 
• Only one neighbor 
• Really quiet
• Has a Master Bath 
• Has 2 walk in closests 
• Has 2nd floor laundry

 Cons

• No air conditioning  
• No garage door opener 
• Could still have mold 
• Back yard is in cliff  
• Long stone driveway with unfriendly entrance 
• Need appliances (fridge, oven, washer and dryer) 
• Needs some gardening 
• Weird lawn for mowing 
• Most the property in the front yard (1.25 Acres)
• Will need a lawn mower 
• Needs landscaping
• Master bath a little tiny
• Bedrooms a little tiny (other two are 11 x 10)
• Do we really need a house now?  
• Will I be up on a hill all by myself?
• Is it scary at night?
• Snow and a long steep driveway 
• Second heat source?

House Hunting

At the moment George and I do not need a house because of out current job situation, but we are looking a little.  Today we are going to see this house.  We went up there last night and it has an amazing view.  I am really excited to see it after work. It has it pros and cons.  For example this one is a little out of town... is that a pro or a con? 

This is the view!