Ask Jamie: We Bought a House!!

Bridget comments on yesterday's post:

Just read your twitter, let's hear the details! WE NEED DETAILS!! ;) glad to hear you bought one!

I was feeling quite "down" about the house hunting experience yesterday morning. Little did I know that yesterday evening we would decide to put in another offer and it would actually be accepted. Obviously, there are still steps to go through -- home inspection, appraisal, etc. but we have come to an agreement with the owners and we are looking at a closing date in July. Thank heavens. The last thing I wanted to do today (after going to two doctor's appointments!) was trapes (is this really a word??) through more houses.

After driving our realtor bat-shit crazy with all of my questions over the last few days, researching listings, market values, etc. last night we decided to put in one more offer. We determined the absolute highest price we were willing to pay for the house and contacted the realtor. We made it clear that if they did not accept the offer we'd be moving on and looking at other houses. This was the end of the road -- take it or leave it.

Within a half hour, the realtor called back. They accepted.

I am so relieved to have this step of the process done. It's only one of the first of many dominoes that have to be knocked over to obtain our final goal (mine is to be settled and comfortable before the twins are born!) but it's a huge start.

I really like the house and from the other houses in the area, I think we would be hard pressed to find another house that would suit our needs as well as this one will.

The house is a ranch with a finished basement. There are three bedrooms upstairs, a large living room, nice kitchen, and a sunroom. The walkout basement has another bedroom, a large family room, a full bathroom, and tons of storage. It isn't a massive house by any means but it is nice and has many of the amenities (or potential to add said amenities) that we were looking for. The biggest perk for Mike is that it is over an acre of land with beautiful landscaping, nice patios, and a wooded area/creek in the back. I think he is in love with the yard more than the house. :)

At this point, we are planning for a less than traditional setup of the house to meet our needs. Right now, I'm thinking the twins will share the Master suite, Bo will have one of the other bedrooms on the main floor, and the third bedroom on the main floor will be a guest room for whenever Mom wants to stay with us. The fourth bedroom, downstairs, will be another guest room for Mike's parents. Where will Mike and I sleep? Well, for now, I'm thinking we'll make the family room in the basement (with attached bathroom) our master suite. We'll have a sitting area, our bed, and a makeshift office for me down there. It isn't an ideal long-term solution -- but for now I'd like to keep all of the kids on the main floor and Mom doesn't think she can do stairs -- so she needs a room on the main floor as well.

We've already talked about the changes we'll make to the house as the kids get older. Possibly adding a loft above the garage for Bo -- moving the girls into their own rooms -- converting the sunroom into an office, etc. No house is ever purchased without extensive plans in the Weitl family. :) Hopefully I'll be better at documenting the changes in the new house than I have been in our current one. We've done SO MUCH here and it is a totally different house than it was when we moved in. Unfortunately, I didn't take any "before" photos. Oh, how I wish I would have! (If you're in Olney and looking for a great house -- we can hook you up!)

The house is about 10 minutes from Mike's work and from the major shopping district of the area (which isn't that major... but it's better than here. There is a Target!). It is about 4 minutes from the local community college -- which could be a potential job prospect for me in the future (if I survive the first year with twins!). The area is nice and hopefully we'll be able to make some friends in our neighborhood. I'm really excited about joining the local YMCA as well.

At this point, we aren't sure how long we will be in this house. It could be our "forever" house (I always like to plan for this scenario) or it could just be where we settle for a few years until Mike tries for another promotion. We don't know the area that well. We don't know how well Mike will like his new job. And we aren't 100% for sure we'll want to stay there forever. My only request has been that we decide where we want to settle before Bo starts school. We've got a little over 4 years to see where the road takes us.

For right now, this feels right. The house feels right. The area feels right. And that's a good thing for all of us.

Friday's Feature at Sticky Feet Part Deux is Ask Jamie. Feel free to email me or leave a comment with any question you would like for me to answer. Anything is fair game!