We bought a house!
Although we weren’t seriously house hunting (yet), we stumbled upon our dream house at the end of September. We had gotten in the habit of scrolling through Zillow, looking at house listings a few times a month. That day we had some free time and looked up two nearby open houses. The first was unremarkable besides a killer yard and off-street parking. The second house we saw that day turned out to be a listing Kari’s realtor had showed her earlier in the summer (which she originally turned down).
When we walked into the house, neither of us was especially impressed. The driveway was in horrible shape, the entryway floor left a lot to be desired, and the paint colors were beyond odd (a lime green/ sky blue living room?). We spoke to the realtor working the event, and proceeded to explore the home. The more we walked through the house, we began to be swept into its charm– the hardwood floors throughout (albeit in rough condition), the knotty-pine paneling in the den, the spacious yard with raised gardening beds, and the room to raise a growing family. Still, neither of us felt confident this was the best first home, in that it needed A LOT of TLC (new windows, bathroom updates, painting, floor refinishing, all the things we couldn’t see). We showed my parents the listing and decided to look at the house the next day with my realtor.
The next morning, Daniel woke up feeling lousy– poor thing had a colonoscopy later that afternoon– but off we went to see the house. Upon second look, everything we originally liked seemed just as appealing and it became easier to look past the changeable flaws (paint, funky bathrooms, etc.). Just for good measure, we decided to check out a house that was at my max budget, but had everything on our wish list. When we got to the “perfect house,” we realized it wasn’t quiet what we wanted. The kitchen was updated, the bathrooms were in great shape, the carpeting looked good, and yet it didn’t have much character. It reminded me too much of the suburbs where I grew up, and I realized I preferred the fixer upper in the city. That evening I placed an offer on the house, and within an hour the seller accepted without conditions! Over the next month, we survived the home inspection, mortgage approval, home insurance plans, and just a month later we closed on the house on Halloween day!
In the next couple posts, I’ll catch you up to speed in the work we already have done to turn our new house into our home.
Cheers! Kari