YIPPEE!!! We are new homeowners (almost)!

[aljdewey]

Well, after what seems like a gargantuan process, we FINALLY have a place to call home!

Rich and I did the "express" buying.....we condensed what most people experience in 6-9 months of home buying into just 3 months.

In those 3 months, our realtor showed us more than 35 homes. We also went to about 7 open houses on our own, and we did drive-bys on another 30-40 homes. I get exhausted just thinking about the marathon.

It has finally paid off. After three WEEKS of agonizing over terms, we have AT LAST signed the P&S on our new place. Woo-hoo!

I can say, though, that this place made the whole thing worth it.

We got everything we were looking for and more. It doesn''t yet have central air, but it''s forced air heat, so it''s a snap to add the coil/condenser this spring. We actually got a fireplace....a luxury I hoped we''d find but didn''t really think we''d get.

Being Italian, I''m a HUGE culinary wizard. The kitchen is SO gorgeous.....I think I''m gonna sleep on the kitchen floor for the first week.

Here are some shots of the outside and the downstairs: http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=pk22mep.9zdml62h&x=1&y=-gbgy3

 

[KSparkles]

Yay for you guys! Congrats on the new home - best wishes!

 

[Matata]

The link won''t let me see anything but the outside.........no matter, CONGRATULATIONS from one l''Italiana to another!

 

[JohnQuixote]

Wow! Incredible house. I love the lower level "swing" garage setup. The expansive hardwood floors are luxurious. I have ''em in part of Casa Quixote...nothing like scooting around in socks on the wood - and you have lots of scootin'' room.

Congrats!

 

[jenwill]

Lovely house! Congratulations on findign the house, I know it can be a humongously painful process.

The kitchen is very nice, as are the fireplace and hardwood floors. The separate dining room would be my clincher though......love the separate dining room!

 

[Hest88]

Swwweeet!!!! Congratulations!!!!

 

[hoorray]

Congratulations AL!

Homeownership is a great thing (even when your pipes leak and your appliances are broken, like mine are right now

). Enjoy turning it into your home.

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 11/23/2004 5

1:54 PM
Author: jenwill
Lovely house! Congratulations on findign the house, I know it can be a humongously painful process.

The kitchen is very nice, as are the fireplace and hardwood floors. The separate dining room would be my clincher though......love the separate dining room!

Thanks, all.

Jen, yup - the separate dining room thing was a BIG deal to me, too! I wanted a separate dining room for a few reasons.

1. When I entertain, I want to be able to leave the dishes on the table after a meal and retire to the living room to spend time with guests. Because the dining room cannot be seen from the living room, I can do that and clean up when they go.

2. Since we are going to grow old together in this house, I really wanted to go with a single-level house that would be easier to navigate as we age (no stairs!), but here in New England, they don''t build a one-level style that I like. I''m not fond of ranches with small windows and very little walking space. An ideal one-level house for me would have the main grouping in the middle (living room, kitchen, dining room---with DR not visible from LR).....and flanking the main living area would be the master suite on one side and guest/office quarters waaaaaaaay across on the other side.

Since they don''t build that here, my alternative was to make sure we have a separate dining room because we could convert it to a bedroom if mobility issues arose down the line.

 

[fancyrock]

Congrats!!! That is an awesome house! Enjoy it.

 

[noobie]

It looks great al! Congrats to you and Rich.

I hope you won''t have to convert the dining room into a bedroom for a long long time.

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 11/23/2004 8:15:24 PM
Author: noobie
It looks great al! Congrats to you and Rich.

I hope you won''t have to convert the dining room into a bedroom for a long long time.

HA - I''m hoping we NEVER have to. While I''ve tried to plan ahead for the worst, I feverently wish for "the plan".....to live there for 30 years together and then both retire to someplace where it''s not TOO hot but doesn''t SNOW!

When we move then.......NO packing. We''ll sell off everything we own and take only the photo albums and any pets we have at the time.

 

[fire&ice]

Cool! ...and your gonna need that goat sooner rather than later.

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 11/24/2004 10:33

1 AM
Author: fire&ice
Cool! ...and your gonna need that goat sooner rather than later.

HA - cute. We have a couple of month reprieve, actually, considering that there isn''t much grass to be found during winter in New England.

On top of that, my husband has been assimilated by some as-yet-undetermined, foreign being.......because all of the sudden, he is watching Home and Garden Television !!!!!! and having delusions of grandeur about what he can do in the backyard! Who''d-a-thunk????

I think the excitement of a new home is infecting us both.

 

[ame]

YAY! Congrats!

 

[Mara]

Make sure to have the guest room ready for me!

I LOVE all the light this house gets and the color of the walls and trim. It''s going to be spectacular once you''re all setup. Congrats gal!

 

[fire&ice]

On top of that, my husband has been assimilated by some as-yet-undetermined, foreign being.......because all of the sudden, he is watching Home and Garden Television !!!!!! and having delusions of grandeur about what he can do in the backyard! Who''d-a-thunk????

I think the excitement of a new home is infecting us both.

I never was one to garden. Never gave it much thought. Actually thought it to be plebian. I had an herb garden solely for culinary reasons.

That was then. This is now. Our second home was obviously a labor of love for the original owner as far a landscaping. I started to garden just because I felt a need to nuture her charge. I''m out of control at this point.

Once that bug bites, it takes hold. Now, I find gardening relaxing with a purpose. I adore it. So, while the new house may be infectious - gardening is infectious on steroids.

Forget diamonds. This past birthday I asked for a neato shovel.

My next task is the country house & plantings for butterflies!

Have Fun!!!!

 

[hoorray]

Date: 11/24/2004 5

8

3 PM
Author: fire&ice

On top of that, my husband has been assimilated by some as-yet-undetermined, foreign being.......because all of the sudden, he is watching Home and Garden Television !!!!!! and having delusions of grandeur about what he can do in the backyard! Who''d-a-thunk????

I think the excitement of a new home is infecting us both.

I never was one to garden. Never gave it much thought. Actually thought it to be plebian. I had an herb garden solely for culinary reasons.

That was then. This is now. Our second home was obviously a labor of love for the original owner as far a landscaping. I started to garden just because I felt a need to nuture her charge. I''m out of control at this point.

Once that bug bites, it takes hold. Now, I find gardening relaxing with a purpose. I adore it. So, while the new house may be infectious - gardening is infectious on steroids.

Forget diamonds. This past birthday I asked for a neato shovel.

My next task is the country house & plantings for butterflies!

Have Fun!!!!

I had a lady who worked for me once take a vacation day to work in her garden. I thought she was nuts, and hoped I''d never get to that point. That was before I tried it. I got completely hooked, and agree -- it is one of the most theraputic things in the world. One birthday, instead of a new bauble, DH bought me a suite of Smith and Hawkins tools -- the shovel being my favorite. I was so happy.....

.

Al, your land looks like it has lots of potential! Have fun with it, and take pictures periodically. One of my favorite things is to look at the old pictures and see how much things have grown and changed. Especially from starting new. Everything is so small, but you don''t really realize it until it fills in and you compare.

 

[sxn675]

Congratulations and welcome to the world of home ownership!

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 11/24/2004 4:18:56 PM
Author: Mara
Make sure to have the guest room ready for me!

I LOVE all the light this house gets and the color of the walls and trim. It''s going to be spectacular once you''re all setup. Congrats gal!

WOO-HOO - road trip! Would LOVE to have you come out....New england''s BEEEEEEE-YOOOOOOOOOO-ti-ful in the winter (hehehehe *smirk*).

Door''s ALWAYS open for you, gal!

 

[Mara]

Date: 11/24/2004 9:26:29 PM
Author: aljdewey


Door's ALWAYS open for you, gal!

You may regret saying that! Oh Porttiaaaaa. Don't barf on Auntie Al's nice new rug!

 

[aljdewey]

Well, yeah, it has *some* potential for landscaping, but more in the front than the back. This land is 22047 sq. ft., but much of it is protected conservation land. I can't even fart in its general direction without permission, much less alter it or traipse on it! That's part of what took so damn long to get a signed P&S....our offer was accepted on Halloween weekend, but between the lawyers and their addendums about the conservation stuff, we didn't sign the actual P&S until last Friday!!!!!!! 3 weeks IS a bit much!

However, the front does have promise. The builder is due to come back in the spring and level/seed the front lawn and any other "disturbed" areas (which could potentially qualify as!). I'm going to ask about having the front walk-way run toward the garage instead of splitting down the middle to the street.....I don't even know the plan as yet.

I can, however, envision some nice shrubs in the front, a few flowers, and a mulch border in the front. I'd also like to put some of that interlocking block stuff rimming the driveway near the front corner.

At present, my goal is to see if I can find a Fisher-Price riding lawn mower for the hubby so he has a place to set his Guinness without doing too much damage

 

[heart prongs]

Al - What a beautiful home!!! Congrats to the new homeowners! It looks so big and bright...and the floors are beautiful. If you don''t mind me asking, are you still in Mass.? It looks like a house in Beverly near my new in-laws...Anyway, YAY for you! klr

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 11/27/2004 7:16:16 PM
Author: heart prongs
Al - What a beautiful home!!! Congrats to the new homeowners! It looks so big and bright...and the floors are beautiful. If you don''t mind me asking, are you still in Mass.? It looks like a house in Beverly near my new in-laws...Anyway, YAY for you! klr

Thanks so much. Yes, we are still in Mass......we bought in Merrimack Valley along 495.

We close in four days! Woo-hoo!

 

[MelissaSue]

Its wonderful!! I want a nice big house like that! Is it a new build? or has someone lived their previous? It looks REALLY new.

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 11/29/2004 12:36:49 PM
Author: MelissaSue
Its wonderful!! I want a nice big house like that! Is it a new build? or has someone lived their previous? It looks REALLY new.

No one has lived there previously - it''s brand new construction, but in an established neighborhood.

The gentleman next door used to be the last house on this dead end street, and he had a one-acre lot (his house is 15 years old). He recently sold the left half of that lot, and this house was built on it. This means my house is now the last house on the right on our dead-end street, and it''s the only new house on the street. Because there is a 30-foot city water easement than runs along with west boundary of our property, it''s fairly certain that the street will never be extended further. No one can build behind us, either.....it''s all conservation land and backs to woods.

We truly got the best of all worlds.....brand new construction without living in a subdivision with cookie-cutter homes. Ours is an old-time New England tree-lined street....lots of curb appeal.