New house!

[MichelleCarmen]

This is crazy, but my husband and I put an offer in on a house today and it was accepted! We're buying THEE house. The one we'll live in for 20 years and raise our boys in.

I cannot believe it. Part of me is in shock that we FINALLY found the place. And, part of me is freaking out at the cost (lol -

)

The landscape is incredible with a Japanese Garden/Arboretum with a number of Japanese Maples. One is worth almost $10K. My husband and I have seen numerous Japanese Maple varieties (including ones at the big garden at the Seattle Arboretum), yet have NEVER seen this one. We may have to dig it up to make the mortgage payment.

Hopefully, everything goes smoothly! I'll post photos soon as closing (which will be a fast one - end of July)

 

[Kaleigh]

MC,
Congratulations on your new house!!!!! I love Japenese Maples, they are just lovely. Good for you guys, I wish you all the best in your new house. I know you didn''t love the one you''re in now, so this one will be the one!!!! Yay for you. Please post pics when you can, I want to see those Japenese Maples!!!!

 

[JohnQuixote]

MC - Wow! What a big day and a fantastic feeling for both of you. Congratulations - and best wishes for a smooth, timely closing.

 

[Mara]

Sweet Michelle, congrats! Will you have a TV in the new house?

You guys are so lucky to find your dream home and be able to afford it (even with the Japanese Maple making the payment!!)....many people never find exactly what they are looking for and in the location they want to be in long-term!

 

[sevens one]

MC that''s wonderful. Congratulations.

 

[s95]

Michelle Carmen,
Congratulations! Do you live in the Seattle area? If so, I know that finding a house there can be challenging because it just keeps booming and booming out there. The arboretum sounds lovely!

 

[sjz]

That''s great news! Hope you love your new house, Japanese Maples and all! You might need to get a guard dog, though...just this past weekend my sister had someone come into the garden of her brand new home that she''s only lived in for 2 weeks and dig up her Japanese Maple in broad daylight! No kidding, they did it while she and her family were at church Sunday morning. She lives near Indianapolis, and apparently someone told her that stolen landscape is a big business near there. She was really upset, because she''d had her maple for over three years...she had it dug up and transplanted at her new home!

 

[Blue824]

Wow! Congratulations! That must be so exciting for all of you! The gardens sound wonderful, share some pics when you move!

 

[AChiOAlumna]

Congratulations!! How wonderful that you found the house of your dreams!! Please give us a virtual tour when you''re able!!

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 7/5/2005 11:09:38 PM
Author:MichelleCarmen

The landscape is incredible with a Japanese Garden/Arboretum with a number of Japanese Maples. One is worth almost $10K. My husband and I have seen numerous Japanese Maple varieties (including ones at the big garden at the Seattle Arboretum), yet have NEVER seen this one. We may have to dig it up to make the mortgage payment.

Hopefully, everything goes smoothly! I'll post photos soon as closing (which will be a fast one - end of July)

MC
congrats on your new house.

i love japanese garden

i have a 7500 gal koi pond in my backyard .i have 3 japanese maples in the front yard,they're pretty expensive if the trunk is 12" and above in diameter, they sell them at the nursery for like $5,000 each.

 

[MissAva]

Congrats MS that is fantastic news!

 

[Kamuelamom]

Oooooooooooooh, Japanese Maple, that will be awesome in the fall! Congratulations on your new home! We want lots of pics when you close.

 

[msb700]

Congratulations MC!! Can''t wait to see photos of it!!

 

[icekid]

ooh that is fabulous news!! CONGRATS!

 

[Jennifer5973]

Congrats, Michelle!

I know you have been working towards this for a long time. All the best for many years of health & happiness in your new home.

 

[aljdewey]

YAY - Congratulations! I''m SOOOOO happy for you. I know you''ve been longing to make a move for a while now, and I know how exciting it feels to get your "dream house".

Couldn''t be happier for you both! We want pictures!

 

[Patty]

Congrats Michelle!

I can''t wait to see pictures of your house! Haven''t you been renovating a house to sell?

As for the Japanese Maple...dig up that baby, sell it, and buy diamonds! (just kidding!

)

 

[icemyster]

Many Congratulations......Washington State, Seattle area is the place of choice for my wife and I as well....just a matter of time before we make the jump from east to west coast....All the best!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Thanks so much, everyone! My husband and I snuck out to the house this morning and took a bunch of pictures of the grounds so I'll upload a few images in a bit here. We have 1.23 acres, so the yard is HUGE. Half is landscaped and half is a fenced in orchard - perfect for kids.

Oh, I wanted to mention that there were three offers, two of which were over asking price. Both us and another couple offered approx. $10,000 more than the asking, but get this, the other couple added into their offer that they wanted the on-site John Deere riding lawn mower (probably valued at $1,500) and the sellers were so turned off by this that they picked us instead! lol I can't believe it. Imagine a silly lawnmower breaking the deal for this other couple!

(AND, when our agent called us last night he told us we're getting the riding lawn mower. . .apparently, the sellers planned to include this with the house, but since we didn't assume this, they were pleased and added it right into the contract!)

Regarding our other house. . .we are still renovating and are planning to use the 1200 sq. ft. shop for my husband's business location and then rent the house out. Hopefully this works out. . . it's going to be tight for a while, but will be worth it in the long run. No diamonds in my immediate future.

 

[Libster]

Michelle,
I''m so excited for you!!!! I can''t wait to see pics, it sounds beautiful!!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Okay, here a few pictures. . .

Keep in mind, our camera is REALLY old and we had to set it to low resolution because the batteries were about to die. We didn''t quite capture the grounds, but we''ll take better photos soon. There are lots of little bridges and paths, but either my husband didn''t photograph these, or the shot turned out blurry.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Okay, this center tree is the fancy Japanese Maple. It just looks like a regular tree here, but I''ll get some close up shots and show off the leaves. They''re cool because they curl up rather than lay flat like many maple leaves. . .(my husband and I are going to be stocking up on books before we move in because many of the plants here are new to us and I''m not sure what this tree variety is

)

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Here's the extra unmanicured yard. There's a chain link fence surrounding it that we'll probably leave for now and later, when we have time, replace with shrubs

The white house and little shed are ours and are located on the other 1/2 acre. . .(property is subdividable)

 

[MichelleCarmen]

. . .

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Here's another maple on the right. I'm guessing there's at least 15 of these, but we managed NOT to capture a single one here in these pictures. . .lol

Oh, and hot tub on left. My husband is thrilled!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

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[MichelleCarmen]

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[MichelleCarmen]

Last one for now! lol Sorry for picture overload. I'll post house photos in a few days. . .jet tub and huge master bath! hehehe

 

[Bikergirl]

Congrats!

The photos are AWESOME! I hope your family has many wonderful years in your new home.

 

[diamondlil]

Congragulations! Awesome landscape -- very serene and comforting. Any pics of the house?