We picked a house!

We called our agent an d scheduled a showing for Tuesday. I was really having a hard time picturing it as my home. It was dirty and needed work, and the layout wasn't as nice as the model home. I had studied the model home floorplan and photos online for weeks, but I had only walked through this house once. I needed to see it again. We walked through and planned how we'd use each space. Our agent commented that she felt like we could get a good deal and it looked like it was just cosmetic stuff. By the time we left, I was sure. THIS was the house. The kitchen was perfect for our Fiestaware.

And it could be a really beautiful home. It just needed someone like us to take care of it again. I was starting to picture how things could fit into each room, and what changes we could make to make it our house.

There were things I didn't like about our old house. The master bedroom was small. This one was bigger! And white trim throughout instead of faux wood. Yay!

I hated our old master bathroom. It was tiny, just a small sink, shower, and toilet. I wanted a soaking tub and double vanity. This house had a huge bathroom, and something even better than a double vanity- his and hers sinks with counter space.

 

I wanted a big closet. Our old closet was small and cramped. This one was twice the size. The cute little double doors may have made me swoon a little.

But most of all, it had the space we were looking for. There was room for my husband to have a home office, and room for my sewing room, and we wouldn't have to compromise having a room for guests. Despite not having a basement (bummer!) there was room for storage. The only item on my list this house didn't fulfill was a mudroom. It was a pretty long list of wants and needs, so this house was indeed a great find. Most importantly, it had a lot of space for Adam to grow. It was a house we wouldn't outgrow, in a great school district. I was sure.

After we left, my husband sent me a text. "Let's go for it. I'll regret it if we don't."

We met with our agent that evening to make an offer. We went in slightly low to give us room to negotiate, and we asked for the sellers to pay our closing costs. Then we went home to wait. Within a few hours they had countered back midway, but were only willing to pay 1% toward closing costs vs the 3.5% we had asked for.

Now we had some more thinking to do. Do we accept? We really wanted them to pay closing costs so we would have the cash available for moving expenses and updating the house. We decided to counter back. We accepted their price, but asked for the 3.5% toward closing. Then we waited. And waited. And waited. I started to get nervous.

They countered our offer the next evening. The price was just $1800 below their asking price, but they agreed to pay our closing costs. We agreed and signed the paperwork. We were under contract and one step closer to being back into a home.