We went house hunting tonight!!!!!!!!!!!

starryeyedtiger

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I am sooooooo excited!!!
Tonight Colin called me from work on his break and told me that the house we were looking at yesterday- he met the owners today and they said we could go look at the hosue at 8 tonight! (we drove by a nice neighborhood and picked up some flyers). OMG ya'll- it's beautiful!!!!!I just love it!!! Colin and I have recently been talking about moving into a bigger house ( we are wanting to start a family soon ). When he was in the Navy- before he moved here to TN and we met- he owned a house in Virgina Beach. After he moved here (got transfered to the naval base in millington,tn) he rented out his va beach house. Well he recently decided to sell it (i think it's sold now i'll have to ask- they were in the final paperwork stage/etc last time i asked). So since we're selling the Va Beach house- we will be able to make a bigger investment. SOOOO here's what we're thinking- we can sell the VA Beach house AND the house we're in now (both three bedroom two baths) and take the money from that and invest it in a bigger house and own it outright or at least make small payments for a few years till we completly own it. The new house is in a really good neighborhood. 4 other Bartlett police officers (where colin works) and 1 sheriff dept. live in that neighborhood and the surrounding areas. (Talk about safe!) It's gpt a good size back yard (plenty of room to add a pool etc.. if we ever get the extra $. There's also a little piece of concrete we can put a patio table on. There are two storage sheds they're leaving there (off to the side) so we can put yard tools/etc in those! The landscaping is BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!! I love it!!
There is also a brick mailbox out front and a little wooden fence area by the back yard to hide the trash cans. There is a two car garage (colin wanted a 3 car to put his motorcycle/truck/ my car in and then have his squad car out front- but that's not a necessity. There is also a little spot off to the side we can put our freezer in.The owners said that when the house was built- lots of extra insulation was added- so that's great as far as energy bills go!!! Also there is a seperate water heater /etc for up and down stairs so we can cut off what we need and don't need and save energy that way. Several of the appliances are also energy efficient
There is a built in alarm system (it only costs $15 a month for service!!!) and a built in intercom system. The fixtures are nice too as far as fans and chandeliers go - the fans will help keep the house cool in the summer and ciruclate heat during the winter.

DOWNSTAIRS:

1 master bedroom -downstairs with an attached master bath (there is a NICE jacuzzi tub like the one we have now - so i like that) The shower is literally 1/2 the size of ours now but it's ok... There is only one closet (we have two now- one small one medium sized.) BUT the closet is probably the size of our two combined so thats ok too! The master bedroom seems a little bit smaller than ours now- but Colin said it wasn't by much (just the lay out was different).

Kitchen- OMG!!! I thought i had died and gone to heaven!!!
Real tile (i've never had real tile
) Good appliances, an Island in the kitchen
lots of storage, room for a nice kitchen table and then some! a little bar attached to the counter we can put bar stools at for when we have company

Washer/Dryer room (They have rooms devoted to them
Wow!) plenty of space in there for me to put the washer/dryer AND have lots of room for my foster kittens so i can keep them seperate from my other animals


Dining room- it's through the kitchen door- when you walk in the front door- there's a little 1/2 wall there and then the dining room area. There is real wood for the flooring in there.

Pantry- in the kitchen just a little pantry closet- like the one we have now bit a little bigger.

Cabinentry- the cabinents are ceder- and they're lovely!!! There is also space on top of them for extra storage / to put plants.

Living Room- about the same size as ours now. It has a nice gas fireplace (good for heating during the winter!!) It is also hooked up for surround sound/cable if we ever got that (probably won't -we don't get stuff like that if it's not a necessity right now- we have 5 channels and are happy lol)

UPSTAIRS:

There are 3 rooms upstairs (really 4 if you count a tiny one attached to one of the bedrooms)

1st bedroom- lots of space and closet space!! LOVE that one!

2nd bedroom- could be used as an office or nursery- there is an "attached" room to it- we can use that for storage

3rd room- is being used as a home gym/ play room right now. The carpet is ugly- but that can be replaced. LOTS of storage areas!!! Love that!


There is no attick i don't think aside from a little spot for utility things so we'll likely use that little tiny room attached to the 2nd bedroom for storage.

1 full bathroom- great for when we have guests or children.



Overall -this house is LOVELY!!!! I am a bit intemidated. I've lived in a very tiny two bedroom duplex 1 bathroom in a VERY bad neighborhood for years now (only recently moved in with colin when crime got worse) so i've NEVER had anything like this before. (heck, i think colin's house now is a mansion
we have a garbage disposal and dishwasher!) The owners are selling the house themselves (and asking a wonderful price!!!!) so we won't have to worry about going through a realator/etc. Also- they seem like a very reputable couple as well (they are only moving because they have horses and had been stabling them- so now their new house they're moving into has 4 aks. for their horses.) Also the house is in a cove and an end lot so to speak so there's tons of room for parking when we have people over. The house is also at Bartlett's "Green Zone" so to speak- the city owns the land behind the fence and to the side- so there will never be anything built behind us or to the side!!!!! It would be a wonderful place to raise a child. It is also well lit and the neighbors are all supposedly very kind/quiet. We are still just thinking about buying it- but i think this may be the one!!!!
Keep your fingers crossed!!! This is definitely a wonderful opportunity and it might not be there for long so we might have to put this house we're in now on the market fast and try to move quickly. We'll see!! It's also still pretty close to work for both Colin and I so that's good as well
I'm really excited!!!
 
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starryeyedtiger

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Originally Posted by white cat lover

OMG Nikki!!
Can I move in with you???? Puuhhlllleeeeezzzeeee?????
hehe you are always welcome to stay with us if you ever come to our area!!!


Originally Posted by Bella713

That sounds awesome Nikki...I hope you get it
thanks helen!!! i'm hoping we are able to get it too!!!! this is all really exciting!!!!! one thing though- if we do get it we're going to have to get furniture!!!!! We will definitely not have enough
i'm thinking we can go to some of the nice antique stores/ good will/ unpainted furniture stores/ yard sales and get some nice pieces and antique/fix them up!!!!


Originally Posted by babyharley

Wow, that sounds amazing Nikki! I hope you can get it!!
thanks kenzie!!!! i'm hoping we are able to get it too!!! it would be wonderful!! but eithor way i feel really happy and blessed whether we stay where we are or move!!!
colin definitely wants to take the opportunity while he has it financial wise and also wants a bigger home for when we have children...so i think it's nice that he's really trying to provide for us/ make sure he does this all now for the future
the price is also REALLY good -so we might not find anything else like that so we have a lot to consider/think about. it was soo spur of the moment when he called me eariler that i forgot to grab my camera- if we go back i will snap some pictures!!! the landscaping is just lovely!!!!
 

calico2222

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It sounds perfect! Congrats! I hope you get it.

One thing I will warn you of...even if you have the money to pay for it up front, try to keep some money aside for improvements. We just moved into a new home that we built (and yes, I understand the "intimidation factor"!) and there are always going to be things that you are going to want to change. Even if it's little things like replacing the carpet in a room it will still cost you. We paid for paid for 1/2 of ours (we had 2 houses to sell also) and put the rest in a CD we could borrow against. That way, our money is still earning interest but we can borrow at a low interest rate.

But, it sounds great! I can't wait to see pictures!!
 
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starryeyedtiger

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I'm kinda upset now. Guess i really got my hopes up for this house. Colin just got home a minute ago and he says he's not absolutely positive we should get it
He's supposed to get aroudn 115 from his Va Beach house and about 20 from what he's invested in this one......so that's why..135 to put towards a new one. The house we want is 200. So we'd still be making payments (probably really low- around $600 a month) for a few years. Which is still REALLY GOOD. But he says right now he's not sure how to go about selling two houses at once and buying a new one. He said he's supposed to close at the end of the month on the Va Beach one and he's supposed to get at least 115 from it. But financiall he's not sure if he should get the new house or not (we will definitely need furniture/etc so that's added expense) or if we should just stay here -completly own this house we're in now out right and set aside several thousand a month to put towards a new house when the times right or add on to this one. We both really want to move, but it might be better to stay here i suppose. I told him to do what he thinks is right financially- better to own our house and not go into debt or more than we can afford (BUT we can afford the new one once we sell both homes- it's just a matter of figuring how to do that- he's going to talk to a realator this week about selling the one we're in now.) I wish he would have not told me about this new one though- because i though he was 100% serious in wanting to move - i didn't realize he was just looking.
Now i do- oh well, i still can't complaine though- i have a roof over my head and many things to be thankfull for -i'm just a little disappointed i got my hopes up though. IT's still not sure that we won't get it- but just not positive that we will eithor. I think he wants to look around a little more too. uhhh there goes my happy dance for tonight
 

kluchetta

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Oh heck! Well, if he's definitely selling the VA beach house, it would be a great idea to talk to a realtor to see if you can sell the current one. I mean, if they are selling this house for a REALLY good price, that's also a consideration. A big consideration which could save a lot of money in the long run.Plus I know a lot of people who will ONLY buy a house on "open space" or green land or whatever it is called. It is such an incentive. Crossing fingers for you!
 

theimp98

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hey now, there are alot of ups and downs when it comes to house hunting.
Try not to get to stressed.
 
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starryeyedtiger

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Originally Posted by kluchetta

Oh heck! Well, if he's definitely selling the VA beach house, it would be a great idea to talk to a realtor to see if you can sell the current one. I mean, if they are selling this house for a REALLY good price, that's also a consideration. A big consideration which could save a lot of money in the long run.Plus I know a lot of people who will ONLY buy a house on "open space" or green land or whatever it is called. It is such an incentive. Crossing fingers for you!
Thanks sweetie!
I will point some of those things out to him
I especially like the fact that the house is in a green zone- we won't have to worry about construction or new things being built too close to use/etc. It seems like a REALLY wonderfull opportunity and a great investment- i'm really encouraging him to try and at least think about it some more. He said he would call a realator this week and see about selling ours we're in now. The VA Beach house should be closed on at the end of the month- we should definitely be getting 115 for it- any more though i'm not sure
Thanks again!

Originally Posted by theimp98

hey now, there are alot of ups and downs when it comes to house hunting.
Try not to get to stressed.
Thanks bruce, i'm not soo much stressed- just a little bumed out- i really was getting my hopes up because i thought he was serious,not just looking- but now that we talked though at least we're on the same page so i will try not to get my hopes up too much again. And who know- it still might happen. We'll see! i REALLY like it!!
 

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I hope you get the house you want! Even if it's not this one. Having been through the house-hunting thing fairly recently, I know just how you feel. H didn't want to move out of the apartment; but I convinced him that it was a very good time to buy a house; why wait another year, and have the interest rates go up? (Which they did.) We could barely afford a decent house at that point, and the values around here shoot up constantly (what we paid 2.5 years ago wouldn't even buy a single-family home now--barely a condo, not even a townhouse!) He now agrees it was the best thing to do. (Plus, he loves those tax breaks when I do the taxes!)

We put offers on several houses, only to be out-bid. One house I LOVED; it was a 1926, 2601 sq. ft. charmer. It had everything we wanted; the location was ok. Even though I thought the attic was haunted, I still wanted to buy it. It did need a lot of minor cosmetic work to make it current. He hated it, but was willing to please me (after all, I was the one paying the downpayment and closing costs
), but their agent wouldn't even talk to us with the offer--then the house kept losing offers (I think the sellers were jerks, and turned people off); and, as we were signing the offer for our current house, the danged thing came down to exactly the price we were paying for this one--too late! I drive past it often on the way home from work, and still love it--and I could have Martha'ed it to the max, given the time--and made it lovely. Oh well, I guess it wasn't meant to be... (I think God had a reason to send us here--2 months after we moved in, we took in a neighbor's abused cat, who had been wandering around for 6 years--Hobbes has finally found his forever home, and is very happy now--finally.)

I still remember the joys and frustrations of house-hunting (or, shopping for houses, as I call it!). Then there was the thrill of finding out your offer was accepted, and the first day in your OWN, new home (I had never owned a house before). Know what we wanted to do so badly, but couldn't for a few days after moving in? Bring in our 2 cats, who had never seen stairs before! Yep! We were dying to see their reaction to the much bigger house! And the bay window, that I bought the house for--as I thought they'd love (they do). And there was plenty of space to hide litter boxes! (Yes, we nuts consider that cats' needs before ours, when house-hunting.)Then came the lovely feeling of freedom--I could do whatever I wanted there, without having to ask a landlord first, and have as many pets as I could legally have! No pet deposits, monthly fees.

Best of luck! Just remember, if you don't get that particular house, you'll find an even better one down the line!

MargeCat
 

duchess15

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That's great news Nikki!!
I hope you guys get it. You will love having all that extra room and it will be special to you because it is what you want and you can call it home.
 
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starryeyedtiger

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Originally Posted by MargeCat

I hope you get the house you want! Even if it's not this one. Having been through the house-hunting thing fairly recently, I know just how you feel. H didn't want to move out of the apartment; but I convinced him that it was a very good time to buy a house; why wait another year, and have the interest rates go up? (Which they did.) We could barely afford a decent house at that point, and the values around here shoot up constantly (what we paid 2.5 years ago wouldn't even buy a single-family home now--barely a condo, not even a townhouse!) He now agrees it was the best thing to do. (Plus, he loves those tax breaks when I do the taxes!)

We put offers on several houses, only to be out-bid. One house I LOVED; it was a 1926, 2601 sq. ft. charmer. It had everything we wanted; the location was ok. Even though I thought the attic was haunted, I still wanted to buy it. It did need a lot of minor cosmetic work to make it current. He hated it, but was willing to please me (after all, I was the one paying the downpayment and closing costs
), but their agent wouldn't even talk to us with the offer--then the house kept losing offers (I think the sellers were jerks, and turned people off); and, as we were signing the offer for our current house, the danged thing came down to exactly the price we were paying for this one--too late! I drive past it often on the way home from work, and still love it--and I could have Martha'ed it to the max, given the time--and made it lovely. Oh well, I guess it wasn't meant to be... (I think God had a reason to send us here--2 months after we moved in, we took in a neighbor's abused cat, who had been wandering around for 6 years--Hobbes has finally found his forever home, and is very happy now--finally.)

I still remember the joys and frustrations of house-hunting (or, shopping for houses, as I call it!). Then there was the thrill of finding out your offer was accepted, and the first day in your OWN, new home (I had never owned a house before). Know what we wanted to do so badly, but couldn't for a few days after moving in? Bring in our 2 cats, who had never seen stairs before! Yep! We were dying to see their reaction to the much bigger house! And the bay window, that I bought the house for--as I thought they'd love (they do). And there was plenty of space to hide litter boxes! (Yes, we nuts consider that cats' needs before ours, when house-hunting.)Then came the lovely feeling of freedom--I could do whatever I wanted there, without having to ask a landlord first, and have as many pets as I could legally have! No pet deposits, monthly fees.

Best of luck! Just remember, if you don't get that particular house, you'll find an even better one down the line!

MargeCat
Thankyou Marge! I really need to hear that. I was a little bummed out that Colin and I might not be getting this house...but who knows...it may happen. and if not now, there are always houses later i suppose. (i just really got my hopes up for this one and the location is awesome). Thankyou again though! That definitely helps to have someone who knows what it's like!


Originally Posted by Duchess15

That's great news Nikki!!
I hope you guys get it. You will love having all that extra room and it will be special to you because it is what you want and you can call it home.
It really would be great!! I'm really wanting it- but at this point i'm just not sure if colin's going to get it or not- i guess i'll just have to wait and see for now.
 

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I hope that you can convince him to get it. Even if you have to live without all rooms furnished it would be great. Honestly, the cats would love rooms with minimal furniture to run around in - and future kids would love a big open space indoors to play. Trust me, toys add up and soon can take over a room. We have a small house and it sometimes feels that we are drowning in stuff! Minimal is good. I wish I could talk my hubby into moving!
 
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starryeyedtiger

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Originally Posted by adymarie

I hope that you can convince him to get it. Even if you have to live without all rooms furnished it would be great. Honestly, the cats would love rooms with minimal furniture to run around in - and future kids would love a big open space indoors to play. Trust me, toys add up and soon can take over a room. We have a small house and it sometimes feels that we are drowning in stuff! Minimal is good. I wish I could talk my hubby into moving!
i really hope i can...but i would never want to push him into making a financial move he's not certain about. and right now he just wants to make sure he will be ok finanacially if he makes that move....so i understand. it's frustertating- but as much as i want this new house, i wouldn't want us to go into debt for it (although i truely don't think we would.) we are both very good with our money/responsible with it and invest well so i know we could make it work. but who knows, i suppose, if not this house- maybe another one will come along when he feels more ready....but i REALLY like this one. uhhh! and aside from that i told him -we dont have to furnishi it all at once- there are lots of great inexpensive options- we can get furniture from yard sales, antique stores, unfinished furniture stores etc and fix them up nicely. also- i heard him talking to the realator from VA Beach yesterday and from the sounds of it something was up- i think there was a termite problem in that house -so he's going to have to foot even more money to get it sprayed/etc (I can't believe he didn't have a termite contract!
)however though he is still closing at the end of the month so that's at least good news as far as that goes.
 
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starryeyedtiger

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Originally Posted by SwampWitch

Sounds like a typical male... they are so cagey when it comes to big decisions! The house sounds beautiful, but your house now is pretty great, too. Looks like a win-win either way.
no kiddding
the house is absoultely stunning!! i wish i had pictures to show you
and the price and things included are great. but you're right- our house we're in now is very nice too. colin's just wanting a bigger space for when we start a family. i told him i'm happy eithor way (i certainly can not complain- we have a roof over our heads and are very blessed!) but i really do love the new house as well! we'll see.
 

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Originally Posted by StarryEyedTiGeR

no kiddding
the house is absoultely stunning!! i wish i had pictures to show you
and the price and things included are great. but you're right- our house we're in now is very nice too. colin's just wanting a bigger space for when we start a family. i told him i'm happy eithor way (i certainly can not complain- we have a roof over our heads and are very blessed!) but i really do love the new house as well! we'll see.
You know maybe if this house falls through it just wasn't meant to be. It could just mean that in a years time or so an even better house will become yours.
 
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