Our First Offer

Yesterday we had plans to go look at two houses we were interested in with my brother and dad. They're both extremely knowledgeable about houses and we needed their input.

The first house was shot down almost right away because it had an old electrical box and system that would need to be updated. The second house, and the one we assumed we'd end up putting an offer in for, wasn't much better. It needs a lot of cosmetic work and there's a definite mold problem in the basement. It was treated for mold in October but it's back like crazy in that short amount of time. It's guaranteed for life, but it's $90 every time they come to treat it. Not much of a guarantee if you ask me. My dad and brother still thought it might be worth having the house inspected. It was built in the 60s and hasn't had any updates since. The kitchen floor, wallpaper, counters, some of the houses moldings and trim would all have to be replaced. Not to mentioned the entire house needs a good scrubbing (luckily I know a couple of good house cleaners).

Yesterday morning our realtor emailed me one last house he found that had just come down $7k in price and fit our range. We almost didn't want to see it since we've seen so many, but after seeing how many bedrooms it has, we agreed. On the way to that house last night we were feeling pretty down. The last house we had seen suddenly felt like it had years worth of work, and we didn't know if it'd be worth it.

When we pulled up to the last house, we couldn't believe the size. The paperwork said it was 1698 square feet, but it felt a lot bigger (the last house-a cape cod-was 1848 sq.ft. and felt much smaller). This was a six bedroom colonial with a two bedroom finished attic and a partially finished basement. Not to mention the addition off the dining room that's a bedroom (in our case a playroom) with a gigantic walk in closet and bathroom. It has 2.5 bathrooms (we've never had more than one. And if your one bathroom is occupied and you've been tempted to pee in the tub or in one of your son's diapers, you know what I mean). It has gum wood trim and the dining room I really want. The kitchen is super small, but since my brother makes custom kitchens he had a million ideas and solutions to making a big kitchen.

Everyone agreed it was a solid house and at a great price. After a few hours of thought we called our realtor last night and told him we wanted to make an offer before it's gone. Today we made the offer and now we wait....and wait. I'm praying if and when they come back with a counter-offer it'll keep us in our price range.

I actually called the town's police department to see how the neighborhood was and if they had a lot of calls from there. He said it was a nice and quiet street, which is what I wanted to hear. I'd love to be in an actual neighborhood for a change.

The waiting is the hardest part.