I always wondered where our first place would be. Charlie and I would always say: "Somewhere, right now, our perfect house is out their waiting. It just doesn't know yet, and neither do we."
Turns out, that perfect house was built in 1986. The year after were born. :) How cute. It waited almost 25 years for us.
So without further ado...the story of la Casa. We are under contract to be proud home owners.
It all began in a time long ago...
Charlie and I began seriously house hunting--em--like 2.5 weeks ago. Hehe. Actually, we have been looking and researching for several years, but never officially started the process of "Okay, now it it time." When we did, we figured it would take us months to find a great place. I am picky and so is Char. We wanted a yard with lots of privacy, tall trees, a mature neighborhood, but not old, in a great, convenient location, close to work, close to uptown, near good schools, 4 bedrooms + a bonus room, lots of storage, walk-in closets, a fence, hardwood floors, crown molding, an updated kitchen, stainless steel appliances, etc. etc.... all for under $200,000. With a list like that I got a lot of polite "fat chance" remarks... but didn't let it stop us.
But I figured we would start our search early. We could take our time getting approved, see what we could really afford and go from there. We had a plan... a month-to-month, week-to-week plan. But life is what happens when you are busy making plans, right?
We looked at houses and our goal was to spend under $190,000. Unfortunately, what $190,000 buys you where we were looking was a 3 bedroom house and backyard with a highway view. Or, a really run-down, fixer-upper. Could we get approved for a more expensive home? Yes. Do we want to be house poor? Absolutely, positively NOT!!! So, $190,000 quickly became our ceiling.
The other houses we liked with all the upgrades and the location were at least $250,000. Double yuck.
Then, on thenest.com...I happened to be browsing and came across the now dubbed "
La Casa" It was cute, updated interior, and FABULOUS LOCATION. 5 short minutes from downtown Matthews, around the corner from Harris Teeter and a Target. Wooded lots, tall tress, immaculate yards, beautiful homes...and this little guy listed for $184,900.
WHAT!?!?!?
Charlie and I drove out there at 8:00 pm on a Sunday, the day I saw it online, in pitch black darkness, to walk around the neighborhood. (Yes, we are mildly crazy). We feel in love with the yard, and without even seeing the inside, I said to Char, "this is the one."
So, the next day while I was at work, he went to see the house. And here she is!!! (Sorry there aren't many photos...these were the listing photos!)
That day after school, we made the offer. Charlie called work directly, which he never does, and I ran up to the office to here him say, "Kathryn, you've got to see this place." Immediately following a long day of teaching, I made it so.
Here's what we saw....
- Hardwoods throughout the kitchen and downstairs
- Lots of light
- Crown molding
- Fresh paint
- almost .4 acres
- A wooded lot
- A completely fenced backyard
- 4 bedrooms
- A bonus room
- A den with a fireplace and built-ins!
- A GREAT LOCATION...5 minutes from downtown Matthews, around the corner from a Target. YUS!
- Mature neighborhood
- Tons of storage and a walk-in attic
- Walk-in closets in the master
- Huge closets in other bathrooms
- A great deck with French doors leading out
Too good to be true, right? This home was originally listed on the market at $220,00 or so in May. The market was down, the sellers moved, and it sat and sat. They dropped their price to $198,000, then to $189,00, then to $184,500...and 3 days after the last price drop, we saw it. We put in an offer at $177,000 that day because we couldn't pass it up.
But, so did another family.
BIDDING WAR!
This was crazy. We had to list our highest offer without knowing what the other people were bidding. After agonizing contemplation, we came in at $182,000. If we had to walk, we would.
And, about 6 agonizing hours later...
we got her! It was meant to be!!! The price is amazing, especially compared to the comps in the neighborhood, and we are geeked.
We can't wait to move in, make it home, and make it ours. There are a few things we want to change, but at the price we got it at, they are in our budget to fix over time.
Here are some of the cons...
- There is one sink in the master bath
- The master does not have a separate bath and shower (but does have a jacuzzi style tub with a shower)
- The appliances are older, and we need a fridge... so we are updating these when we move in! The rest of the kitchen is great, though!
- The laundry room is HUGE with tons of storage, but not connected to central air. It has a mini-heater.
So, that's the story :) More to come... more pictures, more projects, as we transform our baby...who happens to be as old as we are. I'm sure it will slowly take over the blog. Yay house!
