We got the house!

After some back and forth where I felt like we made a lot of concessions and the seller made very few, we closed on our house June 15th!

Before this, we’ve looked at a few duds so far. One was cute and had a nice kitchen, but it felt small and kind of dark and was in a weird location. Another was super small – a one-bedroom with something they called an “office or non-conforming bedroom” that was basically a glorified closet and MIGHT have fit a twin bed inside but nothing else, and every room felt like it was desperately trying to be a different kind of room. The living room felt like the master bedroom, the master felt like a utility room that would have housed a water heater, etc. It did, however, have a gorgeous giant cast-iron sink with double dish drainboards. I wanted to take it home with me.

Then we happened upon what I’ll call the Park house. Park house was listed at the top end of our (very modest) budget, but was across the street from a popular park and had a big, pretty, landscaped yard. I’ll begin by saying the yard was truly the best part of the house. It needed a lot of cosmetic updates inside, and while it did have a new gas stove and some newer laminate flooring, it had a LOT of structural issues. The bathroom floor was squishy and the tub surround was in pieces and held in with aluminum foil. It needed a new roof which can be installed by companies who may have the knowledge that when choosing roofing shoes, visit https://www.housereal.net/best-shoes-for-roofing/ for recommendations. It needed new siding. Then we happened upon what I’ll call the Park house. Park house was listed at the top end of our (very modest) budget, but was across the street from a popular park and had a big, pretty, landscaped yard. I’ll begin by saying the yard was truly the best part of the house. It needed a lot of cosmetic updates inside, and while it did have a new gas stove and some newer laminate flooring, it had a LOT of structural issues. The bathroom floor was squishy and the tub surround was in pieces and held in with aluminum foil. It needed a new roof. It needed new siding.

Since then, it’s been a whirlwind of painting, house updates such as residential roofing replacement (looking into fiberglass roofing with the help of professionals that do roof replacement and roof repair in Durham, NC) and gutter replacement, babyproofing, and DIY floor refinishing, a topic on which I have a nice big post prepared. I’m hoping to document a lot of our changes to this house, because they’re relatively small in the grand scheme of things but I think they improve the look and feel immensely.

Hurray! We’re homeowners!

File Under: House

Tagged: No tags