Reflections on the Win...a Night To Never Forget

The night of the election, I drove to an election party at a local bar, my hands clenched tightly around the steering wheel as I heard what I thought was an announcer indicating that McCain had taken Pennsylvania. When I realized finally that they were talking about Obama, I relaxed slowly, not wanting to allow myself to believe until everything was for sure. I wandered into the bar tentatively. I wasn't meeting up with friends, and no matter what was about to happen, it was bound to be an emotional night.

I spent the first part of the evening tucked away in a crowded area of the bar, uninterested in expending the tremendous effort it would be to navigate the crowd only to stand in another crowded area. It was a good sized, diverse crowd. Lots of young folks. A fair chunk of old folks. Some folks were coming back and forth between the congressman's party and this party, but from what I heard, we were the younger crowd with more folks of color and more food and fun. I couldn't hear the reporters on the television, but the visual images were enough.

Obama. Obama.
Two more states for Obama.

Obama.
Another win for Obama.

McCain.
Well, that one was expected.

Two women finally started chatting with me, and pretty soon I began shaking hands and meeting the people around me. The mood was jubilant and cheerful, even if afraid to believe. A congregant from the church where I serve spotted me and came over. We chatted for a bit, and then he returned to the folks he was with. The energy was starting to buzz in the air.

The more time that went on, the more confident we all became. We watched the senate majority climb (yahoo!): 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56...

I was getting impatient. This all looked like such good news, and everyone began to feel ready for the announcement of Obama's win. It was late, and I was tired, but it all felt so imminent, and I didn't want to go home without hearing for sure. I distracted myself in conversations with the folks around me: what work we do, how long we have been in our city, in the state, how long we have been voting, what we like to do in our spare time. I haven't done anything social like that with total strangers for a long time.

In a moment of total distraction, I glanced up at the screen just as the announcement came across, "Barack Obama: President Elect." I didn't know if I should trust what I was seeing and hearing, but suddenly the crowd broke out in cheers. This was it.

I can't even begin to describe to you what that moment was like in that room. We were screaming and laughing, and we were all embracing one another. Strangers and friends all in one moment. A woman who moved to the United States from Kenya eight years ago stood in front of me, hands clasped together in the air for a long time after the first rush of cheers had died down. Another woman kept pounding her fists on the bar, and saying, "Now we are one. Now we are one." A woman originally from Rwanda stood staring at the television screen with tears streaming down her face. All of us were crying.

I wish I could convey to you better what it was like, but I can't. It was so visceral. It was this palpable healing energy. It did not fix everything, but it was needed to soothe our souls. I have never in my life experienced something quite like it, and I know I will be lucky if I experience it again.

There is a great post on one of the blogs I follow about the bittersweet moment this was, when on one hand so much progress was made and on another, so much ground was lost: http://monkeymindonline.blogspot.com/2008/11/joys-sorrows.html. But the words to a hymn come to mind: "We will get there. Heaven knows how we will get there, but we know we will."

There is a long road ahead of us. It will be hard. It will be full of pain and difficult decisions and hardship. Justice will not always be served. But I can see Obama isn't wasting time, nor disengaging from the public discourse that was the campaign: http://www.change.gov/. I am impressed.

I have been very teary since the election. My children may remember into adulthood the way we talk about how we have the power for positive change, and the way President Elect Obama has reminded us of that and called us to keep on keeping on. This is huge. Huge. May we never forget, and may we Get. To. Work.

Neighborhood Walkability

Thanks to my lovely mother for introducing me to http://www.walkscore.com/. On first glance, there seem to be a number of useful applications for such a website, including:

• Gain some perspective on your neighborhood in the grand scheme of walkability
• Find out the truth about places you want to live
• Find great places to live if your options are open
• Look for a good score to help your market your home when selling
• Get assistance in evaluating a potential neighborhood when considering a new purchase or rental
• Find out about treasures you can walk to in your neighborhood that you may not know about or may have overlooked
• Enjoy some photos and/or reviews of familiar locations
• Write your own reviews of locations in your neighborhood (just remember you have to confirm your email after registering before you can write a review)
• Get tips to help you advocate for greater walkability where you live
• Read "how it doesn't work" for an honest assessment of the website's own limitations, and ideas for other walkability considerations you might want to make
• Read a blog of interest

"Use Your Walking Feet..."

...It's a very silly parental phrase I picked up goodness knows where. It means, "walk," as opposed to running.

Tonight, it was as if some divine parent said it to me, "Use your walking feet 'Masasa.'" But "walk" was in opposition to driving. The battery on my van died while I was at work. G. is sure she turned off all lights in the van before giving it to me to drive to work, but she was moving dozens of boxes in and out of the van this morning, and it appears one of the back lights got flicked on. She must not have noticed that one.

So I walked home, since G. was already asleep in bed (as were the kids).

I had really worked up in my mind what this walk was going to be like, when we first put an offer on this house and I was considering changes I might make in my transportation choices. I have never liked walking. It actually makes me feel irritable, especially when the weather is not perfect walking weather. I would rather bike or skate (not rollerblade, apparently, as I have failed miserably so far at that). This walk seemed like it would be pleasurable for the first half, near the downtown area where there were things to see and people still out and about. But the second half seemed like it would be a bit dreadful to me. There is a stretch of road with quiet houses on one side and a mildly wooded area on the other side. The street lights are more stretched out, so it gets dark too. I don't like walking in the first place, but walking without landmarks is an especially dreadful activity.

I felt before doing it that the second half of the walk would be a boring one. Instead, I found the whole walk to be rather invigorating.

The first part was easy, as I suspected. I did stop at a restaurant after the first 0.3 miles or so, and thankfully there were several still open (it was around 11:45pm), just to get a sandwich since I hadn't had a real dinner and mainly to hear someone's voice besides my own. I got a cheese and veggie sub and some homefries, and ate a few bites before putting it away in my bag. Between taking some bites and checking out the different businesses, I kept my mind fairly busy. Before I knew it, I hit the grocery store that I know is between 0.7 and 0.8 miles from my house. This felt encouraging...I was getting so close.

The next stretch was the part I had been dreading. In fact, I suddenly noticed there was a little hill in front of me just to add an additional irritation. I know, I know, a little hill-- one I'd never even noticed before-- should be no big deal. But it has been a while since I've taken a walk this long aside from times when I've set out to "go hiking." I'll admit I am not in good shape right now. Nonetheless, my mind went drifting and I didn't notice I was on the hill for some time. Suddenly my other thoughts stopped and I said to myself, "man, I am getting a little tired...my feet and legs are starting to hurt." And then I realized I was on the hill, and I felt better knowing this was the cause.

When I reached the top of the hill, I could see the roundabout that is one of the central pieces of my neighborhood! I also could see a school that the neighborhood kids attend. "If they walk home from here," I thought, "I must be close." So much for no landmarks!

Soon, I was in the roundabout. At that point, mild anxiety arouse again as I considered that it felt like I was "almost home," but in fact, my street was still a ways up the road, and my house is about 0.3 miles up my street. But it wasn't too bad getting to my street. The longest stretch of the whole walk was probably the one on my own street, as it had fewer landmarks and was the darkest of them all. But I made it home in the exact amount of time I predicted: about 40 minutes. I live about two miles from my work, so I was walking a 20 minute mile, more or less, which is what I predicted. I do hate walking after all, and am out of shape, but 20 minutes seems average.

My realizations include:

• Since I am not big on walking, I wouldn't want to walk this everyday, but I think biking it will be a breeze, and I think I'd be willing to walk it on occasion.
• Tonight was a cool night, but humid. I came home somewhat chilly but also damp and sticky (ick!). I don't think I could have tolerated the humidity if it had been hot out. I was glad to be walking when the sun was down.
• I think I could walk this with M., if not the full way, at least partially (and we have already taken a bus to my work, so we could catch a bus if he got tired). I wouldn't do it with K., on the other hand. She is a hard kid to walk with in general: she gets tired very fast and also does a lot of funny walking (walking while putting her head and shoulders down so she yanks off your arm, etc.). I might try it sometime with her in a stroller, but in this weather I can't imagine tolerating our beloved backpack/frontpack carrier because we'd both be soaking...and the sling would irritate my old car-accident related upper back injury (the injury that has given me daily headaches for about five years now).
• The sidewalks for the most part are great on this walk! Nice and wide...very old New England. You don't see sidewalks going in like this anymore. It makes for a much more pleasurable walk, and if absolutely necessary, could be a safe albeit illegal haven for a biker trying to avoid crazy New England drivers. There are some stretches of sidewalks with big tree roots going right through, ripped up and ill-maintained. But most of it is nice.
• On my way, I passed a street sign where there was no street. It was a street name followed by "Terrace." It appears it is a footpath Terrace. I found that to be a delightful discovery...it felt like it must be an old street that survived the invention of cars unscathed!

All in all, I am reminded once again that sometimes I build things up in my mind to be much more difficult or unappealing than they actually are. I am glad for this reminder.

Galileo

First, one more picture from work. It is not a good one, but it's a little slice of nature anyway.



Various notes...

House

1. Our offer is in on the house. Within 24 hours, we'll know whether it has been accepted (but even if it is accepted, of course, that doesn't mean we're in the "clear" because then there will be inspections and further negotiation, etc). I think we put in a very competitive offer. Someone could still beat us out, but we were trying to also be as gentle as we could be on our bank account despite the good chance that this will be a bidding war in the end. My agent said she'd call if she heard anything at all about another offer coming in so we could re-write our offer if desired. No call yet, so baited breath...

2. With the offer, I submitted the letter. I asked my agent about letters, and she said they were a fine thing to do, and that sometimes personalizing the offer helps. After reading it, she said she could go either way. On further discussion, we eliminated only this: "We will present to you the best offer we can afford..." We kept the letter exactly as-is otherwise, and went ahead and put it in with the offer.

3. If all goes well, we'll be moving next month.

4. Things I am thinking about now:

• Giving notice to our landlord


• Pool safety and also pool covers-- options. Also, caring for pools, salt water system conversions, etc.


• The lead inspection-- how to minimize costs related to lead abatement.


• The utility bills. For heat and hot water, given the use of oil and single zone heating, we are looking at a huge monthly bill. We're wondering if converting to gas is possible in this house, but I didn't notice a gas line. Maybe at least converting to zones? Electric? What's the cost of all this? When can we do this? It is anticipated that next year's oil will go up to $7/gallon! Those predicting the fossil fuel economy is crumbling before our eyes, starting with oil, just might be correct yet!


• Other environmental-economical issues on the domestic front: Is biking/bussing to work now an option (it is a flat and straight shot, but I am a little concerned about safety because the streets out here are crazy and the drivers are crazier). How far is the nearest grocery store from this house, and can we walk there with a wagon...what kind of sidewalks or lack thereof would the route involve? Can we get a wood stove and start stockpiling wood for next winter in case there is a fossil fuel crisis? Can one build a small raised bed vegetable garden on a small plot of concrete...and how does a novice with no natural gardening abilities go about getting started with such a project? How much does a push mower cost and where can we get one so we can replace our old gas mower (which we liked a lot for our former large lawn)?
• The roof-- how much life is left on it and what to do next and will this become part of the negotiations.


• Dog poop-- where will our dog go poop? *That* is the question.


• Neighborhood schools-- will I ask to visit our new neighborhood school and consider a placement for M. there next year in the preschool he gets via his IEP?


• Tax money. We could use some for closing costs, etc. Have we received any yet? What is on its way? What will we be waiting for, for a while?


• How to stay focused at work with all this going on! I can't stop my mind from going a million miles a minute right now. Eeek.


• How will I cope with the disappointment if this doesn't work out? If our offer isn't accepted or if things come unraveled in negotiations?
• And where or where is my trusted Virgin Homeowners Manual? I love that book and want to dig it out before inspections, which I need to get working on scheduling right away if our offer gets accepted tomorrow because we set our deadline for seven days.

Other

Remember the band Queen? Remember Brian May? Did you know he is Dr. Brian May, astrophysicist? I heard him on NPR today http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90273890, and I loved hearing him talk about the way his worlds intermix. What a joy!

Yep!!

That's THE ONE.

I loooooooove it.

That said, here's the obligatory pros and cons list:

PROS

• The location is good, both for re-sale and for our purposes. There is stuff we can walk to, including a park.
• This house is totally move-in ready!
• The house is vinyl sided, so we won't have to worry about painting it. In this climate, this is a big issue because here houses need to be painted frequently.
• Most of the windows are updated.
• There is a new furnace.
• There is a lovely little inground pool-- K. will LOVE it.
• It is the perfect size. Not impossibly large, but not too small for our purposes either.
• Our agent thinks this house is likely underpriced, but it is not a foreclosure or a short sale. She just listed a house (without a pool) in this same neighborhood. It didn't have a garage and was listed at $267,000. She immediately received six offers. This is a DEAL (though the downside to that is that we're probably going to have to fight for this one, and it is already the top of our price range).
• All appliances are included in the price, and they are newer appliances.
• The mantel on the fireplace is beautiful, there is a window seat in the living room looking out to the front street (M will love it!) and there are a few nice built-ins and storage spaces throughout...including a nice built in bookcase in the smaller bedroom.
• The staircase is nice and wide (easier for moving furniture, and feels more comfortable too)
• There are a lot of windows, for great ventilation. The ceilings are somewhat high, which adds to the house's good open feeling.
• The house has been well maintained and feels like it is in good condition. The floors are also in relatively good shape.
• The master bedroom, while it doesn't have its own bath, is very close to the bathroom and is very large: 14x20 at least. A second bedroom is also a good size.
• There is a lovely sunroom type space on the first floor that could be used as an office or playroom, or for any number of purposes. It's great!
• There is an enclosed sunroom type porch next to the pool.
• The driveway is shared. Often this would be a big draw-back. However, there is still a two car garage (apparently with a garage door opener), the driveway is well maintained and wide enough for its shared use, and it also means maintance is shared with the neighbors (and word is, the neighbor's sons shovel it).
• The seller's agent is in the same office as our agent, which may give us some advantage in getting an offer accepted.

CONS

• This is at the top of our price range, and the taxes on this property are also rather high.
• There is not a real back or side yard. There is the pool, which is gated. Then there is also a paved area that the current owners have set up as a nice children's play space. In addition, there is a small area outside of the paved and pool areas. It currently has stones as well as a stone walkway, and a patio-swing. The no-yard factor is actually a pro for us because experience shows we can't maintain a yard very well. We have a very hard time with that. However, we do have a large dog to think about. On the other hand, our dog is 12 years old (so not buying a house because of her may not be adviseable), and there is a place for her to go outside even if not ideal.
• There is asbestos on some pipes in the basement. However, they are encased, so it would only be an issue if we decided to do updates. We'll talk to the inspector about it during the inspections.
• The roof appears to be older. It may need to be replaced in the next few years (we'll find out in inspections).
• The heat is by oil, and there is only one heating zone=expensive. This is something, however, that we could probably address in the years to come given that there isn't major work to do elsewhere in the home aside from the roof.
• One of the bedrooms is very small, probably 8x8 or something. And there is no room for expansion. This is an issue for foster licensing, but because one of the bedrooms is very large, if G. and I were willing to take the smaller one at some point, we should be able to continue being licensed for the number of children we would like to care for.
• There is likely lead paint inside that we'll need to get removed.
• There will be costs associated with maintaining the pool, though the good news is that it seems well-maintained currently and they have done some updates on it.
• There is no open, neighborly porch.
• The basement does get some water, which is VERY common in this city, particularly with this type of foundation (however, there is a sump pump and a dehumidifer already installed).

I've called our agent, and she is at a doctor's appointment right now. She is going to call the selling agent and get a feel for urgency. If there is not an offer on the table yet and no word of one yet, I will meet with our agent tomorrow at 11am to write one. Otherwise, her brother (another agent) will be writing the offer with me later today, or she may do it after her appointment. Updated at 4:30 to say that she checked with the selling agent and we were the first to come in. The next showing isn't until tomorrow at noon, so we'll be able to write our offer tomorrow at 11am. I am so nervous about getting this offer right, so we are competative but don't break the bank. I really, really, really WANT this house, and I KNOW it will get other offers. It is unfortunate that I will do this without G. having seen the property, but she said it sounds GREAT, so she is on board and excited. She just can't wait to see it.

Side note: The bad news is I was basically out of my office all day. I worked much of the day Monday (my usual day off), and a lot of Tuesday (despite missing my day off). My assistant had to be out both days for personal reasons. Today I was running late because I was seeing G. and the kids off to New York. Then G. called late this morning to say she got a flat tire. She usually can change a flat tire, but was having difficulty getting the tire off. She was on the Mass Pike and AAA said that when you are on the Mass Pike, they can't send somebody out. The state police have to come. The state police came, called somebody to help, but the folks were taking forever, and it was past the kids' nap time, and everyone was in quite a state. So I stayed on the phone with her until help arrived. Part of the time she had me on speaker phone talking to the kids, who were miserable, while she kept working to try to change the tire.

I came to my office this afternoon and found a note from my assistant saying she wasn't coming in tomorrow but would be in on Friday, and that she wouldn't have time to get several things done. I don't mind at all. But I called to check and make sure everything was okay, and she seemed short with me. I have been in late a lot lately, and I know that makes her work harder because we can't chat in person about stuff. I value her so much, and I am terrified that I have really let her down. I have such a knot in my stomach. I hope everything is okay with her and between us as well. She is amazing! I have always been paranoid about my own inadequacies, and whenever anything like this happens, I always assume I am making someone's life miserable and that our relationship is coming undone. I know there are a thousand other things that could be happening, but boo hoo! I am having super, super anxiety.

Could We Have Found It?

Hot off the press, this house just came on the market. Our agent previewed it and said it was nice.

She will be showing it to me at 2pm. I am eager to see it!

To see the listing, go to http://www.remaxadvantage.com/search.asp?search=standard&agentid=104861, scroll down to where it asks for the MLS number, and plug in the following number (but take out all the spaces):

MLS # 70 7 5 708 0

It has pros and cons. The location is not the one we've been eyeing most recently, but still pretty good (and very "desireable," which is always considerable for resale). I'll post more about it once I see it.

Further House Hunt Updates

On Sunday we went and looked at two more properties, and we looked at the house I talked about in my last post a second time.

Here is the deal: there is one other house we really like now (more on that in a minute). Before any of you jump in right away to say that we should start running away from the previously posted house into the direction of the "new house," let me say these things:

• I really, really, really, really DO NOT like the location of this new house. Buying in this area is technically probably a very good investment. It is one of those "nice neighborhoods" that will probably appreciate better. BUT, even though it has at least some sidewalks, it is not within walking distance to anything but other houses. There are few folks out walking around the neighborhood, even with the great weather we've been having. And, while we were out at the house, the neighbor man (who creeped me out for some unknown reason) was on his back deck, with his young child, smoking. Smoking on his deck that is right next to what would be our yard. And the smell was wafting our way. And his son was really in our kids' face. And the yard is lower in that part so privacy options are restricted. When I drive toward the other house, I get so happy and cheerful. When I drive toward this house, it gives me a tight, constricted feeling in my chest.


• This house is about $30,000 more expensive than the other, yet it has 300+ fewer living sq. feet, it will require less work but still some notable work (including the replacement of *nearly all* windows-- which happen to be custom, hard-to find sizes-- just as one example), the house has a great layout but not a particularly good feel at all, and the yard will still need to be fenced and will need a significant amount of work. Right now it isn't in tip top shape whatsoever (I think we've been priced out of that option now that the market is picking up again).


• And perhaps most importantly, this is a "short sale." This means that the seller is in danger of foreclosure, and owes more on the house than the asking price. As long as the asking price isn't too far out of range of the market value, the bank may forgive the remainder of the loan for the seller. But the bank must approve of the purchase offer, which often takes about 90 days (unlike a typical offer, in which case you would hear back within three days or so about whether or not your offer is accepted). While the short sale makes for a slightly better deal, and there may be a way to structure the offer so that it gives us lots of room to back out at any point, it will put us in a difficult waiting spot for several months.

That being said, here is the house:

http://www.remaxadvantage.com/search.asp?search=standard&agentid=104861

MLS #70 7 4 71 57 (take out all spaces)

After we get the first house looked at by a contractor, we'll know whether we will pursue it further. Perhaps at that time, if we're still unsure about what to do, we can put in an offer on both properties even. If the "rehab house" falls through during inspections, we'll already be under consideration for the "short sale" house.

I don't know. We'll see.

The House-Hunting Report

Here's what I wrote on one of my message boards tonight:

We exhausted ourselves looking at houses today. It was completely, utterly tiring. Honestly, I would be willing to put an offer on any of them (they all have good points and bad points), but none of them make both G. and me smile except for one:



http://www.remaxadvantage.com/search.asp?search=standard&agentid=104861

MLS# 70 55 9 738 (take out the spaces)

Both G and I walked into this one and just felt really comfortable there. We like the layout, and it just FEELS good. I wanted to sit down and stick around. G. literally left *beaming.* She smiled ear to ear all evening thinking about it. The problem is that it is somewhat of a rehab project.

• It will need a new roof.
  
• All the shutters need replaced.


• Some of the windows still need replaced.


• The lead and asbestos need to be removed.


• It may need a small amount of electrical work (though it does have a brand new electrical panel).


• The kitchen will need some major work, and as a part of that project, we'd probably end up converting a "bonus" room right next to the kitchen into a bathroom and laundry room combo.


• The basement is very wet. It has an ancient drainage system that would need to be replaced and it needs a sump pump or two.
• There is an old oil furnace (luckily sans asbestos). It would be in our best financial interest to update the heating system, converting it to a multi-zone gas-powered system (fortunately the house is gas metered).


• The (small) yard needs work and needs to be fenced.
  

Eventually the driveway will need to be repaved. It also needs a lot of cosmetic updating.

Much further down the line...we'd knock out that front entryway (it is unuseable right now...very, very, very musty...though rest assured that the rest of the house doesn't have that smell), and we would hopefully put in a porch or a deck.

I'm unsure about taking on a house like that right now. And I worry about the wet basement, in terms of longterm structural issues. I also think a rehab loan might knock us out of the running because right now I've heard they require 30% down and are more expensive loans.

Actually, there are some other downsides to the house as well, which would impact re-sale value. It is on a very busy street and right behind the house (next door, basically, as it is a corner lot), are several business (rather than more residences).

BUT we LOVE the house. It is a comfortable size and very likeable in soooooo many ways. And the location is very good (besides the busy street, which we actually appreciate because our kids like watching cars go by). And it is much cheaper than many of the other properties we've looked at.

I'm gonna talk to one of our mortgage people tomorrow and see if this is at all possible financially. The house has been on the market for a year. Most houses that have been on the market when it hit bottom have now sold. Not this one. The seller is motivated (although we have to consider that when they first listed, the house was listed at $240,000). I am really tempted to put in an offer of $180,000 or $185,000 (or less if the price of the work adds up enough to justify doing so) and just see what they do.

That makes dw nervous because she loves the house and wants to start offering at $190,000. I'm not ready for that yet. There is so much work.

Our agent is gonna give us the contact information for a contractor who will give us estimates for all the work. This will give us an idea of what is a fair offer and whether we can afford this either as a rehab loan or by reducing our downpayment to help cover the costs out of pocket.

We also have one other property that just came back on the market that we've asked our agent to see. We'll see what we decide to do. Stay tuned.

House Hunting This Weekend!

I am getting anxious about buying a house.

My agent says that buyers are coming back to the market in droves at the moment (after I asked her because it seemed like every house we liked got an offer before we could get in to see it).

I don't want to have sold at the absolute bottom of the market only to have to buy when the market is in full upswing.

I'm irritated.


So I asked our agent to show us a handful of houses on Sunday. I picked them out. Let me show you the one I like the best right at the moment:

Why do I like it so much?



Location...Location...LOCATION
+a front porch *and* a back deck!!

To see the full listing, go to http://www.remaxadvantage.com/search.asp?search=standard&agentid=104861, scroll down to where it asks for the MLS number, and plug in the following (but take out all the spaces):

70 744 9 18
(note: at some point I will take this down)


This house just might have the potential to make the house-hunting process joyful again. When I think about it, I get butterflies in my stomach.

BUT, it is not perfect. Here is the ol' pros and cons list:

PROS

• It is within our price range in a location I ADORE! I like the location because it is in an area of the city considered broadly to be desireable (good in terms of an investment), but it is in a more economically mixed portion of that area (good in terms of our souls). There are trees and sidewalks in the neighborhood (you'd be surprised by how little of that there is out here), and there appear to be families with children around. It is walking distance to a lot (at least in comparison to everything we've found in this city so far). I haven't even seen it all yet. A new vegetarian restaurant (seriously unheard of out here) just opened up a few blocks away (I swear we could single-handedly keep it open)!! From what I could tell, we could walk to at least a couple different restaurants (granted one is a faster-food type chain), to at least one if not two pharmacies, to a youth center with a basketball court and a very tiny park (see below under cons for some issues), to a "corner store," and MORE! You just don't get that kind of thing in most areas of this strip mall city. It is on a side of town that really appeals to me, despite being very congested through the route to my work...however, it is in the perfect spot because there is a short-cut I can take. It should be a ten minute drive to work, I think. The location makes me want to put an offer on it site unseen, for crying out loud! I swoon.
• As I said, it has a really cute porch! PLUS a nice looking, big deck!
• The backyard is perfectly level, very well-maintained and seemingly low maintance, and seems to be of decent size. It appears to be fenced, though the back portion of the fence would need to be replaced with something more dog-proof.
• It has a newer boiler, newer water tank, replacement windows, and vinyl siding.
• Supposedly the kitchen and bathroom have been updated.
• All appliances are included.
• Heating is by gas (much cheaper than oil), and the water heater also works by gas. Given the smaller size of the house, heating should be affordable.
• The house is pretty darn cute. Even cuter in person than in the photo.

CONS

• While I love the location, there are some issues with the location. On the next street over, there is a medium-size liqour store. Across from that there is a trashed out, ill-maintained Rite Aid (pharmacy). Though the house is less than a half mile from a park, it hardly deserves the title. The park is right on a majorly busy street. There is graffiti all over the park, and all it consists of a lonely slide and a few swings and *a lot* of litter. Though it is next to the youth center, it feels very sketchy, especially as night begins to fall. Also, across the street from the park is a commercially owned (though small) stadium. On one hand, I want to get involved in cleaning up and adding to that playground, but part of me thinks it's hopeless.
• This is another house with potential size issues. Again it is one the same size as our old house that we felt we had outgrown. I do feel that having porch and deck space increases the size of a home on some level, but we are a growing family.
• Also, a big red flag here is that the listed square footage differs greatly from public record (it is listed with a few hundred more square feet).
• The room sizes are not listed, and the rooms look small...especially that rinky, dinky supposedly updated kitchen. If any of the bedrooms is smaller than 10x10, we can't buy this house due to foster licensing.
• The bedrooms are divided between two floors. Ack! I don't know if I can handle that.
• Right now there are carpets everywhere. It says there are hardwoods under all carpets, but there is no way to know what condition they are in or even if this is true.
• There is only one bathroom, there is no fireplace (Waaaaaaaahhhhh...I really, really, really want a house with a fireplace damnit! A lot! How much does it take to add one?), and though there are four off-street parking spaces, there is no garage.
• There is likely lead, which means for foster licensing we'll be sinking a bunch of money into the house right away to de-lead. On the other hand, this is an issue with most of the houses out here.
• There is only one heating zone (more expensive, less efficient, and less environmentally friendly), and the heat is also by steam which is a potential issue with M's asthma.
• I am not a fan of wallpaper personally, and it has wallpaper in every room.
  

So what does it mean when you love the location in so many ways, but there are also other glaring location concerns?

And they say to always buy for location, but when does location trump other downsides?

I know, I know. I haven't seen it inside yet, and I could end up hating it. Plus, for all I know they'll already have accepted another offer by Sunday. And knowing my luck, this won't work out. But for now I can't stop thinking about it.

Offer Accepted

While giving folks time for my allie series, I thought I'd just do a quick post to say our home went under contract today. The buyer accepted our counter-offer, which was for our original "worst case scenario" that we budgeted.

It is for an amount which will allow us to pay off our debts. I am praying we'll have enough money left when all is said and done to still have a small downpayment for a house out here, but we'll have to crunch the numbers. If they want us to do anything after the inspections are all complete, we may be in a tough position. I really don't want to go under this amount.


Overall, I am having an interesting emotional response to all this. I am overcome with a silmultaneous flood of regret in leaving this home behind, and absolute relief that we have a buyer, pending any additional inspections (which they've already begun).

I think a true grieving process about this move has begun.

I loved this little house. Most of the best things in my life happened at this house. G. and I closed on this house just before our wedding. I first responded to my vocational call in this house. We became parents in this house. Our children were born while we were living there.



I will miss the community we lived in an incredible amount. I knew this wasn't going to be easy, but...

letting go is much harder than I anticipated.