Honey, I'm Home (I think)

So just when I thought we had found the house we really liked and could easily afford, the city of Columbus owns part of the property. There’s something called a right of way easement on the property and there’s a snowball’s chance in hell of getting it vacated.

After a long conversation with my mother who happens to be an administrator for a planning and zoning board in New Jersey, she knew all about easements and suggested we walk away. So we did. These poor owners have been trying to sell this property on and off since 2005. Mental note: do your homework before signing on the dotted line.

So once again, the house hunting resumed on Saturday. I was truly disappointed by the outcome on the house that had the easement because I was fully expecting to put a bid on the property and start packing. But such is life. There are worse things.

So I went into our house hunting for the 5th straight weekend in a row with guarded optimism. I really needed to calm down and take a deep breath and understand that this is a tremendous process. We saw the first house, and I thought, “OK, well this isn’t the one. Let’s move onto the next.” The kids were being pretty patient and it was a sunny and pleasant Spring afternoon. So off to the 2nd house we went with our buyer’s agent. We entered the front door of this house and I said, “I am home.”



It’s a 2 story Dutch Colonial in a great neighborhood with crown molding, chair rails, built-in bookcases and corner cabinets, hard wood floors, a second floor porch, a front porch with a swinging bench, a large backyard with a deck, 3 bedrooms and a playroom off the kitchen. So what is wrong with this place? This house was built in 1925 and it has the original windows (enough said), the driveway needs replaced and at the high range of our budget is totally capping out our funds. But this house has great character, and it’s a great location. We’re expecting good resale value because the old adage in realty is location, location, location, right?

So unfortunately I’m on the road for business most of this week, so my husband is going to look at it again on Thursday, at which time, we most likely will put in a bid. We need the owner to come down in price in order for us to actually afford the home based on the down payment we’re providing, and to feel like we’ve gotten somewhat of a deal, considering the work it needs.

It’s the first house my husband and I have actually agreed upon as well. I hope the optimism remains for him when he sees it on Thursday. We’re going through this whole house hunting process in two completely different ways. He seems to think we have eternity to find the “perfect” house and I’m a more impatient person who wants to find it yesterday. I’ve been wanting to move from our townhouse for a very long time. Our buyer’s agent summed up our house hunting perspective perfectly: he’s the voice of reason, and I have the emotional connection. Which I guess is a good balance. I just hope we can come to a finalization soon. I want to move before the summer begins. I’m hoping this house works out to be the one. We will be totally strapped for cash in the beginning. But I can’t help but ask myself, “Do I really have an option?” My son, CJ will be starting kindergarten this summer, and not to mention my kids need a yard. A neighborhood. A place to have their friends over. And frankly, who would deny this face a happy home?