New Digs

So I mentioned last week that we were on the hunt for a new house. Our criteria for homes were simple. 4 bedrooms, finished basement or the potential to be finished, and in the school district we wanted. Everything else we could be flexible on.

I went into the search with a few neighborhoods in mind. They were all older neighborhoods with mid century homes. I wanted something with character. The first time we bought a house. 11 years ago, we only looked in Southwood Park, an older neighborhood full of houses with amazing architectural details. I loved that neighborhood, I still miss it, but we decided the school district there was not an option for our family. This time around I thought an updated mid century modern ranch would be perfect. Well guess what, finding a 4 bedroom mid century ranch on a basement in the zip codes we wanted is pretty much impossible. Rather than wait for my perfect home to eventually come up for sale, and who knows if that house even exists, I opened my mind to look at the space the homes we were looking at had available rather than the architecture of the house.

As soon as we found the right house, we knew it was it. Lots of space, an amazing basement to make into a playroom, a fenced back yard, and no major improvements that need done to the house before we could move in. The entire house needs a paint job, but we can handle that. We put in an offer a couple days after seeing and after a little back and forth, we agreed on numbers. Now we are officially under contract!! We had our inspection on Wednesday, and now we're waiting on the seller to get back to us about the few items that need addressed. A few minor things. and the big issue of high radon levels in the basement. An easy fix, but something we want lowered before we move in.

As long as everything goes well with the remediation of the items from the inspection, and that the appraisal comes back where it needs to be, we should be all set to close and move before the end of October. Just in time too, because my second trimester is flying by and once I hit 30 weeks I'll probably be rather useless, at least when it comes to helping pack up and move.

For now we're waiting impatiently patiently for everything to get checked off the list before closing in less than a month. We have started packing up boxes, deciding what needs to be donated before the move, and fixing the few minor thing that need repaired around here before we move. Thankfully we don't have to worry about selling, but we still want to house to be ready for our landlord to bring in potential renters. A third bedroom that is primarily used as storage doesn't exactly scream usable space, so moving all the baby stuff we've been storing in there out is priority numero uno.

While I was at the house for the inspection, I snapped a few pictures on my phone so I could share them here. The house has been well updated, with the exception of the master bath which is very late 90s. That particular project will be waiting a couple years, so it will just be lots of paiting when we move in.  Have I ever mentioned how much I don't love to paint, but I love the results. I'm pretty sure that's everyone though.

Main Entry

Guest Room

Nursery

Harrison and Brooke's Room

Master Bedroom

Master Bath

Basement

Kitchen

Great Room 

And there it is! Our first orders of business will be painting the master and nursery. Getting the basement set up as a playroom will also be done almost immediately. We want an organized space where H and B can play their days away and keep the clutter out of the great room.

Please keep your fingers crossed that all goes well over the next couple weeks!