New house!

On 5/19/07, I made the fastest big decision of my life: I made an offer on a new home. It was sheer luck that I even looked at the place. Along with my realtor, my parents, and Annie, we had looked at two other homes that morning. Both houses weren't what I had hoped they would be. After seeing how bad the last house was, I was discouraged. My realtor told me about a townhouse in Carleton Falls that she had just heard about. I agreed to take a look at it even though I had had my mind set on buying a house. This place didn't jump at me either. The view of the reservoir wasn't as asthetically pleasing as my Dad had thought it was. The layout I admit was interesting, but there was just something about it that I didn't like, and I couldn't put my finger on it.

Annie had seen another townhouse with an "Open House" sign in the front yard. We decided to take a look just to satisfy curiosity. All it took was one step inside this place to know that I wanted it! The deck itself was awesome! I could have sworn that this was a model that we were looking at. All the light fixtures were new and very modern. The colors of the walls would be perfect with my stuff. The owners were throwing in a flat-screen TV located in a cut-out just above the gas fireplace as well as a home theater system with the speakers hanging from each corner of the living room. The kitchen was spotless and the appliances looked fairly new. And then we walked upstairs! Two bedrooms and two full baths in addition to the half bath downstairs. As I walked into the master bedroom, I thought there were two closets. As I opened the folding glass doors, I was surprised to see an office instead of a closet. The room was large enough to be another bedroom. And then there was the private deck just off the master bedroom. I couldn't believe that I had spent over a month looking at only houses! I knew that this was the place for me! This is the thing that shocked me the most: this place was $7000 less than the first townhouse we had seen.

There was another interested buyer there before us who said to me, "Sorry, it's already sold." I thought to myself, "Not if I have anything to say about it." I asked my realtor how quickly we could write up a contract on it. We got in the car and booked it back to her office in Williamsburg and wrote the contract a little after noon. I offered owners exact asking price. I even asked for a 1-year home warranty as well as the washer and dryer. Apparently, the owners were looking to sell the house quickly. On the way to Richmond for my best friend's medical school graduation BBQ, my realtor calls me at 2:15pm to tell me that the owners had accepted the contract. I was in shock! I didn't think that they would accept my contract as quickly as they did. They even threw in their microwave! I close on the townhouse in just a few weeks.

Last week, Annie and I met with the owners, our relators, and my home inspector to clear up a repair that he was recommeding. They fortunately agreed to make the necessary repair. The owners took us for a walk in the neighborhood where we got to meet a few of the neighbors. They are moving to a larger house in the same neighborhood. Comfortable is the best way I would describe how I felt during the walk. It gave me a good chance to soak everything in and realize that this would be my new home soon. Owning a new house is definitely going to be a challenge but one I gladly accept!