Yes, all conditions on the sale of my house were removed last week. I was happy to be able to take these signs down from the bedroom & bathroom doors.
I am now in full-on, all pre-approved, contract-poised buyer mode, which is exciting and very stressful at the same time. I have till the end of June before I hand over the keys on my house so I have some time, and this is my third purchase in as many years so I know what to expect, but it's the same old house selling panics keeping me awake at night.
What if I put in an offer on a place and then find something nicer after?
And what if the place I find has a later possession date, putting me on the street for a period of time?
Plus a couple of extra worries, including how the heck am I going to come up with my downpayment and my next installment of adoption fees. (this is sorted btw)
UGH.
OK, bear with me while I post my current mental ruminations online.
I actually DID see a house I really like last night. It ticks a lot of the boxes I wanted and it has the added bonus of real hardwood floors on the main floor AND (I thought I wouldn't find this) the stairs up to the 2nd floor (no more vacuuming cat hair from the stairs, of which I have 4 sets in my current townhouse - 'tis a bit of a workout to put it very politely).
It's a 2002 house, clean, well cared for, and in one of my preferred neighbourhoods. The colors are neutral and none of the finishes are so offensive I couldn't live with them for a bit. AND it has a living room (carpeted) AND a family room (hardwood) on the main floor. BUT, the kitchen nook is a wee bit small for my new dining table and the basement is only partially finished - BUT it is framed for a 4th bedroom and a bath AND the wiring is done AND it has large windows. The yard is big and has some nice hard landscaping but no garage yet - BUT there is plenty of room to add a nice double. AND there is a very good size deck that just needs re-staining.
With the living/family rooms upstairs, that does leave me a room to watch M play in off the kitchen and a more adult space from the front of the house. I like the idea of having the separate spaces but it's a bit weird to have both a living room and family room upstairs - the living room should be more of a den or I could use it as a dining room as there's plenty of room for my monolithic-proportioned table.
UGH again - too many choices to make on my own. I'm going for a second look tomorrow morning and hopefully Mom can come to offer her opinion. We'll look at a couple of others too, including another one I saw the week before but wasn't sure about. This means more hours to make up after work (well not tomorrow night - I have not been out to join my Tuesday night knitting circle for a couple of weeks and it goes a long way to reduce stress)
I must say, viewing houses is kind of icky. I'm no germ-a-phobe, but some houses are pretty grotty considering they are on the market and should be shown in spic & span condition. Haven't these people ever watched Selling Houses? As I was cleaning my house before leaving each day (in case there was a viewing), in my mind I could hear Andrew Winter giving some poor sod a proper tongue lashing for not cleaning properly. It's not like the market is slow and places stay for sale for very long. Can't people keep their house clean and vacuumed for at least a fortnight? I know it's a pain in the backside, especially with pets/kids, but still. It makes a difference to what I will consider buying, that's for sure. It doesn't help that the last two homes I brought were brand new - I'm a wee bit spoiled.
After the first expedition (there have been three so far), I came prepared with my moccasin slippers in my bag. My realtor didn't laugh at me either because she's seen some pretty disgusting sights in her time. It made it much more comfortable for me, walking around unfinished basements and stepping on people's wet bathroom mats (fortunately there were no DNA-infested carpeted bathrooms), and walking around on decks. I don't have a problem walking into the homes of people I know - honest! It's just when I've never met the people and their house is dirty... I have to go home and boil my socks right away.
And I'm not even kidding.
I chatted with the neighbours as we came out from the viewing. They were very friendly and we talked for quite some time about the schools (walking distance), the other families, and the best streets in the area (the one the house is on is one of the better ones, apparently).
One thing I should mention. As I was chatting with the neighbour about schools I said 'my daughter.' Naturally she assumed I already HAD a child so she asked how old she was. At this point my mind is freaking out with how to answer. So I ended up shouting that I'm adopting next year and she'll be about a year old. I say I shouted because it was very very windy and hard to hear each other across the lawn. So here I am, shouting to the entire street that I am adopting - God knows how far my voice was carried behind me. Damn!!
Not that I would/could keep it a secret from an enquiring neighbour if I did move in - I mean, people will wonder when this child suddenly appears in my house one day. Right?
Sigh.
I think I could have handled it differently but I was taken by surprise. And I'm guessing it won't be the last time that happens.
(f**k)
