House Hunting

What's been going on lately?

Lots of this: packing, packing, and more packing! 

We bought our current house a little over 5 years ago, before we got married.  The first-time homebuyer credit was going on and we took full advantage of it.  We bought near where I was (am) teaching because we didn't know (professionally) where Big A would be ending up at the time.  Immediately after we married, he completed a one year masters degree program and then secured great a job about 30 minutes from our house.  Of course, 30 minutes is in ideal circumstances.  If there is traffic, especially Fridays during the summer when everyone is headed east towards the beach, that 30 minutes can turn into 60 or even 90 minutes.  The plan was always for this to be our "starter home".  When we decided it was time to "start our family" we planned it around the time that we would be able to afford our "family home".

As soon as we knew I was pregnant, we knew it would be a few more months before we were ready for that next purchase (we are keeping our current home as a rental).  We had agreed to start house hunting in July and to really take our time.  There was no expectation to be moved before baby.  In fact, I fully planned on NOT being moved by then.  People kept asking about "nursery themes" and I had little to say on the subject, as I wasn't completely sure if baby would even have a traditional nursery. 

So our house search began.  I had every intention of being very critical and particular (ok, really not that hard for me).  I was going to be doing much of the preliminary looking as Big A would be at work and often out of town for work, where as I would be available (yay, teacher life!).  Houses in our market and around our price range are going VERY quickly- like some less than 24 hours.  This meant that while we could take our time with the search, we couldn't take our time with the decision. 

As houses came on the market our realtor's system emailed them to me.  Many were "too far" away.  If we were moving to be closer to Big A's job (and my mother), the commute was going to have to be significantly less than 30 minutes.  I had a pretty large wishlist must-haves list including a 2 car garage, a laundry room (those 2 were also the only thing's on Big A's list), 4 bedrooms, a room to hold the game table he brought back from Italy, a fireplace, a yard big enough to hold a swing set and run around a little, a kitchen with substantial cabinet and counter space, a coat closet, and so on.  We weren't opposed to a house that was at the low end of our price range that needed updating, as long as the layout was ideal.  Several houses we looked at online had yards that were too small or kitchens that were too small (or had tiny wall ovens with the stove top on the island... which I decided I was not a fan of after seeing a few).  I also eliminated some that had the family room open to the upstairs (noise travels). 

As houses came on the market, mom and I would go see them with the realtor.  The first day we went to five.  I had originally thought 3 of those might be possibilities, however, after more careful, critical consideration that night, 2 were eliminated.  Big A and I decided to go see the 3rd together the next day.  It was a short sale, but would be a great deal and a TON of space.  After the realtor sent us the inspection report, we decided this was probably a little bit out of our league and therefore possibly out of our price range. 

So I resigned to wait. 

And then I found it.  It was a house that had been on the market a little longer, but they had just reduced the price, putting it in our range.  It showed beautifully and I was able to check every box on the list.

So much for waiting...

Which means now, pending any major issues with the inspection next week, we will be closing on our new (amazing) house in less than a month!  And boy do we have some packing to do! 

It also turns out that packing while pregnant is an exhausting process so thank goodness for my mother who has been incredibly helpful the last few days getting me organized and started.  I know it will all be worth it in the end and I'm sure I will be extremely grateful to be completely done before baby arrives.  But right now, I'm just ready for a nap!