We are officially 2 weeks out from our projected closing date on our new house! The story of how it is we came to be looking for a house is kind of funny, and here it is.
We've always known that after a short sale we could get a new loan 3 years later. We also just figured we were in a good situation and would really plan to start looking in the spring 2016. That timeline was really just so we could save money for a year after me starting work full time again, and to just hope to get all situated before Samantha started kindergarten. In anticipation of next year and the crazy housing market we figured we would at least start talking to a mortgage broker, and my dad's friend who I've known my whole life just happens to be a great one. So in April we started talking to him to figure out the post short sale timeline and figure out where we currently stand with getting a loan. We found out that come June 1 we could get a loan and we easily qualified. A couple weeks after talking with him Josh got a call from our landlord who informed us that she needed to sell the house we're renting. That was unexpected, but she is also a relator and had gotten divorced since we moved in. We have been on a month to month lease since our first year so she technically had to give us 60 days notice in writing. Josh told her that we had been looking into buying but that we couldn't make anything happen until at least June. Luckily she understood and said ok and would give us through the end of August. Still none of this was in writing so we kind of worried, but with each passing day bought ourselves another day legally in the rental in case she changed her mind. We thought for a while and went back and forth on whether we should buy or find another rental and then buy a year later. The idea of moving only to then move again one year later did not excite us at all, but I looked for rentals and found that the rental market was CRAZY! Rentals were going to be too expensive, and then if we did find a house and had to break a rental agreement there's another fee. So we looked more into buying.
We started talking to my mom's friend from high school who is one of the top agents in the Portland Metro Area. Literally, top 20 out of more than 7,000 in 2013, plus I just love her! We talked to our parents to see if we could borrow some money for a down-payment since that was our biggest obstacle. In early May we met up with our relator and started looking at houses. We knew we couldn't actually make offers until June but it was good to see what was out there and for Marcia to see what we liked and didn't. She said we were easy however because we looked at the right things, location, traffic, general layout, not the stupid stuff like paint colors and décor. I have always loved looking at houses and love house hunting shows so I was ready!
We met up and went out again late May with the idea that if something was available maybe it would still be there a week later. We found a house in Sherwood that we loved the location and the house was fine. We decided to make an offer. We thought the house was overpriced but then after we wrote our offer we found out there was another offer already. By the time it was all said and done there were 3 total offers. We went in as high as we thought we could/would want for the house and we didn't get it. I was ok with it. The house needed a lot of updating and the floorplan was a bit awkward but still would have been fine. I was more worried about starting over looking for a house and potentially getting into another bidding war. House prices were just going up.
A couple days after we lost the Sherwood house I was scouring the internet on every site I could find and I found a house listed for sale by owner in Wilsonville. I sent it to Marcia (after showing Josh) and we arranged to go see it. We weren't expecting much since there were only a couple pictures with nothing exciting, and it had zero yard, but we loved the neighborhood so thought it was worth seeing. Josh and I drove out after dinner on a Wednesday night and I went in with Marcia while Josh stayed in the car with the girls. I loved it! Marcia went to the car to sit with the girls and Josh met me and asked me what I thought. I told him I think I kinda love it. :o) We were both shocked by how much we loved the house. We had to think about the lack of a yard with the girls but ended up realizing that we are both black thumbs and have horrible allergies and with the neighborhood what it was the kids could play in the front and we could also go to the park. There is a 500 square foot deck and the girls could have a portion of that for playing as well. Marcia talked to the homeowner and found out his plan of having an open house Sunday and then he was going to decide on an offer on Tuesday. We were ready to act but had to wait it out as he prescribed. Fine. My parents all got to go through it during the open house and they all loved it as well. We went during het open house as well and when we showed up there was a friend of the homeowner there who I know through work as she's a member of the district's Long Range Planning Committee. Small world, and thought maybe it would help. The kids were also with us and acted great and happy so that maybe helped too. Whatever it was, we wrote our offer Sunday morning and submitted Monday morning. He accepted it as is Monday night.
It's been a few weeks now and we've made it past the inspection and are waiting on the appraisal now. The inspection showed us a few things we knew, the roof and water heater are original to the house, 1997. They will both need to be replaced at some point. Ok. We also learned a few things we didn't know, the siding is cedar and the attic is built up so well and insulated way more than it needs as the inspector said both are built to above Lexus standard levels. The structure of the house is great, some of the interiors are just basic, toilets, laminate counters, etc. That works for us, we'd rather replace the kitchen and bathroom counters than the siding!
So, fingers crossed as we move forward. There hasn't been any hold ups yet and we hope there won't be any! I'm currently in the middle of packing our entire house and figuring out all the odds and ends that come with moving. All while it's temps above 90. Lovely. Looking forward to our AC in our new house! I'd love to have an open house so you can all see it for yourselves!!!
No, the deck is not curved, just the panorama shot from my phone.
