T-Minus 7 Days Until Home Ownership

It appears that nearly all of February has come and gone without my posting to update on the status of the house-buying process, and there’s really no excuse for that other than being tired, busy and sick of thinking about the insane process that is buying a house. There was just about nothing that proved simple during the last few months of working toward home ownership for us and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t at least somewhat envy people who have an easier go of it. Oh well. All is well that ends well, right? And as of this time next Monday, we’ll officially be home owners! One week from now we will likely be sitting on the floor in our new living room eating pizza and drinking cheap champagne straight from the bottle. Because that’s how we roll.

So, with seven days to go and a closing date and time officially scheduled, I figured I’d buck up and share a few more photos of the new digs. Stay tuned next week for official “before” photos of the entire place, which will look nothing like it does now in the coming weeks and months. First up, a reminder of the kitchen we’re inheriting…

And a view of the family room from the kitchen.

About the only thing that will stay in these two rooms is the flooring, all of which is really quite nice. Even the fireplace needs a major overhaul. (Seriously, who puts a woodstove insert into a fireplace and punches holes in the brick surround for ugly vents? Ugh.)

Here is the main bathroom. Please note the the duct tape on the inside of the sink bowl and the sickly yellow paint. Both will be fixed just as soon as humanly possible. The tile is actually pretty nice in person and will remain, at least for the meantime. While it’s not my first choice of color or size, it’s new and in no way visually offensive so many other projects are taking priority over this one.

Among many other little things, the front of the house needs a good cleaning up. The fake brick, the front door, the horrible exterior lighting, the dated window boxes and the stained driveway all need some help. On the upside, we like the siding color and the two-stall garage.

And here’s the backyard, a major selling point for us when it came to purchasing this house. It’s huge, it’s completely fenced in and there’s a huge inground pool. I can’t wait to buy new patio furniture, plant a garden and line the yard with pretty flowers.

So there you have the first glimpse at our new place. I can hardly believe after all the work, frustration, hopes, fears, and more than a few tears it’s really happening. I look forward to sharing every last bit of the renovation process with you so stay tuned! A big thank you to everyone for your incredibly support during this trying process. Your emails, comments, tweets and virtual hugs have been so very dearly appreciated. xoxo

And the Saga Continues…

Ok, so I am going to come right out and admit that buying a house is no walk in the park. In fact, if I’m honest, it’s a complete pain in the ass. From the initial price negotiations to the dreaded home inspection that didn’t pan out as we had hoped, things haven’t exactly been smooth sailing. Following our inspection, we got hung up for over 10 days haggling back and forth to try and reach a consensus on a credit to be issued at closing. (I’m not sure how it works outside of New York so for those out of state and those who haven’t been through the process, getting a credit at closing essentially means you get part of the price you’re paying for the house back in a check along with the keys to your new house to put toward any repairs you might need to complete.) It was estimated that the house needed approximately $2000 – 3000 in repairs so we asked for what we thought was a very fair $2000 credit. The sellers wouldn’t budge and required multiple copies of our inspection, brought in their own inspector to try and refute the results and on and on and on.

Several times we discussed walking away. I went back to the drawing board and started researching other properties and finally it looked as though we’d probably be spending the weekend house hunting again. We were completely bummed. But the reality of the situation was – we’d already gone higher on price than we had hoped and we had already committed to a house that required us to buy all brand new appliances upon moving in and we felt very strongly that even if we could afford another $2000 – 3000 in repairs we didn’t want to do so. It was that simple. Why should we pay for an issue the current homeowner ignored? It was a classic case of “not my problem” and we decided to put our collective foot down. Pay up the $2000 or we’re moving on and seeing other properties. They called our bluff. We walked. And not an hour later I got a phone call back that all of a sudden they were ready to play nice. Less than twenty four hours later we had a signed contingency release in hand stating that they were committed to issuing a $2000 credit at closing. Woohoo! And onward we go.

Ok, so let’s get onto the good stuff for a moment, shall we? A couple of weekends ago we went out appliance window-shopping so we could scope out ideas, finalize a budget and chat with our friendly neighborhood Lowes and Home Depot guys about delivery times and charges, etc. While we’re still debating a dishwasher, we have our stove and fridge fairly well picked out.

This range is Frigidaire Gallery from Lowe’s. (I’d link to the exact model, but their site appears to be down at the moment.) It’s definitely not a real high-end unit (ohhh how I would love me some Viking in my house), but it has a few extra features I like. It’s stainless steel, it’s gas, it has a self-cleaning oven and it has five burners with a power burner for boiling big pots of water quickly and a simmer burner for delicate sauces. Love that!

The refrigerator is also by Frigidaire and despite my love for bottom-freezer French door models, we decided that the traditional side-by-side style will suit us just fine. We have a very similar Frigidaire fridge in our current rental and it more than gets the job done for us. I have a lifetime to be snooty about appliances, I’m not going to start now. Even though I really wish I could fork up the dough for a gorgeous Sub-Zero, it’s just not going to happen.

This week is all about the mortgage application now that we are finally wrapped up with negotiations. We don’t foresee any issues on that front, but I’m not holding my breath until the coast is completely clear. There have been too many bumps in the road so far from me to rest easy just yet! After that we’ll be onto the appraisal phase and assuming we make it that far, we should be homeowners in the next month to six weeks. I am scared, excited, nervous and absolutely ready to get this home-owning show on the road. Stay tuned!

Kitchen Daydreams

As promised, I’m going to keep my posts more up to date as we push through this house-buying process so in light of that, I’ll let you know right up front that the house inspection did not go as well as we had hoped yesterday. There were a few minor issues that surfaced, none of which are deal breakers and one fairly significant issue we’re in the thick of handling right now. Long story short, the attic crawlspace isn’t properly vented so there is a mold problem on the underside of the roof deck. It’s a fairly easily fixed problem, but it’s a significant enough problem that it has landed us back in negotiations, the end of which we might not see for a few days. So while all of that is going on, I’m distracting myself by digging up inspiration for renovating that kitchen we’re inheriting with more late 70s/early 80s charm than I can stomach.

To remind you, here is the kitchen we will be working with:

And here are a few that I’m loving…

{Photo from Apartment Therapy.}

While I can’t forsee myself ever going with something this bright, I love the idea of introducing color on cabinetry. Why is it that we always feel so compelled to stick with neutrals anyway? And I love the combination of the bold modern color with the classic white farmhouse sink. That is just the sort of juxtaposition of which I can’t get enough. (Breathe, Mike, breathe. I am not proposing a kelly green kitchen.)

{Photo via Becoming Home.}

Ok, somewhat on the complete end of the spectrum, this all-white kitchen with it’s pretty sky blue subway tile backsplash feels delightfully “me.”  It has to be noted that I am a sucker for subway tile and lately I’ve been falling in love with colored subway tile in addition to traditional white. This kitchen has just officially made me a believer.

{Photo from pointclickhome.}

While this kitchen is definitely a bit of a departure from my personal style, I love the warm mix of materials. I love black cabinetry and find it really cozy here when paired with the granite countertops, hardwood floors and wood beam ceilings.

{Photo via At Home in KC.}

Ok, so clearly a bubble gum pink kitchen might be a bit much for most people, but I can’t help but love the playfulness of this room. The glass-fronted ceiling height cabinets on the back wall offer an envious amount of storage and the chandelier adds a touch of glamor that I find rather charming. I’m decidedly an advocate of bringing some fun and personality to the kitchen.

{Photo from Sunset via Apartment Therapy.}

This might be more along the lines of what I’m after. Classic and timeless white cabinetry, countertops, and backsplash (again, loving the subway tile) paired with sleek stainless steel appliances and little touches of color and vintage charm. While I love the schoolhouse pendant over the table, I think I’d prefer one with an all-white globe like this favorite of mine from Schoolhouse Electric. And for the dinging area, maybe something a bit more streamlined like a Scandinavian-inspired blonde wood table and chairs.

So while we’re on the topic of kitchens – does anyone have a favorite resource for kitchen inspiration? I have a feeling my daydreams are long from over at this point.

It’s 2010. And We’re Buying A House.

I’ve been hesitant to talk too much about our house buying adventures thus far, lest I should jinx us and end up still renting and full of longing for a little place to call our own, but the part of me clamoring to share the process might officially be winning out. I figure I’m not much of a believer in jinxes anyway and what will come will come regardless, so I might as well spill the beans if my little heart so desires. So here goes.

Somewhere around Thanksgiving we started mulling over the possibility of shopping for a house. This was not in our original plan. When we moved into the home we currently rent last March, we signed a two-year lease and intended to stay here happily that whole time. And truthfully, we are happy here. We rent a lakefront home with four bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a huge kitchen, an amazing back yard, and lake views that go for days. There is absolutely nothing not to love about this place. With the exception, that is, of the rather large chunk of money we’re throwing out the window in rent every month. Long story short, when we started evaluating current real estate prices combined with incredibly low interest rates and the extension of the appealing first-time home buyer tax credit, we decided it would be silly not to at least see what was out there in our price range in our area.

Almost immediately we found a place we adored. It was a fully renovated home built in 1910 with deeded lake rights, original hardwood floors, a wood-burning fireplace, an incredibly deep and private backyard and all of the charm I was after. We viewed it two times in a three-day span and almost as quickly as we had decided we’d like to put in an offer, the sellers had received and accepted another offer. We were bummed, but by that time we had decided that home ownership seemed like a decent option for us so we decided to push on. Over the next couple of weeks I spent hours scouring local listings and then I emailed our agent with a list of properties we wanted to see. The morning after Mike’s surprise birthday party, we met up with our agent and viewed another five or six properties. Some we liked, some we hated, one we loved.

Over the course of the next week, I thought long and hard about that one house we loved. Like my formerly enthusiastic self in the beginning days of architecture school, I busted out a sketchpad and started blocking out ideas. We made arrangements to see it again the following weekend. Then, somewhere along the way late that week, I started to stress out. The house was adorable and it felt perfect for our lifestyle and the layout and style felt like “me”, something that came to feel really important for the girl who has spent her entire life obsessed with buildings and interiors and design of all mediums. But. The yard was tiny. And it wasn’t even close to private. The more I thought about it, the more I felt sure the only reason the house was still on the market was because of the yard. So the architecture-obsessed part of my brain started fighting with the MBA part of my brain, the part that knew the house probably wasn’t a good investment from a practicality standpoint and I started researching the neighborhood more so I could get better feel for where we’d be buying and what the long term appreciation potential seemed to be for the area.

Armed with that research, we showed up for our appointment that weekend with my father in tow. (My father is an environmental engineer and he spent years as a contractor so he’s the best resource for quickly identifying issues or putting fears at ease with his wealth of knowledge.) Before heading over, we stopped at another house around the corner, a house I had decided to view essentially just to get a feel for comparable properties in the area. It needed more work cosmetically, but it was 150 square feet larger and had a yard to die for. Tree-lined, fully fenced and boasting a heated inground pool. Oh and it was $13,000 more expensive than the house we loved and a whopping $30,000 more than the first house we loved and lost to another offer. So there was no way in hell I thought we’d end up wanting that house. Especially considering the kitchen, which is dated and laid out poorly so there’s virtually no workspace despite decent square footage and therefore really isn’t cooking-enthusiast friendly.

So, naturally, we view that house (and I might have even wrinkled my nose in disgust over the kitchen and the cigarette smoke stench that seemed to waft up out from every surface) and then head over to the other place we’d seen before and already loved….and as soon as I saw the yard again I knew it was over. There was just no way we could buy that house with it’s tiny little yard overlooked by no fewer than four other houses. It just wasn’t going to happen. And, all of a sudden, standing in the house I loved overlooking the yard I loathed, I knew I was going to do something I never imagined myself doing – I was going to buy a house for a yard and compromise a kitchen for a pool. Incredible. I never dreamed it would happen, but all of a sudden I knew it was going to be how it played out.

After a few days of crunching numbers, we decided to see the house with the pool (and the cigarette smell) again on December 23rd, Mike’s 30th birthday. We wrote an offer that night, a fairly aggressive offer that I felt was fair given comps in the area, $15,000 below asking price. They counter-offered the next morning, Christmas Eve, at $6,000 below asking price. We thought it was still too high, but agreed that $10,000 below asking seemed fair. We didn’t respond for two days and then after the holiday we countered at $10,000 below asking. They wouldn’t budge. And for a minute, we thought we were going to walk away. Then about thirty minutes later, I started to panic. Was I really going to let someone else buy “our” house over $4000? Because, see, I had already spent days sketching and researching and dreaming about colors and I already knew how I was going to fix the kitchen (shit, I even had the project broken up into two phases – phase I being a short term fix and phase II being a complete renovation after we’d been there a year or two) and I already had plans for a first anniversary party by the pool, damnit, and I was not going to let someone else buy “our” house.

So last Monday morning we did what any self-respecting would-be home buyers would do and called up the mortgage lender we were working with to discuss monthly payments for this hypothetical new price, $23,000 above what we thought we’d pay for the first house we’d loved and wanted to put an offer on. The difference between what we wanted to pay and what the seller wanted us to pay amounted to about $20 a month. And furthermore, that payment was estimated at $114 a month less than what we currently pay in rent. So after a week of haggling, we called right up and accepted the seller’s offer of $6000 below asking and called it a day. Then I freaked out, had a nervous breakdown that lasted about 39 seconds at my desk and then got really really excited.

This week, the lawyers will receive the contract signed by both parties, my dad will conduct our home inspection on Tuesday and then we’ll follow up mid-week with the official mortgage application. Provided all of those hurdles are smoothly navigated, we’ll essentially be in the clear. Barring any complications, our tentative closing is scheduled for February 15, a date that seems impossibly soon. To think that we might actually own a house a month and a half from now is really incredibly unreal to me. We’re excited, nervous, anxious and overall feeling incredibly ready to take this next step. If I’m honest, in some ways buying a house is proving more of an emotional journey for me than getting married. Maybe it’s because at this stage in the game it is still possible for someone to say “no” for one reason or another even though we want it so very much and it’s scary how emotionally invested I already feel. A large part of me still expects something to happen to prevent things from working out…I’m not entirely accustomed to things working out the way I plan for them, too, so it’s likely to be a first if this goes smoothly. So fingers crossed.

I’ll be posting regularly from this point forward and, provided all goes as planned, I can see A Year of Marriage evolving into a bit of a home renovation blog. Hopefully it doesn’t bore anyone too much. In the meantime, here’s a glimpse of the kitchen I can’t wait to demo. Please note the brick “cooking arch” with curiously applied wood molding, yellow countertops and outdated cabinetry. Like I said, it’s a thing of beauty.

The House Hunting Adventures Begin

Mike and I are currently in the process of looking to buy a house. A few weeks ago we fell in love with a house that we really hoped would be ours only to have it get snatched up by another buyer rather quickly and unexpectedly. After licking our wounds over that disappoint, we went out house hunting again yesterday and found a place we really like. It’s cute, it has the perfect floor plan for our lifestyle and the location is great. We’re seriously considering putting in an offer and, naturally, my head has gone right into decorating mode. All I can think about are the new kitchen cabinets I want to buy, the great paint colors I can try and all of the little ways we can make it our own. The life of a potential home owner is much like that of a wedding planning bride – I’m once again officially on the hunt for inspiration all the time. I’ll keep you posted on how the house hunt plays out, but in the meantime here are a few of the things that are inspiring me right now…

Dramatic gray walls and the fun play between traditional lines and bold modern color and pattern. (From Desire to Inspire.)

Love the floating shelves behind the dining table and the soft and soothing color scheme.
(From Young House Love.)

White cabinets, aqua subway tiles and bead board ceilings = perfection.
(From Country Home via Dream in Domestic.)

Perhaps the greatest little home office I’ve ever seen – love the framed peg board for craft supply storage.
(From Brooklyn Limestone.)

Who knew twin beds could be so cool?
(From Domino from The Domino Magazine Files.)