The End of the House Hunt

After weeks of searching, praying, worrying, debating, and waiting....we finally found a house!

And guess what - it isn't ONE of the houses I've blogged about. Go figure...

We had put in an offer on "house #2", the older house that was out in the country. However, the owners took a while getting back to us. So, while we waited, we continued to look at houses online and look at other options. That search brought us back around to a house we had briefly considered but hadn't seriously looked into because we weren't sure of the location/driving distance for Jeremy. But we decided we should look at it just to be sure.

As we drove up to the house, our realtor met us with a counter offer for the other house. But upon driving into the neighborhood and up to the house, we both knew that the other house was probably not an option any longer. We pulled up to a detached 2 car garage, painted barn red with white trim (love it!). From there, we walked underneath an arbor lined with a picket fence gate that went around the backyard. We entered the backyard that is shaded by mature, beautiful trees and complete with beautiful landscaping. We could already see that this yard was perfect for Gracie....and for Collen :) When we walked in the house, which was built in 1956, we both saw charm and great potential. Updating will need to be done, but as it is, it is most definitely livable. The house has hardwoods throughout....most of which have been refinished (except in 2 bedrooms), a wood burning furnace/stove in the great room, and a fireplace with gas logs in the living room. It has a formal dining room, 3 bedrooms/4 if you count the office. It has 1.5 baths inside the house, but there is a full bath in an apartment that is housed in the garage. The two rooms that will definitely need work are the kitchen and the bathroom. The kitchen has some brick accents to it on one wall and on the island. It definitely adds a country charm to the kitchen, but I would prefer wainscoting. Then, the bathroom....oh....the bathroom. Lovely pink ceramic tile...on the walls and on the countertops. I love tile in a bathroom, but not in pink. We're hoping we can look into having the tiles refinished in white, which will serve as a wainscoting that will look wonderful with a robin's egg blue. We would tear out the existing vanity and replace it with a more modern one, and we would replace the flooring, which luckily isn't tile. So, if we can get a reasonable price on refinishing the tile in the bathroom, that will be out first project. Anyone know anyone who does this, for a reasonable price, in the eastern NC area??? We're pretty good at do-it-yourself projects, but we just don't trust ourselves on this one.

All in all, we are getting A LOT of house....and A LOT of yard space....and a GREAT neighborhood for A LOT less than we could have ever gotten within the city limits. Plus, it turns out that it is a shorter distance for Jeremy than our other choice. Who knew? As soon as we walked into the house, I looked at Jeremy and said, "I can see us staying here for a long time....like forever." We plan to update as we go and make this house what we want it to be. :) We're so excited, and as many of you have said....it seems that God put the house He wanted for us directly in our path.

We're hoping the owners will work with us on a rent-before-possession/closing scenario, which they seem receptive to. With Jeremy starting back to work in 2 weeks and Collen's arrival coming up SOON, we'd love to at least be able to get into the house and feel somewhat stable. Please pray that things fall into place with the loan, closing, and possibly renting.

I look forward to keeping you all updated as we move in and begin to make this house our own. :) Thank you for all of your prayers throughout this process!