Dream House Update

This past Wednesday we met with our realtor (who going forth I will nickname SS) and a pool contractor at a new construction property to discuss the possibilities of putting in a swimming pool. While we were there I jumped around like an excited puppy and talked his face off causally made polite conversation about our dream house and how excited we were that it had been re-listed. I made it very clear that we wanted a showing as soon as possible.

As is usually the case we hadn't heard from SS on Friday evening even though we were fairly certain that we were doing showings on Saturday morning. Neither Matt nor I were particularly concerned, we have both been very laid back about the whole house hunting scene. Finally around 7pm on Friday he texted us with the address of the first place we were viewing and said we could discuss the full schedule in the morning. At no point did Matt and I assume that we were not seeing the dream house. 

We drove the kids over to my parents' early on Saturday morning and set off to meet up with SS. The first house we saw was beyond beautiful...and well out of our price range. It was perfect minus the hefty price tag. During the showing SS let us know that we would not be seeing the dream house. He had called the day before to set up a showing and the house was booked solid, no open appointments, for the whole day. My heart sank into my stomach and it was all I could do to not cry, thank you pregnancy hormones. I sort of walked around the house like a zombie fighting back tears as I thought about how certain I was that we are not going to get the dream house. 

In reality I am/was just angry with myself for falling in love with a house sight unseen and foolishly thinking that if we wanted it we could just make and offer and have it. The market here has been so slow and the house had been listed before with no luck. The owners hired a new realty company and clearly they had a strategy in mind. SS suspects, as do we, that they listed the house well under the appraised value in an attempt to draw in several interested parties, start a bidding war, and make a quick sell. 

SS was able to get us a showing today so at 11am I walked through the door of what truly is the house of my dreams. It is a log home with stunning 40 foot ceilings in the great room, a very nice open kitchen, wood stove, fireplace (that also has a opening in the master bedroom, crazy), four bedroom, a great loft for the kids to play, and a huge private yard. The interior is definitely a very particular style, but it is our style. This home is a forever house if ever there was one. There are a ton of little projects that I would love to do but nothing major or beyond our abilities. 

Long story short we braced ourselves for SS to tell us that the sellers had 6 offers or something equally ridiculous. So far, they only have one other offer on the table and tonight we officially threw our hat into the ring. We made the sellers a full price offer in hopes that at the very least they will counter us if the other offer is better. I know that SS doubts that our offer will be good enough, but at the same time with only one other competing offer it seemed rash of us to offer well over asking on the blind. The sellers are out of town and have asked that offers be good for 72 hours (24 is typical) so it could be several days before we hear anything. Waiting is always the worst part! 

I don't normally ask for things when I pray (other than for protection and health for my family) but today I made an exception and selfishly asked God to help us get this house. For the time being all we can do is wait and try not to obsess over the things that are out of control. I am really excited that today we may have made an offer on our future home without holding back. I've said it before, but it bears repeating, I am not going to be any less disappointed if the deal falls through if I try and keep from being excited. 

I'll keep you all posted!

In other news, pinterest is about to become a real problem in my life. 

House Hunters

We have been living with Matt's parents since the week of Thanksgiving. For the most part we have all made the transition fairly seamlessly. There are definitely days that I feel bad for my in-laws, we are a lot to handle in the late afternoon! There are other days when I feel bad for the kids, it has got to be hard to have five grownups talking to/at you at any given time. Matt seems to be handling the commute and his new work schedule really well. He leaves Maine on Monday morning around 9 and gets to work by 11. On Monday night he stays at a friend's house near his office, works early on Tuesday morning and is back in Maine by dinner time. On Wednesday he works from home and then repeats the M/T schedule on TH/F. The kids and I are pretty darn excited when he walks through the door on Friday evening.

I am a creature of habit and it has been hard for me to go without any semblance of a routine for the past 7 weeks. The holidays are definitely partly to blame, with siblings in town and various grandparents on vacation no one was really in their normal routine. This last week everyone went back to work and a week from today my brother flies back to VA. I'm not exactly sure what the kids and I will do with ourselves but establishing a routine is high on my list. Lily is enrolled at a preschool so we do have a least a little structure. Aside from everyone being on vacation I am finding it a little hard to really get into a routine because just like our old house we are living with one foot out the door. I would like to settle down here but there are several other surrounding towns that we are looking at and making friends is hard enough without feeling like everything could be temporary. I am really hoping we love our new neighbors, whoever they may be!

Having just sold a house I think we are very sympathetic buyers. We waited until this past weekend to start scheduling showing because I thought it was really unfair to ask people to let us traipse around their home the week before Christmas. We take our shoes off, take our time to look around, and then leave everything just as we found it. You wouldn't believe how many people came in to our home and made a mess or broke something. And this is the part were I count my blessing again that the home selling process is behind us! (I promise the epic moving post is coming this weekend)

So here are the criteria for the dream house hunt:

3 bedrooms is a must but we would prefer 4
A large yard where we can put in a pool
A playroom/bonus room where the kids can bring their friends (now and in 10 years)
A mudroom or entryway where we can drop our winter gear

That's it. I would like first floor laundry but as long as the basement isn't a dungeon I can live with lugging the basket.

Matt has a few other things he would like. He is a sucker for a great front porch and would like some land but we have come to the conclusion that even an acre is a lot of space. We would both like to have a wood stove but again, that isn't a deal breaker.

We have seen a few houses in our hometown that we really liked. This weekend we are heading north about 30 minutes to look at a bunch of properties in a few surrounding towns. The inventory isn't great this time of year but we are hoping that we can find a place and close before the spring when inevitably home prices and interest rates will rise.

I'll keep you posted, keep your fingers crossed that our dream house is out there just waiting!

Home Inspected.

(I apologize if this post is full of typos, my editor is at a wedding while the author of this blog watches our children alone on a Sunday afternoon!)

On Monday the buyers had the house inspected. It was actually kind of perfect because Matt had the day off (Columbus Day for those of you who don't live in New England) so we went out to lunch and took the kids to a small farm for some apples. Over the weekend we prepared the house the best we could. As I have said before, we are honest and we don't have anything to hide. That being said, did I paint the wall in the basement where the dog and cat food bowls are because I thought it looked moldy? You bet I did. I sprayed the wall with vinegar first and then used Kilz to paint over the area. Admittedly, I was worried that the home inspector would say the word mold and the buyers would run in the other direction. The reality, it is a basement, and we had a very humid summer. I definitely don't feel guilty for correcting a problem I though the inspector might blow out of proportion. Matt did a somewhat "lipstick" fix to the front gutter, but we disclosed that the roof and gutters were in need of some attention, so again...no guilt here :) Additionally I replaced the dryer hose, fixed the dripping toilet, and fixed the insulation in the attic. All of those things had been on my todo list for months, if not years! I also made sure all light bulbs worked, outlets were accessible, and cabinets were clutter free.

The inspection went fine, as expected, and the buyers were completely freaked out, as expected. Having been through the process Matt and I remembered feeling like the house was a total lemon after the inspection. Luckily their realtor (who we found out is the father of one of the buyers) calmed their nerves and they presented us with a semi-ridiculous amendment to their original offer. As in they asked for a TEN THOUSAND DOLLAR credit, hahaha. The one unexpected problem that the inspector found was that the furnace was leaking. I knew the cement under it was wet but thought it was just condensation. Part of the credit was supposedly for the roof but again we had previously disclosed the roof's age/condition. Our realtor was firm that they should not expect a credit for a new roof. Since we basically declined their offer they came back to us with "repairing/replacing the furnace and a 4K credit at closing". Our realtor offered to split the closing credit with us but we chose not to counter and instead asked for an extension of the contract so that we could have the furnace looked at by a plumber.

It was a long four days but on Friday afternoon a very nice guy came over to look at the furnace. After about 15 minutes downstairs he delivered the best news we could have asked for. The furnace needed a new drainage hose, the part cost 11 dollars!! We had him do another small repair to an exhaust duct and in the end we wrote him a check for $160.00. AMAZING! We were seriously afraid that we would need to replace the furnace and that financially we were not going to be able to sell the house. We texted our realtor the good news and gave her the green light to let the buyers know.

As far as I know their lawyer will draft the purchase and sale tomorrow and if all goes as planned with their financing we will be closing the week before Thanksgiving.

CUE TOTAL FREAK OUT!!

There is SO much to do and since Matt will be saving up his vacation time for the move and the upcoming holidays most of that stuff is going to need to be done by yours truly.

I will do my very best to keep on posting but I am not making any promises! At the very least I am planning a "mega house post" with tons of before and after pictures before we start packing.

Leaving this house is going to be heartbreaking but we are as ready as we can be!

Full Price Offer!

The short story: Our realtor called me on Wednesday of last week and suggested that we consider re-listing our house. Apparently she had a lot of buyers express interest in our house after we took it off the market. I agreed to "a one weekend last chance listing". On Saturday afternoon we received a very fair offer but it was less than our break even price, after a lot of conversation we decided we were going to decline the offer. Just as we were lamenting that "ah, so close" feeling I received a text from our realtor...FULL PRICE OFFER!

Long Story: As my loyal readers know we have been trying to sell our house since July. This is actually the second time in six years that we have listed the house. All summer I worked to keep the house ready for showings. I did every single thing the realtor asked and expected of me and we just couldn't get a reasonable offer.

By early September I was so burnt out from all of the showings and was ready to have my house, my privacy, and my sanity back. We took the house off the market on Monday the 16th. For two glorious weeks I let the kids get out every toy, we left towels on the floor, and I didn't dust a single knickknack. That is not to say I didn't clean, we have pets and kids after all, but it was amazing to loosen the reigns! We made plans to head to Maine for the first weekend in October to celebrate Mimi's birthday. Matt and I had also been throwing around the idea of getting away for a night so I booked us a cottage (at a motel) for one night in North Conway, NH.

The week before we headed to Maine was a pretty typical week. I had both kids all day on Monday and Tuesday, we ran errands and had a play date with a new friend from Lily's school. On Wednesday Lily went to preschool in the morning and Ben and I went for a run. This is the part where I should mention I HATE pushing the jogger, ugh! After school the kids and I met Vicki and co. for a picnic at the beach, it was 80 degrees. I am completely thrown by this unseasonable weather but I figure we should make the most of it. While having lunch Vicki and I talked at length about how the house had not sold and what we were planning to do from here.

When I got home from the beach there was a message on my phone from our realtor asking me to call her and that she had a proposition. She had also called the house phone and sent me an email. I put the kids down for a nap and returned her call. My gut reaction to her request to relist the house was, hell no! I did tell her that I would need to talk it over with Matt and that I would get back to her. Dingle and I exchanged a series of pretty hilarious texts and we were both confident that we would not be relisting. By 9pm on Wednesday night I sent the realtor an email approving the relist. Neither Matt nor I know how that happened, haha.

Thursday I showed my kids a healthy amount of neglect and Octonauts episodes so that I could undo the last few weeks of living in squalor. It took me all day. In fact, I still wasn't done when Matt got home from work, nor was I done the following morning. I put the last touch in place at a full sprint as I raced out the door to pick Lily up from school at noon. Keep in mind I also had to pack for the whole family for a three day weekend away. Good thing both the dog and Ben were standing in waiting at the door when I raced by, there is no guarantee that I would have remembered to pack them otherwise.

No more than three minutes after closing the door behind me my mind was on to the next thing and I had all but forgotten that our house was being show six times on Saturday. On Saturday morning Matt and I got up bright and early and drove to North Conway for a little retail therapy and alone time. It was Mimi's birthday and she insisted that babysitting our tots was the best gift we could give her, ha! Don't have to tell me twice.

We had a great morning shopping, it has been a very long time since I was in a store without a stroller or a child hanging from my leg. That being said I bought myself a new pair of jeans and spent 90% of my time looking at cute things for the kids that they totally do not need. ( I "splurged" on a yellow puffer vest for Ben and a sweater dress for Lily.) Matt was able to find a few new shirts for work which, when paired with the jeans his mom got him for his birthday, made him a happy guy. While heading to lunch we got a text from the realtor saying a couple had made an offer. Up until that point I had literally forgotten all about the house. It was too low for us to really consider but it did make me feel like all my hard work wasn't for nothing. We had a ridiculously good (not at all good for you) lunch complete with big beers. After walking around a bit more we decided to check out the Conway Scenic Railway and upon finding out that the tickets were very reasonable decided a train ride was totally up our alley, even without the kids.

After the train we found a cool little hole in the wall to watch the Sox game and have some dinner. Just after the waiter had taken our order both of our phones started blowing up. The couple from earlier had sweetened their offer and the realtor offered to lower her commission if we were able to come to a deal. All through dinner we weighed our options and in the end we both agreed that the offer was still just too low to take.. We didn't feel any real urgency to call the realtor back so we finished up our meals and watched the game for a bit. Just as we were about to settle up the tab we got one last text...a second couple had made us a full price offer!!!

There was still a chance that another offer would come in on Sunday so we held off on an official acceptance. That night we stayed in one of those little cabins that you often see along rural routes in New England. Yes, technically it is just a motel room but I have always wanted to stay in one. Of course I was terrified that it would be horrible and dirty since there were no reviews online but overall it really wasn't too bad. I wouldn't want to stay there for an extended time, or with the kids, but for one night it was perfectly fine (and very clean). The only problem was that I had forgotten my flannel pj pants in Maine so I was freezing when I woke up around 6...too cold to go back to sleep. I let Matt sleep until 7 but I was craving coffee and missing the kids so I pushed him out of bed and we got on the road to come home.

On Sunday around noon we formally accepted the offer, no other competing offers came in. Now of course I am totally stressing about the home inspection, which is next Monday at noon. I have to remind myself that we are honest people with nothing to hide, and that the home inspection will not turn up any surprises. Fingers and toes crossed that I am right about that last part!

The plan if everything goes smoothly (which I know when selling/buying a house is a relative term) is to close at the end of November and move in with Mimi and Doe until we find our very own dream house in Maine.

Whether or not I allow myself to get too excited, I am not going to be any less disappointed if the deal falls through. You guys, MAINE! After 10 years in Massachusetts we are finally going home!

Movin' on up!

I am a Mainer. Matt denies it, but he is one too!

For the past 4 years (I can't believe we have been in our house this long) our current address has been a good compromise between Matt's job in the city and our families back in Maine. I have always wanted to eventually move back. Maine is an amazing place to grow up, and I would love nothing more than for Lily and Baby #2 to grow up there too (not to mention babies #3 and 4).

There are some definite drawbacks to moving home. Maine's economy is terrible and Matt would have to continue to work in Boston. He has no intention of leaving his current job. On the contrary we are both hoping for some significant developments in the company this year! Developments that would give him the job security we need and the flexibility that we have all come to depend on. Given that Matt works from home 80% of the time he would only have to commute a few times a week. He would take the Downeaster, which would work out well since he could work on the train.

So...the house is officially on the market! We are a realtor's worst nightmare. First we listed the house at about 30K more than he wanted us to. Second, we are in no rush to sell. Third, we made it very clear that we are not going to do a price reduction. Our realtor Bob, what can I say about Bob? He is a 60 year old fuddy duddy with pants up to his armpits who wears too much cologne and laughs at his own jokes. How's that for a mental image? I can't stand him. To be fair I don't think I am his cup of tea either. I am too independent, confident, and smart...I know what a pain in the ass. In any case I don't know how much longer he and I will be able to tolerate this working relationship.  I would normally be more careful about disclosing these opinions on the internet, but there is no way he knows how to use a computer.

Everything is very up in the air. We aren't expecting any miracles. If we do get an offer we can't refuse than it is off to the Great White North (ok, not technically, but close).

Anybody want to buy a house??
*edited*

For those of you who have looked for real estate what websites do you use? Also if you take a look at the link and can think of any constructive criticism to help make the ad more appealing, I would be happy to hear it. I will be sending Bob some of my comments this weekend. I'm sure he can't wait ;)

(I tried to insert a little funny into this post to no avail, the new baby is just sucking the funny right out of me!)