Home Owner Adventures Part 2: A Contract on a House

We finally have a contract on a house and it is exactly what we were looking for! The process was so much more tedious than I anticipated. WE. SAW. A. LOT. OF. HOUSES. I mean, a lot! We visited houses that had floors peeling up, mold in the utility room, 3 bedrooms when the house was advertised at 4 and houses that had backyards that were non existent. Homes around here also were flying off the market! We toured a home that had been on the market for 2 days. As we were leaving the house the listing agent arrived declared that the house had just been sold!

We made an offer on 2 houses.

House #1:

• It was about $8,000 over budget
• 2400 square feet
• 2 story, 4 bedrooms and 2.5 baths with a large playroom (basements don't exist around here)
• Large backyard
• Real wood floors along with some stained carpet
• It also had an air conditioned bonus room attached to the garage 
• It was located right off of a busy road
• Zoned to good schools

House # 2:

• The listed price was the top of our budget (but still within budget)
• 2100 square feet
• 1 story, 4 bedrooms and 2 baths with a decent sized room to use as a playroom
• Nice laminate wood, tile and carpet floors throughout the house
• Acceptable sized backyard, but large grassy space in front of the house and park nearby
• Good neighborhood with kids playing everywhere on the day we went to tour it
• Zoned to good schools
• The seller is an older lady who kept the house in perfect condition (it seriously looks like a model home)

The offer on the first house didn't go through. They wanted more money, which would have made it close to $10,000 over budget. We just couldn't do it, so we didn't. The appraisal on the 2nd house came in $10,000 lower then we offered. I was afraid we were going to lose the house, but the seller agreed to lower the price by $10,000. So now we are $10,000 under our budget! Much nicer payments. If all goes well, it seems we will be closing on house #2 on December 9th! 

Without further ado: 

The Family Room

The Kitchen and Breakfast Area

Formal Living Area (we will turn it into a playroom)

Formal Dining Area (we will turn it into a study)

Master Bedroom

The Backyard Patio

I love the layout, the size and the crown molding. I don't mind the cream colored walls. Cannot stand the counter tops! I am so excited to put our furniture in this house and make it our own. Stay tuned for my decorating inspiration.

Read More Home Owner Adventures: 

Part 1: Deciding What We Want