HolyohmygoshdarnitgeewhizIcan'tbelieve it!!!

Just when we thought we had to start the house hunting process all over again, over the past three days, we found a house, negotiated a price, and had an offer accepted, all without the help of a real estate agent. Well, actually not from one we have to pay a commission to. But we did get a huge amount of help from my dad who is a broker in Maryland. Right now, the offer is dependent on getting a contract signed by Thursday, but we don't foresee any problems getting that accomplished.

Finding the house was somewhat of a stroke of luck as well. There is another house on the same street this house is located on. One that we were interested in looking at at some point. While driving around Saturday morning, I noticed there was an open house on this particular street. Assuming (and NOT thinking) that there could have been another house for sale, I drove up to the one we were interested in and noticed the owner in her garage. I approached her and inquired when the open house was going to be over. She looked at me quite quizzically and then told me I was probably looking for the open house down the street. Oh. Duh. I probably turned a few shades of red, but I apologized for intruding and made my way to the actual open house.

The house that was having the open house was at the upper end of the price range we were considering so even though Jen knew that it was for sale (her and Ariel had picked up a flyer a few weeks ago), we hadn't really considered it at all. But seeing as how they had an open house (and was 'for sale by owner') at that, we stopped by after our appointment at seeing another house later that afternoon.

HolyohmygoshdarnitgeewhizIcan'tbelieve it!!!

I believe those were our exact thoughts as we walked through this house. I think we grew more & more in love with the house with every room that we saw. And then after seeing the huge, fenced backyard, we knew it was The One (TM). Having found who we thought was a decent realtor on Thursday (based on recommendations from my work), we weren't really prepared to enter the house buying process on our own. But after talking to the owners, they really preferred *not* to deal with a realtor. So after consulting with my dad 3,434,231,543.52342 times, after reading the pertinent sections in "House Buying for Dummies," "House Buying for the Really, Really Desperate (and I mean it)," "101 Questions You Probably Should Have Already Asked But Now It's Too Late," multiple times, we submitted an offer, they countered, we counter-countered, and we finally came to an agreement earlier today.

So based on the general contigencies (financing, inspection, etc), if Nothing Bad (TM) turns up, we will be homeowners at the end of August. *fingers toes tongue eyes crossed*

But now that you know since every waking moment has been spent talking, thinking, breathing, dreaming about house buying, you realize why I haven't had much time to write.

Dammit Cliff, just tell me what the house is like will you? I'm sure y'all are thinking that. Or maybe JUST SHOW US SOME PICS and we'll forgive you for stringing us along. Unfortunately, we don't have any pics other than the ones I scanned from the flyer they released. But hopefully that will be remedied soon.

But at least I can satisfy your other curiosity. The house is virtually brand-new (actually, it's a year old but that's close enough). It has 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, over 1800 sq ft, and a lot that is almost a half acre. Tray ceilings in the dining area & master bedroom, a double tray ceiling in the living/family room. Ceramic tile kitchen & dining area & entry, jetted tub in the master bathroom with glass block window above it.

Front view of house (scanned so very poor quality, but I promise to get better photos soon):

Back of house (again very poor quality, but you are looking at approximately 1/3 of the backyard):

So wish us luck - hopefully things will continue to go as smooth as they have been (knock on wood, particleboard, laminate countertop). And I will update everyone after I get back from New Orleans later this week.

One year ago today: Heater Core 101