Getting over it

The whole "I need a new house" thing. Very nearly over it.

So we went and looked at what from the outside appeared to be an awesome development in an ideal location last week. (Blogged about it here.) Ideal location in cutting the commute. But not ideal as in long ways from all the shopping and schools. My kids would be destined to long bus rides to school. And as someone who grew up literally across the street from my grade school, that just isn't going to work. Oh and not to mention the price tag. We would like a travel trailer next spring and I have some hopes of being able to go to 75-80% time at work so I can have more one on one time with the kids. So putting it all together, AB and I have agreed that we have ruled out that development.

We went down to the house on the coveted lot down the street on Saturday afternoon. I had actually figured I was going to walk in and hate it, and so I just needed to see it so I could move on. AB on the other hand was bound and determined he was going to walk in and love it. We met halfway in the middle.

I was pleasantly surprised given that it was a two story house, and I prefer ramblers or ranch style. AB was disappointed from his initial "I know I am going to love this house" take.

There were a lot of little things with the house both positively and negatively. It was a weird house which I can only assume was a custom design. Why else would you put an actually pretty decent kitchen off facing against a wall and not into the great room? Why put nice Pergo flooring in the dining room butted up next to green and purple linoleum in the kitchen? Why put top of the line fixtures in the kitchen, and bargain basement clearance crap in the bathrooms?

As far as I could see, the house wasn't worth the $269K asking price. Though I hope it really is as that would bode well for my house. Because while it has a bonus room that our house doesn't, and a third car garage and a much larger lot, our house is "nicer". We could buy the house, but it needs a lot of work put into it to make it what we want. And I am not doing that with a house that is only 3-4 years old.

Saturday night AB and I sat on the patio, under the pergola with glasses of wine in hand and a fire in the firepit, kids asleep. I love my house. The thought of moving out of my house that I brought my babies home to pains me. We bought this house as a single couple who had lived in apartments to that point. We had no idea at the time how we were going to fill all those rooms, cupboards and shelves. Five years later and we have filled them.

We don't have an immediate need to move. We are running out of room, we lack storage space completely, but nothing is changing anytime soon. We want a fourth bedroom that will act as a guest room. We want a three car garage. I want a kitchen with functional cabinets and a walk in pantry. But none of these things are "needs".

We are giving thought to calling a real estate agent we met and liked awhile back and giving her a list of exactly what we are looking for, in what areas, at what price and strict instructions to only call us if something that fits the bill comes onto the market. That is plan one. Plan two has us buying one of the view lots we have been drooling over for sometime now. Sit on it for a year while we get together with Josh and design our house. Pay for him to come up and help us as needed (and to play golf). And build our dream house over the course of about 2 years. (Hi Josh... we haven't told YOU this yet, of course.)

Either way, cool our heels. We are doing just fine in our currrent house. (And I am thinking I want to actually benefit from some of the upgrades we might like to make to our house to make it sell better.)