Love at First Sight

"Can you picture yourself living there?"

This was one of the questions I'd heard multiple times when speaking to homeowners before I went to view houses on Sunday. As it turned out, there were five houses on the list for the day. I met Spencer face-to-face for the first time at the first location with both of my parents there. We walked around the house, checking out the yard (and a really weird looking tree - it could have been at home in the Wizard of Oz), and then entering a house with horrible red shag carpeting, four entrance doors, an attached garage (in which none of the previously mentioned four doors connected it to the house), and a multitude of empty rooms. Not a bad house, but not one that I could picture myself in.

Four of the five homes I was shown on Sunday were vacant. This isn't a bad thing, it just made it difficult to picture myself in most of them. Well that and too many "do-it-yourself and hope-to-be-able-to-actually-live-here in 5 years" projects. There was one that I feared I wouldn't even be able to use the waste removal facilities without hours of gruelling labor (or expense).

One house was inhabited and during the walk through, two cats came to pay a visit. They ran up and down the paths created by the residents made up of extra junk and plenty of Miller High Life cases of beer. Who stores beer by the bed? Really? I'd like to know. Oh, wait, I do know. These people. These same people who have a basement without much moving room (lots and lots of piles of stuff) and the walls covered in heavy metal and grunge musician posters.

The second house we viewed was by far the best. It was vacant, but not dirty. The house had previously been owned by the same family for 56 years. My realtor kept saying "her" and "grandma," so I think she had lived the last few years alone in the home and is now either moved onto a retirement home (hopefully!). This property is 2 1/2 blocks away from my dad's home, 2 miles from work, and three doors down from a quaint little park. It boasts .3 acres and at first glance the backyard seems to go on forever (at least to my apartment dweller eyes). It is one and a half stories with a basement. The attic and basement are unfinished, but have lots of room for storage and opportunity to build value in the home. Half of the basement is carpeted and has lots of room for certain piles of scrapbooking materials that take over other areas of my current living space.

The garage is detached and is actually a one and a half car garage. Shelving takes up the 1/2 part of the garage, which is pretty nice for some additional storage. A few feet away is the entrance to the house through the kitchen. There is another entrance at the front of the house.

The main floor has a cute little kitchen, a decent sized living room, two bedrooms, and a bathroom. The layout is almost identical to the layout in my dad's house.

So, I fell in love. I can see myself living here. I can see myself coming home, sleeping here, and having a great time.

I can see this being the right place for me so much that I put in an offer! And guess what. After paperwork galore, waiting and nail-biting, a slight counter-offer back, it is accepted!

I'm going to own this home! It is possible that if things go right, I'll be closing on the house on May 29th. I'll have a month to move out of my apartment and get settled into my new place.

Seriously, I'm jumping up and down inside. I randomly break out into clapping.

Hee hee hee! This is cool.