Friday, August 14, 2009

Our House Hunt, Pt. 5

Good morning Bloggy Friends,

I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to stop by yesterday. My whole day was full of interviewing and applying for fall internship positions. I've applied for so many. If I start getting offers I may have a tough decision on my hands soon. This brings us back to where we left off before, the tough decision......

Stop looking ahead to see the outcome!

(cue fuzzy fade out)

We didn't have a lot of time to make up our minds between Juniper and Latona. We knew the game could change at any second. We needed to strike fast. At this point I was leaning toward the Latona house, because it was the one I had most recently been inside. I had forced myself to forget Juniper after the way the seller dimissed our original bid. To make our decision easier, Jim suggested we revisit the two houses to make comparisons.

The first house we went to was Latona. With the abandoned warehouse across the street aside, this really was a beautiful home. We loved the larger patio, the more open floor plan, the built-in island in the kitchen and the monstrous walk-in closet upstairs. We also had a discussion about building the powder room. Within minutes, ideas were floating overhead so thickly we could almost seem them. We were excited. My mind was practically made up at this point, but we moved along to the next house regardless.

We trudged down the street, half unwillingly, to the front door of Juniper. Jim fumbled with the lock-box a bit before reaching in to pull out the key. (cue slow motion reel) He reached up, put the key in the lock and opened the door. (cue choir of angels) With my first glance inside, the original feeling I had about the house came fluttering back. The butterflies returned. I didn't need to think about it anymore, but did Alan? I held in my enthusiasm as we walked around like we were seeing the house for the first time. With each turn of my head the voice within me saying, "YES," became louder and louder. It was so beautiful. I loved the woodwork, the larger kitchen, the powder room and oh, the exposed brick. I hoped Alan was feeling the same way, but I started to get the impression that he wasn't.

Without making any clear decisions, we headed back home to talk it out. To me, instinct means a lot, so I was clearly on the side of Juniper. Alan, being the extremely analytical fellow he is, wanted to be sure we made the wisest decision. We sat down to scribble a list of the pros and cons. The homes were similar in layout and location, but one would take a little more work to move in than the other. Even though we were promised the funds, building a powder room at Latona could be a lengthy, tiresome process. We weren't sure we wanted to deal with that. Then again, Juniper had a considerably smaller patio, the basement was unfinished and we would want to build an island in the kitchen like the one we saw at Latona. So which one would be the best for us in the end?

(cue drum roll)

We decided our best choice would be the house on La....Juniper Street! (cue confetti and balloons) It practically has everything we were looking for in a house, and it's the one that makes us both extremely happy to be inside. It's beautiful, move-in ready and very reasonably priced. Another perk is that the subway stop, which is literally around the corner, is only one stop beyond where we are now. The hunt finally seems to be over. We had an inspection last week, which went very well, and the mortgage process is underway as I type. If everything goes smoothly, we should be closing on the 18th of September. This would give us a whole month to transition from our current place to our new one. We couldn't be happier about it.

Before I go I want to convey my gratitude to a few people. First of all, to Jude, who accompanied us to many open houses throughout the summer. She was right there when we made our final decision, and she even went out to see homes when we weren't available to go. Her opinion is invaluable to both of us. Thank you so much, Jude. We appreciate you more than words can express. I also want to thank our realtor, Jim Bitting, who put everything he had into finding us the perfect home. As first-time home buyers, it was imperative to have a knowledgeable, trustworthy realtor, who we generally enjoyed being around. Jim fit nicely into each of those categories. We couldn't have asked for better. And thanks to you, Bloggy Friends, for stopping by to share this experience with me. I have thoroughly enjoyed making you a part of our journey. I hope you know how much your support means to me.

I'll keep you updated as things progress throughout the month. For now, we are just glad to have a weekend free of open houses! Have a nice day. I'll chat with you soon.

Love, Josh

6 comments:

Bill Fogle said...

Oh how fantastic, Josh! I am so, so happy for you two. I looked up the Juniper house yesterday and tried to get a street view (literally a photo of the houses at street level) but couldn't. But I could see how close it is to Broad and to the subway.

So, what do you mean by "unfinished" basement? I never understood when people would ask us whether we had a finished or unfinished basement. Ours has a concrete floor. Is that "finished"? Your house has those lovely glass brick windows like we have in our basement. In fact, they are so similar that I wonder whether it is not the same company.

Can we walk by on Sunday? Things really worked out for you, huh? I couldn't be happier. Congratulations to you both.

Casey said...

Yay! I'm so excited for y'all!!!

I'm glad the end of the road of the house hunt is in sight. Can't wait to see the house in person when you get all settled in.

Yay, yay, yay!!!

Rick Watson said...

I am soooo happy for you both! I was concerned you might end up settling for something you really didn't weren't comfortable with. I can't imagine doing that when buying a house. You must have all the things you really want in the purchase. I do love the Juniper home! It's classic, stately, and contemporarily modern all rolled up into one! I can't wait to visit!

I'm proud of you both! Keep up updated on all the developing details!

C o n g r a t u l a t i o n s !

Bill Fogle said...

I'm so excited that I am back here reading this a second time :) As much as the suspense killed me, I love how you dragged the story out! It was great.

Mnowac said...

Oh yay! Congrats Josh. I cannot wait to see pics, I'm sure it will be beautiful after you get done decorating it.

Anonymous said...

Congrats! Getting your first home is always exciting! I'm looking forward to seeing photos!
Charlie