House Hunting: Step Two

We started house hunting almost three weeks ago, even though we really don't need to buy until the summer. We figured that we'd get a head start to see what is out there, check out the market, and get a feel for what kind of house we wanted to buy. Well, all of our questions were answered quickly, and we fell in love with a house last week (see earlier post).

So, Tuesday night at 8:30pm we ended up making an offer. We waited all day Wednesday and Thursday and heard nothing. I was a stress case. Our offer expired at 8:30pm on Friday. So, Friday at work, just after lunch I checked my email, and there it was -- the counter offer!

We were expecting a counter offer, in fact we had previously decided that we would be willing to pay up to $10k over their asking price if it got into a counter offer situation. So we were *pleasantly* shocked when this happened:

• Asking price was $399,000
• We offered $389,000
• They countered with -- accepting our offer with them taking the fountain on the front porch with them when they move.

Sure, take the fountain; you can have it! So, we accepted their offer on Friday night, and now we have the long weekend to soak it all in. Tuesday we should get the phone call to sign the papers to get escrow started.

Crazy! It has all happened so fast. We are still keeping our fingers crossed - who knows what can happen between now and Tuesday. I'll post more pics once everything is solid.

~Calioc

We Made an Offer!

So, we spent some time looking at more houses this weekend, and once again we faced great disappointment. Finding a house we both love, an area we both love, with a price we both love is going to be a challenge!

We thought we found it today... and maybe we have, but there is a big questionmark hanging over it. First, let me introduce you to Earl...

Earl is a lovely 2,800 sq ft home that has an amazing kitchen, a full bedroom and bathroom downstairs, 3 bedrooms upstairs, and a bonus room. She has a beautifully landscaped backyard with a spa and palm trees. She is priced reasonably and is ready for us to make an offer; but...

We think she is a smoker! Yes, when we walked into the garage (attached to the house through a laundry room) we smelled smoke. We didn't smell it upstairs or in the kitchen, but the house has been recently painted... so we need to do more research. We need to see it again and put our noses to the floor and sniff. We will bring our parents to see her next time, we will fully inspect her, and then we will either make an offer or say good-bye and move on to the next one.

UPDATE 2/11 -- We visited her again on Monday, but this time my mom & dad, and my husbands mom & grandpa came with us. We didn't tell them about the smoke, and they didn't notice! After we told them and we talked to the owner about it we learned that the owner does smoke on the back patio and in the garage. She showed us her ashtrays. Then we went out to dinner with our parents to discuss everything.

We came to the conclusion that the smoking isn't as big of a deal as we thought it was since it was all done outside of the house. So...

We made an offer! That was at 8:30 pm last night (Tuesday), and we have not heard anything yet. Ugh. Very stressfull; I've had a migraine all day! Updates will follow...

~ Calioc