We have a house! All went well yesterday with closing and we've already started bringing things over and taping off rooms that will be painted later this week. Stay tuned for more pictures and details soon :)
Showing posts with label Our House is a very very very fine house (or at least it will be in 5 months). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Our House is a very very very fine house (or at least it will be in 5 months). Show all posts
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Homeowners!
It's official.....
We have a house! All went well yesterday with closing and we've already started bringing things over and taping off rooms that will be painted later this week. Stay tuned for more pictures and details soon :)
We have a house! All went well yesterday with closing and we've already started bringing things over and taping off rooms that will be painted later this week. Stay tuned for more pictures and details soon :)
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Eye on the Prize
I know we must be getting close to moving into our new house because it is 6:30am on a Sunday and I am wide wake. In fact, I have been since about 5:30.
Yep....the stress-induced insomnia has officially begun. Sigh.
I first noticed this unfortunate habit in college when every semester around finals time, I'd wake up at ridiculous hours (regardless of what time I had gone to bed or when I actually needed to get up), my mind unable to stop running through all the work I needed to do between then and the end of the semester. And so, whenever it comes time for some sort of big life event or other important activity that requires significant work or organization on my part, it becomes impossible for me to sleep past 5 or 5:30am. So fun.
Another sign we are getting close? There are so many boxes around here that it is hard to walk in certain areas of the apartment. We've now packed the dining room, most of our non-hanging clothes and shoes (everything but what we will need for the next couple of weeks), almost all of our linens, all desk stuff, some electronics, all pictures on the walls and decorative items that sit around the apartment (picture frames, candles, etc.) We've also taken care of most of the rest of the "other" stuff we need to do before closing/moving-- utilities set to turn on at the new place and off at the apartment, movers set, etc.
And yet, despite all this progress, I can't help but feeling like there is still SO. MUCH. TO. DO. Maybe it's because I haven't yet tackled much in the way of the beast that is the kitchen. Or the bathroom (which may seem strange but for some reason the cabinets under the double vanity in our apartment bathroom are overflowing with stuff).
The good news is, the end really is in sight (and I just have to keep reminding myself of that and keep my eye on the prize, so to speak). Tuesday is our final walk-through where the builder shows us where everything is and how to contact them if we have issues (particularly in the first year when EVERYTHING is under warranty) and so we can make sure that they've completed everything and cleaned up after themselves properly. More importantly (for us, anyway) it will be our first look at the finished product! Then, one week later, we officially become homeowners and the fun part begins-- painting (more on that in a later post) and moving.
Maybe then I can get some sleep.
Yep....the stress-induced insomnia has officially begun. Sigh.
I first noticed this unfortunate habit in college when every semester around finals time, I'd wake up at ridiculous hours (regardless of what time I had gone to bed or when I actually needed to get up), my mind unable to stop running through all the work I needed to do between then and the end of the semester. And so, whenever it comes time for some sort of big life event or other important activity that requires significant work or organization on my part, it becomes impossible for me to sleep past 5 or 5:30am. So fun.
Another sign we are getting close? There are so many boxes around here that it is hard to walk in certain areas of the apartment. We've now packed the dining room, most of our non-hanging clothes and shoes (everything but what we will need for the next couple of weeks), almost all of our linens, all desk stuff, some electronics, all pictures on the walls and decorative items that sit around the apartment (picture frames, candles, etc.) We've also taken care of most of the rest of the "other" stuff we need to do before closing/moving-- utilities set to turn on at the new place and off at the apartment, movers set, etc.
And yet, despite all this progress, I can't help but feeling like there is still SO. MUCH. TO. DO. Maybe it's because I haven't yet tackled much in the way of the beast that is the kitchen. Or the bathroom (which may seem strange but for some reason the cabinets under the double vanity in our apartment bathroom are overflowing with stuff).
The good news is, the end really is in sight (and I just have to keep reminding myself of that and keep my eye on the prize, so to speak). Tuesday is our final walk-through where the builder shows us where everything is and how to contact them if we have issues (particularly in the first year when EVERYTHING is under warranty) and so we can make sure that they've completed everything and cleaned up after themselves properly. More importantly (for us, anyway) it will be our first look at the finished product! Then, one week later, we officially become homeowners and the fun part begins-- painting (more on that in a later post) and moving.
Maybe then I can get some sleep.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Welcome to the Jungle
Our apartment is officially in total chaos. It was bound to happen sooner or later (though I must admit I thought I had another week or so before it got to this point).
As you can see, we are now living in a jungle of the boxes—both empty and filled—and other assorted stuff. But the good news is that it means we are getting closer to our new house!
As chaotic as this all appears, there really is a method to the madness; it’s all part of the moving process. And I should know—I have been a part of many (MANY) moves over the course of my 30 years and while I may not have been an active participant during the first half, I have picked up a few things. Namely, that planning and preparation is everything.
Here’s how I like to approach the process:
1. 1) Get a game plan together. The very first thing I did was put together a spreadsheet of all things we need to do between now and closing/moving and assigned due dates and leads for each task (can you tell that I have a lot of program management experience??). I put our spreadsheet on the fridge so we can stay on top of what we’ve done and what we still need to do. This process has worked pretty well so far- we know what we need to get done each week and it’s kept us track.
2) Clean out. Moving is the perfect excuse to purge all the old/unflattering/out of date clothes (and shoes and other accessories) you still have in your closet/drawers. Same goes for other household items (books, dvds, music, knick-knacks, etc.) you may have collected over the years. Get rid of the waste—sell it on craigslist or donate to Goodwill or the library. Don’t move anything that you don’t need or use.
True to my advice, we have gone through all of our clothes, shoes and accessories as well as books and dvds. I got rid of a bunch of other extraneous household stuff when Jason and I got married and he moved in a couple of years ago but I anticipate that there will be some additional fat to cut when I start packing up the kitchen (coffee mugs, utensils, etc.) Over the last several weeks we have donated 10 bags of stuff to Goodwill and 5-6 bags of books/dvds to the local library. It’s a pain in the butt to do, but I find this cleaning out process to be almost cathartic.We also put a few things on craigslist including my desk and filing cabinet, an old bookshelf, bar stools, and my old Dell desktop. So far we've sold the desk/filing cabinet and the bar stools.
What moving advice has served you well in the past?
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
The Countdown Begins
Exactly four weeks from today, Jason and I will be homeowners! That's right, our house is almost our house. It's amazing to think that just four months ago, we were looking at this:
And now, we have this:
And this:
And now, we have this:
And this:
Yup--that's the first look at our new kitchen!
With only a month left until we close and move, there's a whole lot to do. And between the working, the cleaning out, the packing, and the general house-obsessing, there's not a whole lot of room for cooking or menu planning these days! But I hope you will stick with me as I share the method to my moving madness as well as the trials and tribulations of new home ownership in the coming weeks. Lots of change and excitement ahead!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Our House is a House!
Our house is really starting to take shape:
And we have walls too!
With only 45 or so days left to go, there are a lot of things to do:
And we have walls too!
With only 45 or so days left to go, there are a lot of things to do:
- Give notice to our apartment (going to do this weekend)
- Select lender and finalize details of our loan (hope to have things locked in within the next week or two)
- Get homeowners' insurance
- Schedule move
- Start packing!
Friday, June 24, 2011
Miscellanious
I can't tell you all how happy I am that it is the weekend! It was a long and tiring week and next week is shaping up to be even worse. But I'm choosing to focus on the positive:
Exhibit 1: Strawberry Summer Cake from Smitten Kitchen (I made the recipe as is so I thought I should just pass along SK's link). I made it for book club this week and oh my goodness was it good. I think it might have been even better the second day. I'm planning on trying it with other summer fruit-- blueberries and/or blackberries are next on my list. Whatever fruit you use-- you should make it this weekend.
Exhibit 2: Our house is even more house-like
We go in for our pre-drywall meeting this week which means we are about 60 days away from being homeowners!
Exhibit 1: Strawberry Summer Cake from Smitten Kitchen (I made the recipe as is so I thought I should just pass along SK's link). I made it for book club this week and oh my goodness was it good. I think it might have been even better the second day. I'm planning on trying it with other summer fruit-- blueberries and/or blackberries are next on my list. Whatever fruit you use-- you should make it this weekend.
Exhibit 2: Our house is even more house-like
We go in for our pre-drywall meeting this week which means we are about 60 days away from being homeowners!
Monday, June 13, 2011
House Update
After having been gone the last few weekends, we decided to stop by the ol' homestead to see how things were progressing. The front doesn't look too different from Memorial Day weekend:
Although they have added some trim work around the windows as well as a temporary door. But the back-- well the back is an entirely different story:
We have brick! My guess is by week's end the front will be all bricked up also. To give you a sense of how it will all look-- the brick will be painted an white/off-white and the trim around the front box of windows will be a greyish-blue color. With a red front door to pull it all together.
Work seems to be progressing on the inside as well-- we can see evidence of plumbing and electrical work having started. Our pre-drywall inspection will probably be sometime in the next week or two!
On a related note, we bought our first real home purchase over the weekend-- furniture for our rooftop terrace! We had our eye on a set from Home Decorator's Collection for awhile and decided to go ahead and make the purchase while they had a sale going on. Although the set we picked (see a picture below) is on backorder, the estimated ship date is the first week of September which is actually pretty good timing for our mid/late August move.
I can't wait to sit out on our terrace this fall!
Although they have added some trim work around the windows as well as a temporary door. But the back-- well the back is an entirely different story:
We have brick! My guess is by week's end the front will be all bricked up also. To give you a sense of how it will all look-- the brick will be painted an white/off-white and the trim around the front box of windows will be a greyish-blue color. With a red front door to pull it all together.
Work seems to be progressing on the inside as well-- we can see evidence of plumbing and electrical work having started. Our pre-drywall inspection will probably be sometime in the next week or two!
On a related note, we bought our first real home purchase over the weekend-- furniture for our rooftop terrace! We had our eye on a set from Home Decorator's Collection for awhile and decided to go ahead and make the purchase while they had a sale going on. Although the set we picked (see a picture below) is on backorder, the estimated ship date is the first week of September which is actually pretty good timing for our mid/late August move.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Obligatory House Update Post
Ladies and Gentlemen.....
we have windows! And some sort of waterproofing/vapor barrier (at least that is what my experience watching Holmes on Homes and Holmes Inspection tells me that white house wrap stuff is).
The progress continues!
we have windows! And some sort of waterproofing/vapor barrier (at least that is what my experience watching Holmes on Homes and Holmes Inspection tells me that white house wrap stuff is).
The progress continues!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
All That's Missing is a Roof
What a difference a month makes!
Our house in early April:
And in mid-May:
Our house in early April:
And in mid-May:
(shot from roughly the same vantage point as picture #1...ours is the one with the lamppost in front)
And here's a close up:
Pretty much all that's missing (structurally) is a roof!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Since I've Been Gone
You may have noticed I took a little blogging break.... we've had a lot going on at work and on the weekends lately and blogging has just taken the back burner. But I'm back and excited to share what's been going on since I've been gone.
First and perhaps most exciting:
Our house is starting to look like a house! We took Jason's parents by the model yesterday and were pleasantly surprised to see how much progress had taken place in the last few weeks. We have a pre-construction meeting this week (a misnomer given that construction has clearly begun) and I'm hoping we'll get an update on when it will be complete.
I've also spent the last couple of weeks having a bit of a reading renaissance. I've always been a big reader but haven't really felt like I've had the time to devote to reading these last several years. But over the last three weeks or so I've devoured three books...all of which I'd happily recommend.
1) Bossypants by Tina Fey It's a quick read and incredibly funny. I mean, come on....it's Tina Fey! What do you expect?
2) The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman A collection of vignettes describing life at floundering English language newspaper in Rome and the quirky characters who work there. In some ways it is more an interconnecting collection of short stories than a novel. Engrossing and at times heartbreaking.
3) A Visit From the Goon Squad by Susan Egan. This Pulitzer Prize winning book is this month's book club pick. It was interesting that I read it immediately after The Imperfectionists as they are structured very similarly. Like that book, A Visit from the Goon Squad is a collection of vignettes (told in the first, second, and third person depending on the chapter--one is even told completely through powerpoint!) that looks at the lives of a number of music-loving people who have crossed paths with one another over the course of a number of decades--both past, present, and future. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I'm now on the look out for other good books--any suggestions?
First and perhaps most exciting:
Our house is starting to look like a house! We took Jason's parents by the model yesterday and were pleasantly surprised to see how much progress had taken place in the last few weeks. We have a pre-construction meeting this week (a misnomer given that construction has clearly begun) and I'm hoping we'll get an update on when it will be complete.
I've also spent the last couple of weeks having a bit of a reading renaissance. I've always been a big reader but haven't really felt like I've had the time to devote to reading these last several years. But over the last three weeks or so I've devoured three books...all of which I'd happily recommend.
1) Bossypants by Tina Fey It's a quick read and incredibly funny. I mean, come on....it's Tina Fey! What do you expect?
2) The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman A collection of vignettes describing life at floundering English language newspaper in Rome and the quirky characters who work there. In some ways it is more an interconnecting collection of short stories than a novel. Engrossing and at times heartbreaking.
3) A Visit From the Goon Squad by Susan Egan. This Pulitzer Prize winning book is this month's book club pick. It was interesting that I read it immediately after The Imperfectionists as they are structured very similarly. Like that book, A Visit from the Goon Squad is a collection of vignettes (told in the first, second, and third person depending on the chapter--one is even told completely through powerpoint!) that looks at the lives of a number of music-loving people who have crossed paths with one another over the course of a number of decades--both past, present, and future. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I'm now on the look out for other good books--any suggestions?
Saturday, April 2, 2011
First Look at Our House
Jason and I drove by the home site today to check on things. And things are indeed happening!
Here is a first look at what will one day soon be our house. With all of the construction we couldn't get a head on shot...our house will be the one next to the end unit which is closest to the foreground (if that makes sense). And you can see the backs of the other houses on our block (the first of five that are going up as part of the development.)
Needless to say we were very excited to see that the process has indeed started!!!
Here is a first look at what will one day soon be our house. With all of the construction we couldn't get a head on shot...our house will be the one next to the end unit which is closest to the foreground (if that makes sense). And you can see the backs of the other houses on our block (the first of five that are going up as part of the development.)
Needless to say we were very excited to see that the process has indeed started!!!
Friday, March 11, 2011
Decisions, Decisions
One of the downsides of buying new construction is all the decision-making that comes with it. Less than a week after making one of the biggest decisions of our (relatively young) lives—to buy this yet-to-be-built house—we were immediately bombarded with requests for meetings to discuss our options. Options for financing (do we go through the preferred lender and be guaranteed to save a few bucks or do we use the mortgage broker we know and trust and who might help us save more over the longer term); structural options (do we want a deck, a study, a third full bathroom, an open kitchen, etc); home options (what color hardwood, what color carpet, what kind of fixtures, etc)….the list goes on.
Earlier this week we had a meeting to discuss our “home technology” wiring options. Our builder works with a vendor to pre-wire things like cable/data outlets, home theater systems, whole-house audio, and security systems. We met with the vendor to walk through our options and tell them what we wanted/didn’t want and to give them a general idea of where we wanted the cable/data outlets that come standard located throughout the house. It was a pretty quick conversation that ended with us saying “no thanks” to most of it. The one thing we did let ourselves be upsold on was the security system—no installation fee, a fairly low/reasonable monthly monitoring cost, and guaranteed reduction in homeowners insurance—it made just seemed to make sense (particularly to someone like me who has watched too many crime dramas to not to be a little paranoid about personal security).
One set of decisions down…a million more to go.
Earlier this week we had a meeting to discuss our “home technology” wiring options. Our builder works with a vendor to pre-wire things like cable/data outlets, home theater systems, whole-house audio, and security systems. We met with the vendor to walk through our options and tell them what we wanted/didn’t want and to give them a general idea of where we wanted the cable/data outlets that come standard located throughout the house. It was a pretty quick conversation that ended with us saying “no thanks” to most of it. The one thing we did let ourselves be upsold on was the security system—no installation fee, a fairly low/reasonable monthly monitoring cost, and guaranteed reduction in homeowners insurance—it made just seemed to make sense (particularly to someone like me who has watched too many crime dramas to not to be a little paranoid about personal security).
One set of decisions down…a million more to go.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Space vs. Location
So where was I? Oh yeah. We bought a house! Let's back up for a second...
Back in the fall, Jason and I decided that after the holidays were over we would start getting serious about house hunting. And we did. We went to open houses, read books, and interviewed the people who would become our mortgage broker and realtor. Most importantly, we finalized our budget and reached agreement on the following as our "non-negotiables:"
Because we were somewhat limited in our location (which we both agreed was the most important of our non-negotiables), we looked at a lot of older homes. Most were just not good fits--they either required more sweat equity and TLC than we felt equipped to provide or they were too small or they didn't have garages. The one older house that fit all our criteria was a 1950s era rambler that really just had no curb appeal. It was nice on the inside, in a decent location, but we couldn't get excited about it.
We ended up seriously considering two houses:
1. A new construction townhouse: 1750 square feet, 3 bedrooms/2.5 baths (with the option for a third full bathroom), two car tandem garage, roof top terrace, 4 blocks from Blue Line metro station (total commuting time approximately the same for me, slightly longer for Jason), 4 blocks to shops/restaurants, in an "in transition" area.
2. A 10 year-old townhouse: 2500 square feet, 3 bedrooms/2.5 baths, two car garage, small yard (probably the same size as the terrace on the new construction), 1.3 miles to Orange Line metro station (total commuting time twice as long for me/slightly less for Jason although would require bus/parking for both of us), walking distance to a few shops/restaurants (though not nearly as much as the other option), established neighborhood with really good schools.
Both houses were priced approximately the same. With the new construction we knew we might end up spending a bit more given the options available to us (e.g., adding the third full bathroom that would up the resale value), but the other townhouse needed a little bit of updating too (new carpet, new paint, and a kitchen that had an ugly kitchen with pinkish-gray countertops I hated). We liked aspects of both houses and didn't know what to do. We went back and forth for about a week.
Ultimately location won out over space. The ability to walk to the metro and have a commute that was not much different than what we have today...not to mention all the amenities of the area at our fingertips (or should I say footsteps?)... was just too hard to pass up. So we decided to go with the new construction. It was also nice to know that we wouldn't have to do anything to the house other than move in. And, as our realtor pointed out, moving into an area undergoing such significant development increases the chances that we might actually make some money off the house when we decide to sell it.
New construction also affords us a unique opportunity to watch our house as it's built! There is something really exciting about that. You can bet that we'll be visiting the site regularly over the next several months and documenting its progress on this blog. I hope you'll join us for this exciting ride :)
Back in the fall, Jason and I decided that after the holidays were over we would start getting serious about house hunting. And we did. We went to open houses, read books, and interviewed the people who would become our mortgage broker and realtor. Most importantly, we finalized our budget and reached agreement on the following as our "non-negotiables:"
- 3 bedrooms
- 2 full bathrooms
- Decent sized kitchen (bigger than the one we have today)
- 1 car garage
- Inside the Beltway (aka within the boundaries of I-495) and within a mile or so of a metro
Because we were somewhat limited in our location (which we both agreed was the most important of our non-negotiables), we looked at a lot of older homes. Most were just not good fits--they either required more sweat equity and TLC than we felt equipped to provide or they were too small or they didn't have garages. The one older house that fit all our criteria was a 1950s era rambler that really just had no curb appeal. It was nice on the inside, in a decent location, but we couldn't get excited about it.
We ended up seriously considering two houses:
1. A new construction townhouse: 1750 square feet, 3 bedrooms/2.5 baths (with the option for a third full bathroom), two car tandem garage, roof top terrace, 4 blocks from Blue Line metro station (total commuting time approximately the same for me, slightly longer for Jason), 4 blocks to shops/restaurants, in an "in transition" area.
2. A 10 year-old townhouse: 2500 square feet, 3 bedrooms/2.5 baths, two car garage, small yard (probably the same size as the terrace on the new construction), 1.3 miles to Orange Line metro station (total commuting time twice as long for me/slightly less for Jason although would require bus/parking for both of us), walking distance to a few shops/restaurants (though not nearly as much as the other option), established neighborhood with really good schools.
Both houses were priced approximately the same. With the new construction we knew we might end up spending a bit more given the options available to us (e.g., adding the third full bathroom that would up the resale value), but the other townhouse needed a little bit of updating too (new carpet, new paint, and a kitchen that had an ugly kitchen with pinkish-gray countertops I hated). We liked aspects of both houses and didn't know what to do. We went back and forth for about a week.
Ultimately location won out over space. The ability to walk to the metro and have a commute that was not much different than what we have today...not to mention all the amenities of the area at our fingertips (or should I say footsteps?)... was just too hard to pass up. So we decided to go with the new construction. It was also nice to know that we wouldn't have to do anything to the house other than move in. And, as our realtor pointed out, moving into an area undergoing such significant development increases the chances that we might actually make some money off the house when we decide to sell it.
New construction also affords us a unique opportunity to watch our house as it's built! There is something really exciting about that. You can bet that we'll be visiting the site regularly over the next several months and documenting its progress on this blog. I hope you'll join us for this exciting ride :)
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