Monday, March 16, 2009

HOUSE.

OMG YOU GUYS WE'RE BUYING THE HOUSE. YES WE ARE. OMG OMG OMG.

I am DYING with excitement. I mean, obviously we haven't closed yet, but I see no reason why it wouldn't work out, unless there's a financing issue (and we're preapproved, so there shouldn't be) or something horrible comes up during inspection (which I doubt). We went to look at the house again on Saturday, along with another in the same neighborhood, and decided we wanted to make an offer. We made the offer on Sunday, the owner countered two hours later, and we came to terms that night. We weren't planning on buying a house quite so soon. But then again, when I met Torsten I wasn't really looking for a serious relationship, and look how that worked out. If the perfect thing comes along, snap it up, even if you weren't expecting it to happen for a few more months. Right?

We are on a 12-month lease in our current apartment, but we knew we'd likely buy before the end of the lease term and made sure that we could break the lease--and we can, for the penalty of one month's rent.

And you guys, the house is perfect. The other house in the same neighborhood but not next to a highway that we looked at this weekend? It was smaller. It needed a lot of updating. The kitchen was fine, but low-end. The floors weren't great. The rooms were small. The closets were tiny. The whole thing felt wrong. And it cost $120,000 more than ours.

I tried making a pro and con list for our house, but everything was a pro. Even the highway, because it allows us to get a much nicer house in our price range.

We did a lot of research into the highway thing before we made the offer. The sound wall is great, and throws the sound up and over our house--unfortunate for the neighbors a few streets away, but good for us. It blocks particles from coming into the yard, so we don't have to worry about pollution. The decibel level isn't high enough to cause any sort of stress-related illness. We sat in the yard for 10 minutes and by the end, we barely heard the highway anymore. And in the house you can't hear it at all.

And the house. OMG, the house. Torsten took some photos to show his parents, and you can see them here (plus you've already seen a few photos).

The entryway:


The living room, with bay window visible this time:


View from the kitchen into the family room, which the renters are using as a dining room for some reason:


Three quarters of the master bedroom (unfortunately you can't see the GIANT double walk-in closet):


From the back:


You guys, this house has everything. If we had made a checklist of what we would look for in our ideal house, this would be it. For example:
  • Five bedrooms. Not necessary, but it allows us to have two kids, each with their own bedroom, and an office for each of us, assuming we both keep working from home long-term.
  • A beautiful finished basement.
  • Hardwood floors upstairs and down.
  • Gorgeous, remodeled kitchen.
  • Great neighborhood, about 15 minutes from downtown, with nice houses, quiet streets, lots of families, good schools, and easy lightrail and shopping access.
  • Incredibly spacious bedrooms with huge closets.
  • Big windows and lots of light.
  • Separate formal dining room.
  • Two fireplaces.
  • All new, beautifully-done bathrooms.
  • Two-car garage.
  • Big fenced yard with covered patio in the back.
  • Brand new roof, two new furnaces, new electrical panel, and new paint. No updates needed for at least 15, and probably more like 25, years.
  • A price low enough that if Torsten, the high earner of the two of us, were to lose his job, we'd still be able to cover the mortgage on my salary. It would be tight, but we'd manage.
Seriously, you guys, it is perfect in every way. Not only does it have everything we were looking for in terms of location, size, bedrooms, etc., but it is done in a beautiful style that perfectly suits our taste. I never would have thought that we would find such a perfect house, ever, much less so quickly.

Although really it hasn't been so quick, because I've been looking at it since it first came on the market in October, and other listings since even before then. And we first saw it in person almost a month ago. We've been doing tons of research and looking at tons of listings, and we know that this is the house we want.

Assuming there are no snags before we close, we move in in just a month. OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG HOUSE.

68 comments:

  1. CONGRATULATIONS!!!! I am THRILLED for you. You'll love it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Congrats, Jess. That's such a nice entryway! And I yay every room with huge walk in closet, and 5 bedrooms? SCORE! Good for both of you :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Very exciting! You've now got people pulling for you guys across the country and all around the globe. Let this next month fly by, so you can get settled in by summer!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Congratulations! What a giant year for you guys.

    ReplyDelete
  5. congrats!! that's so exciting!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Congratulations!! That is so exciting for you guys! I can't wait to read about the moving in and really settling process.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow!!!! Congratulations on the new house. I'll not pout about how far away your house is from mine, no I won't.

    ReplyDelete
  8. it's a beautiful house! congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow, congratulations!! How exciting! And it's absolutely gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  10. OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!!! HOUSE HOUSE HOUSE!!!

    I am totally squeeing for you guys!! It is a gorgeous home and sounds like a perfect buy. I cannot WAIT to see you guys get settled in and put your stamp on an already-beautiful home!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Holy GAH!

    CONGRATS! This is awesome. It is just BEAUTIFUL.

    ReplyDelete
  12. House! You are going to have a HOUSE! So exciting. Montana is going to love that yard!

    ReplyDelete
  13. YAAAAAY HOUSE!!!!! I am so happy for you =) I had a feeling that you guys might push your house buying plans up since you found this beauty. CONGRATS!!! WOOOO!

    ReplyDelete
  14. That is so great. How exciting for you. the move to Denver has been such a turning point and you are having all your dreams coming true!

    Good luck with the closing!

    ReplyDelete
  15. i'm so happy for you! congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  16. yay! that's so exciting:) i'm going to be out in your neck of the woods from about april 22 to may 1 or so-- what are the odds that i might get to see the house and meet the puppy?

    ReplyDelete
  17. Congrats! It's a lovely house! Thinking good thoughts for a smooth process!

    ReplyDelete
  18. WOW! That is awesome! Congratulations, guys!

    ReplyDelete
  19. The house sounds amazing!!! congrats!

    ReplyDelete
  20. yay!! that is so great! i hope everything goes smoothly for you guys!!

    ReplyDelete
  21. SO exciting! Congrats! I'm sending good thoughts!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Congrats! That is so exciting. It is a gorgeous house! :)

    ReplyDelete
  23. Congratulations! Now Denver will truly be home :)

    ReplyDelete
  24. WOW!! So excited for you!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Congrats! That is SO exciting! You guys are going to be very happy there. :)

    ReplyDelete
  26. Holy Crap!! That's fantastic!! Congratulations on a most fabulous house!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Congratulations! That's awesome! *happy dance* for the three of you.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Congrats! that's amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Holy crap that is so awesome! Yay yay yay!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Congratulations!!!

    I'll contain my seething jealousy over your 5 bedrooms and insanely awesome kitchen, and wish you a speedy closing! :)

    ReplyDelete
  31. Oh that's so awesome!! Fingers crossed that everything works out, and pre-congratulations!!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Congrats!! I'm so excited. The house sounds perfect for you guys. And it is really beautiful. My family is going to start house hunting in a month or so. I hope we are as lucky as you have been.

    ReplyDelete
  33. OH SQUEE!! OH SQUEE SQUEE SQUEE!!! I hadn't realized I was HOLDING MY BREATH about this house until you decided to buy it and I felt a swoop of joy (and oxygen).

    ReplyDelete
  34. congrats!!! that is such exciting and happy news!!!

    ReplyDelete
  35. That's really spectacular. I'm thrilled for you!

    ReplyDelete
  36. Your life is awesome! Married a great man you're madly in love with, have a job you love that lets you work from home even after home suddenly becomes a place across the country just where you wanted to live, a sweetie pie doggy, and now a great house. And YOU TOTALLY DESERVE IT.

    Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  37. Oooooh! That's so exciting! Congrats darling!

    xox

    ReplyDelete
  38. I'm so happy for you guys. You're such great people, and I really love it when great things happen for great people!

    ReplyDelete
  39. Congratulations! I'm so happy for you both!

    ReplyDelete
  40. I love the cabinet doors!!! Congrats!

    ReplyDelete
  41. Congratulations! This is so exciting and the house is beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  42. Yay! So excited for u guys and your dream house! (the pics keep getting better!) Congrats!

    ReplyDelete
  43. I'm really super excited for you! Congratulations! It sounds like you got a great deal.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Your excitement is very cute to "hear" and I wish you and Torsten (and Montana!) all the best in the new house...hope it all works out!

    ReplyDelete
  45. I hope you get the house. I am filled with both excitement and serious yard-envy.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Holy mackeral! I leave for a week and you go find a house to buy?? WOW! How exciting for you!!

    ReplyDelete
  47. Gah! You guys seem to have it all together! So jealous (but also very excited for you guys!)

    ReplyDelete
  48. Congratulations!! It sounds absolutely PERFECT.

    ReplyDelete
  49. OMG OMG OMG. The house is beautiful! Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  50. WOW! That house is gorgeous! I know you guys are going to have many happy years there! Congrats!

    ReplyDelete
  51. It is, if possible, even more gorgeous than before. It's obvious you've found a HOME. What a life you'll have there.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Wow! I am so happy you found a house, so soon. Did you say when you are moving it? It is so beautiful :)

    ReplyDelete
  53. Congratulations on the house! And perfect timing with the $8000 tax credit!

    ReplyDelete
  54. OMG so exciting! Congratulations and yay!

    ReplyDelete
  55. Congratulations! This is great news. I love the entryway and the entire house. Yay!

    ReplyDelete
  56. OMG OMG! How thrilling! And that fireplace is sooo beautiful. Yay for you & Torsten!

    ReplyDelete
  57. AHHHHH CONGRATS CONGRATS! Oh it is SO SO nice! It's so pretty! Hooray hooray! Jess, I am so jealous of how wonderful your life is.

    ReplyDelete
  58. Congratulations! I'm actually a little jealous of all the perks of that house, even though it's way more house than I myself need. So happy for you guys!

    ReplyDelete
  59. Congrats, this is all so exciting!!! I can't wait to get to the stage in life that you're at now... squeee for you guys!!

    ReplyDelete
  60. So, so excited for you three! Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  61. Oh my God. That is so freakin exciting!!!! Congratulations!!! and once again, it is beautiful and I am super jealous!

    ReplyDelete
  62. Yay! Sounds like you are living a charmed life, my friend. :)

    ReplyDelete
  63. It's like watching a sappy movie, the way all of your pieces are falling into place - and I mean that in a good way. Congratulations!!!

    ReplyDelete
  64. This is brilliant! Congratulations!! So, moving, a dog, and a house in about a month. Next week you're going to tell us you're expecting, aren't you? :)

    ReplyDelete
  65. P.S. I love those huge windows in the basement bedroom. I think you guys just bought our dream house too - only it's in Denver instead of in Canada....

    ReplyDelete