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house hunting

House Hunters- Part II

If you missed part I of this post, you can read it here.

House Hunting is nothing like what you see on TV.  So far, we haven’t encountered any rooms with black wall paper, but we have run into three things (so far), that never happens on house hunting TV shows.

1.  When a house has a For Sale sign in the yard, it is listed on the on-line and realtor listings, and there are open houses, one can only assume the house really is for sale-right?  Wrong.  

The first house we made an offer on, after it was all said and done, we found out that the sellers aren’t interested in moving, and they don’t have to move.  We are only left to wonder why in the world they put their house on the market then, if they don’t want to sell it. 

I can hear  Suzanne Whong now…“Unfortunately, the first house the family made an offer on, the sellers are crazy, and have no intention of selling their house. They just like to waste people’s time, so the family has to keep looking.”

2.  No matter how much you think you are on top of the listings, there is at least one house that will get away from you, and be under contract before you can get your offer in- even in a “buyer’s market.”

I had seen a house in a newer subdivision for about a month now in the listings.  It was a short sale, meaning the bank agreed to sell it for less than the amount of the mortgage owed on it.  I guess this is one step before a foreclosure.  The house had never been lived in.  It was gorgeous.  Everything brand new, granite counter-tops in a HUGE kitchen, a sunken bathtub in the master bath, one extra bedroom than what we were looking for, a three car garage, and a decent sized yard.

The best part it was priced about 60k less than what it sold for new.  It was an incredible deal, and the price was in our price range.  I don’t know why in the world it just didn’t “click” with me, for us to look at this house when I saw the listing.  We were focusing on houses in another subdivision, and we were in the middle of the offer with the people who really aren’t selling their house. 

Last week when it finally occurred to me that this was a great house for us, and that was confirmed by doing a “drive-by,” I called our realtor to set up a showing.  He told me this house hadn’t come up in his search for us, because- we asked for at least a quarter acre lot- a .25 lot.  He said this one was a .22 acre lot.  I just laughed, that was close enough, but then the bad news.  He said it went under contract the week before.  We were one week too late!

Says Suzanne, “Because Heather suffers from Mommy Alzheimer’s  the family wasn’t quick enough to get to this house before it was snapped up by someone who is on the ball.  This would have been a terrific house for the family- just what they were looking for.  Now the family is back to square one.” 

3. Because the entire process is not fun and frustrating, you will be faced with a lot of decisions that you never considered.

We looked at another house this past weekend, and decided it is something we will keep in mind, but we aren’t going to make an offer on it (I’ll never say never, but no offer on it at least for the time being.) 

The house needs a lot of TLC, but the major problem for us, is the kitchen is tiny.  Joe and I could barely fit in it.  It would have to be remodeled, but there is a wall, and we would have to make sure it isn’t a structural wall.  There were a lot of other projects that would have to be done too. 

We were considering it, but then realized we don’t really want to do all that work- we want to spend time with our boys while they are young.  Not spend the next five years on home improvement projects every weekend.  We didn’t even really like the layout of the house that much.  We could probably get this house at a rock-bottom price, but we just aren’t excited about it, and doubt this is the house we are looking for.

To widen our horizons so-to-speak, we are now considering looking at a town about 15 minutes away from us.  It is a lot smaller town than where we live now.  There are several houses in this town, that are what we want size and price wise, but we just aren’t sure we want to move to this town. 

Now we are debating the pros and cons of moving to this town before we set up any showings.  We know there are houses there, but the questions we are now facing are, where do we want to live, and do we keep waiting for something to open up in a neighborhood we like and had decided on, or do we move now, even if it isn’t to a place we really ever thought about living in, but has what we want?

“The family has some hard decisions to make, and all they know at this point, is they don’t know what they will end up deciding.”  Suzanne says. 

You can say that again, Suzanne Whong. I’m sure there will be a House Hunters Part III- stay tuned.

Categories
house hunting

House Hunters- Part I

I love watching the real-estate shows on Home & Garden, TLC, & Discovery channel.  My favorite is the cheesy, House Hunters, with Suzanne Whang.  If you have never seen it, it is a riot!  Basically you follow a family as they look at three houses for sale.  I’m used to the ‘old-style’ version.  It goes like this:

One house is usually a dump, but they still try to be nice about it.  It can be the most hideous house with black velvet wallpaper and polka-dots, and they will say something like, “Oh, that’s a unique design.”  Or the entire house is boring- white walls and beige carpet and they will say, “These are really nice walls.” 

Everyone knows what they are really thinking and you wish just once the family would say it- that they wouldn’t live in the house for a million dollars.  After they are done looking at the hideous interesting house, instead of saying they would rather live with Paris Hilton in a Motel 6 than in the house, they mutter things like, “Well, even though this is a really great place, we don’t think its the place for us,” or, “We love the bathtub (usually the only thing in the house that isn’t messed up, ” but we think we should look at a few other places before deciding.” 

Then the second house is usually OK.  Not great, but not as awful as the first one.  It may need a few repairs, but at least there isn’t velvet wallpaper on the walls.  After looking at the second house the family is mulling it over.  They usually tell their realtor (who has traveled in a time machine from the 1970’s to appear on House Hunters), “Well this is a lot better than the first one.”  Then the over-eager 1970’s realtor jumps in and says, “Well, now that I know what you are looking for, I have one more house to show you that I think will really grab you.”  Of course, the family always agrees. 

Can you guess what is coming?  The third house is always perfect.  Just what the family is looking for.  Why the realtor bothered to show them the first two houses is a mystery.  They could have saved 23 1/2 minutes of the show.  The family walks through the house, oohing and awhing over everything, and I mean every last detail.  “Look at the ceiling honey…it is marvelous.”  Or, “This toilet seat is fabulous.  It is padded.  That will be comfortable to sit on with a good magazine.”

When they are done drooling over the toilet seats, the tell the realtor this is the house for them and they want it.  The realtor gets that KA-CHING look on their face, and tells them, “Sure, let’s go back to my office, and we’ll write it up.”  Then the “drama” begins.  Will the seller accept their offer? 

HGTV only makes you wait in suspense for one commercial before you find out.  Suzanne Whang does a nice recap for you showing the houses that were shown, and the house that the family finally decided on (just in case you forgot.) Then you are told the Smith’s put in their offer and are now eagerly awaiting to hear if their offer was accepted.

Then you see the family playing a board game (do families still do this?), or eating at a restaurant, very casual and relaxed when suddenly- the phone rings.  In a very relaxed and laid-back manner, they answer the phone “Hello?”  PLEASE-like they don’t know who that is!

The next part goes like this,”Uh-huh- yeah, OK, Uh-huh, OK. Thanks Carl.” The person than hangs up their phone and turns to the spouse who didn’t get the good fortune of answering the phone and says, “That was Carl, and we got the house!” 

Astonishing!  Who would have thought?  I was so sure their offer was going to be rejected.  Then there is another commercial, and when we return, the lovely Suzanne Whang revisits the family a few months later, after they have had a chance to put their own touches on the house.  Unless they have covered the walls in black velvet wallpaper, all is well, and another successful real estate transaction has been completed. 

Real life house hunting is NOTHING like this TV show.  I will give you our version of House Hunters (minus Suzanne Whang) in an upcoming post.

Categories
Activities Cole Family & Friends Mothering Parenting Ryan

Good Ol’ Summertime

We are having a lot of fun around here this summer. The boys have taken to swimming, well-like fish to water.  Especially Cole.  It doesn’t matter what kind of water it is- he loves it.  From water from the hose, to the kiddie pool, to the sprinkler, to the water at the swimming pool- he is thrilled around water.

We have been trying to go swimming at least once a week.  We are pretty lucky that our town has two great kiddie pools, that we can alternate between them.  Today we took the boys to the kiddie pool in town that has a slide.  It isn’t a huge slide, but it is adequate for kids of all sizes.

I say that because Ryan wouldn’t go on it.  He didn’t want to at all. But Cole- we couldn’t keep him off of it.  Never mind that he was the only two year old going down the slide.  Never mind that all the other kids going down the slide were at least twice his age.  He was just in his own little world, and he was going down that slide as much as he wanted.

He would climb up the rock stairs, and wait his turn-just like all the other kids.  Then when it was his turn, he’d sit on the slide, and look at the water running down it.  Oblivious to the fact, that he was holding up the line. He just had a grin on his face a mile wide.  He had waited in line, and he was going to make the most of it!   He examined the stream of water coming out of a sprinkler to keep the slide wet, and had to touch it and play with the water.  No amount of coaxing from his daddy or mommy would make him hurry up.  This was his time to decide when he was ready to slide. 

And when he decided it was time to go, he let go, and swish…down the slide he went, with even a bigger smile into his daddy’s arms.  If he got water in his eyes, or in his nose, it didn’t bother him.  He would laugh, and quickly squirm out of daddy’s arms to go get in line again, and do what he just did, all over again.

Ryan was just happy to be bouncing around in the water and playing. At one point he came up to me, gave me a hug and said, “I’m having so much fun in this pool Mom.”   Another time, I was holding him in the deeper water, and he told me to take him back to shallow water, because he had a great idea.  Once we were in the shallow water, he asked me if I wanted to dance with him.  So we did a little waltz in the water. 

I had so much fun playing and watching my boys today.  They are so sweet and innocent, and watching them have fun, just made me appreciate again how fortunate we are to have them.  It doesn’t get much better than dancing in water with your four and a half-year old, or seeing pure joy and excitement in your two year-old’s face, as he experiences a water slide for the first time. 

When I was a kid, my mom used to take us swimming, but she never went swimming herself.  She said she had just as much fun, sitting on a beach blanket watching us.  I never understood that growing up- but today I did. I understand what she meant all those years ago.  As long as your kids are having fun, and enjoying themselves then you are too, and it is the most fun you will ever have.    

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Eco-Friendly Living Giveaways/Contests

KIWI Magazine Subscription Giveaway

There is an exciting family-centered magazine with a focus on natural and organic lifestyles.  The magazine, as you can see from the cover shot, is KIWI!

KIWI “shares the desire held by all parents to create a safe, happy environment for our children that promotes growth and well-being.” 

I found out about KIWI a few months ago when one of their writers contacted me to be interviewed for a story on delaying vaccines.  She had come across my blog post on the subject.  While our schedules didn’t work out for me to be interviewed for her story, I looked at KIWI‘s website, and loved what I saw. 

There are so many interesting natural living articles ranging from family, to health, to social responsibility to eco-friendly crafts.  There are organic and natural recipes, a “goodie” section-including contests, and a special section just for kids!  And of course, they even have a terrific blog, The Kiwi Log.

KIWI is happy to offer a FREE one-year subscription to a reader of A Mama’s Blog.  This will be for six issues.  I know you will love receiving KIWI bi-monthly.  In order to be eligible to win, all you have to do is go to KIWI‘s site (you can click on the magazine cover at the top of this post,) and look around.  Then leave a comment here, on what you liked, or what caught your interest- it could be a recipe, an article, or a feature. 

Earn an extra chance to win- If you mention this giveaway in a blog post on your blog, you will earn an additional entry to win the subscription.  If you do this, please make sure you sign Mr. Linky with a link to your blog post, where you mention this giveaway.  That’s it- easy as pie!

The contest will run until July 24th at 10 p.m. eastern time, and a winner will be selected by random.org.  So head over to KIWI, and start checking out all their informative and eco-friendly features.  Good luck!

Categories
house hunting

House Hunting

As of last week, we have officially started looking for a new house to accommodate our growing family.  When I say growing, I mean as in two little boys, who are quickly outgrowing the space we have in our current house. 

We actually put a bid on a house last week in a neighboring town.  We started our offer on the lower side of the acceptable range, but we were pretty sure we would be able to come to a “happy medium” with the sellers regarding a price.  The house was nice, but it did need some work.  However, the sellers didn’t budge at all in their price.  Evidently they don’t have to move and are holding out for their asking price. 

We were pretty surprised at this.  Everything you read says it says it is a buyer’s market, and sellers are willing to move mountains to sell their properties.  I guess these sellers didn’t get the memo.  🙂 

We are being picky.  We don’t have to move right away.  We don’t have to sell the house we are in now before we can move, (we are going to rent it), so we can take our time and keep looking. 

It has been years since we have bought a house- I had forgotten all the emotional feelings that come up when trying to decide on a house you want to raise your family in.  But, I guess you have to go through that in order to find the right place.

I have already decided for us, there is not that elusive “perfect house.”  Since we aren’t selling our current place, we will have two mortgages, so we don’t have an unlimited budget to work with.  There is a big difference in looking at properties, and then realizing what you can actually afford.  We also don’t want to have every last dime tied up in a house payment. 

So, we will just have to see what comes our way.  Maybe we’ll get lucky and find something that is almost perfect.  If not, that’s okay- we have done countless home improvement projects over the years, so we can fix, paint, remodel a space, etc. if we have to. 

Moving forward even from this one attempt to buy, I have already learned that there isn’t a “perfect” house- there is always something that you don’t like, or want to change, and don’t count your chickens before they hatch.  A deal isn’t a done deal until you actually close on the property.

While I am not really excited at the prospect of going through all this again, it is nice to be moving in that direction and hopefully we’ll find a place, sooner than later.  We’ll appreciate any good house hunting thoughts you can send our way, and if you have any tips you’d like to share, I’d love to hear them.