Here she is!

Our new home!! Isn't she pretty?!

Apologies for the iPhone photos - our closing day was full of drama (ironically enough, not at the closing table) so I didn't think to grab my DSLR. Oh well.

Regarding the "drama", it turns out Owen's daycare is a cesspool of germs, and we all got sick. Again. And not just really bad colds this time....nope, it was the stomach flu. Which, you know, was just delightful.

Okay, I'll shut up now. Here are a few more photos to whet your whistles:

Screened-in porch, which is screaming for a couple of chairs and a couple of beers.

 

The living room

 

Part of the dining room, with a cameo by Brian. :)
 

 

This will likely become our bedroom.

 

Bathroom
 

 

What will likely become Owen's bedroom (doors or a curtain will be added to the closet - not sure which yet...)
 

 

Unfinished attic, which will be finished....eventually. :)
 

 

Kitchen, which will eventually be gutted and completely redone. But, for now we'll add a dishwasher and some cabinetry on the other side (the side you can't see well from this angle).

 

 

This room is...interesting. It's an addition that was added in the 90's because the people who owned it at the time were an older couple who were tired of going up and down the stairs to do laundry. So, it's kind of an all-purpose room which will end up being the laundry room/office.
 

 

Stairs to the basement - gotta love that wood paneling! Sexy stuff.
 

 

Part of the basement, which will likely become a play area for Owen.

 

 

 



Storage area in the basement - we were surprised that the former owners left their shelving!

 

 

We'll be moving in officially within the next couple of weeks - in the meantime, we'll be busy packing stuff away, cursing how many material possessions we have, and praying to God that we don't get sick....again...

The Final Weeks

Welps, we're cleared to close.

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In less than two weeks, I will officially be a homeowner.

Wow.

For years, my husband and I have talked about our eventual home and what it would be like. I have to say that I'm pretty emotional about it - I'm totally going to be one of those people that cries after closing (after reattaching my hand after signing so many damn papers). Also, I will totally be one of those people who takes the house keys, drive to my new house, give it a hug, and whisper "I'm so glad you're mine; we're going to get along swimmingly."

It's been a long and stressful process, of which I'll share some details on later when life is a bit calmer (because, buying a house + full time job + todder +keeping our current residence show-ready = crazytown, which is why I've been MIA lately), but we have a few people to thank for making it loads easier than the last time we went through it:

• Our wonderful real estate agent, who has helped us through every step of the process and is, quite possibly, the most responsive person I've ever met in my life. I mean, I sent her an email the weekend before Christmas (not expecting a reply - believe me, I'm not a fan of making people work during the holidays, which is why I refuse to shop on Thanksgiving!) and she replied within an hour. She's super smart and knowledgeable, which is why we wanted her in the first place. She also was the first agent we had that didn't try to do a hard sell; in fact, she warned us against buying the first property she showed us, which won a TON of brownie points in my book as I'm not at all a fan of the hard sell. Which is probably why I hate shopping for cars.
• Our loan officer, who was referred to us by our real estate agent. We started off with the bank we worked with last time, thinking it was just the loan officer we worked with that was the problem; nope, it was actually the entire mortgage department that sucked, which was unfortunate. The new loan officer we've been working with has been tirelessly helping us through the loan process and is so proactive, which was HUGE as the last time we went through the process the bank was not at all responsive and we had no clue what was going on until the last minute - basically things got moving only after we were forced to play bad cop because the bank wasn't communicative at all. The loan process was a lot smoother this time around, and it's in huge part due to our loan officer.
• Our attorney, who was the first one to respond to our query asking for one when our offer was accepted on the house. He's been super responsive and helpful, as neither of us have ever retained an attorney before (we never had a reason to; plus, to be honest, I just don't like lawyers on principle). I've been impressed by his experience and knowledge, and how great he's been at communicating with all parties regarding the purchase.

One key theme you'll see from these pros is that they are experienced, responsive, and proactive - for first time homebuyers like ourselves, this was HUGE. Granted, we kind of went through the process previously, but part of the reason we freaked last time was because we didn't really have help. This time around, I was adamant that we have professionals on our side that could help us without us having to do all of the work (because we're busy people, ya know!). Like any home purchase, it wasn't without its hiccups, but overall this time around went a LOT smoother thanks to those three pros helping us out.

I'll try to get in a post next week, but the more likely scenario is that I'll too busy packing/toddler wrangling to get one done. Next post will likely include some variation of me hugging our new house.

:)

*pant pant pant*

Wow.

Just....wow.

Cleaning is hard work. My oh my. Wow.

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Remember how I mentioned we had an appraisal scheduled this week? We essentially spent the entire weekend killing ourselves cleaning and preparing the house. It was a marathon session of organizing the office (which I'm hoping to finally reveal either this week or next!), cleaning up the basement, and eliminating clutter overall. We worked our pitooties off, and the results were pretty damn impressive if I do say so myself. We corralled a few of our pals to help us out, which I think made all the difference.

Still - on Sunday night, we pretty much looked like this. Please excuse this very poor excuse for a selfie, I was exhausted and about to collapse into a heap on the kitchen floor. Be grateful I was in an upright position.

Now all we can do is wait for the results. Here's hoping the house is appraised at or near the value we're expecting it to be!

I'll be back on Friday with a meatier post - scout's honor. In the meantime, I'm taking a nap. And maybe looking up a cleaning lady so I don't put myself through this again anytime soon.

Cha-Cha-Changes

You've probably been asking yourself: Laura, where are all of the projects you've been talking about doing? Why are you so busy? Girl, what is going on?

Or maybe you haven't. And that's cool too.

Here are my explanations. And before you get too excited, no, I'm not pregnant.

1. I got offered a new job!!!!
Yes, the extra exclamation points are necessary. I have been job hunting for awhile (which, with a toddler and a full time job, was hard work!!), and was finally offered a position that is more or less in line with what I want to do. The real selling point? When I mentioned the fact that I am a mom and have a life outside of work that I need to keep chugging along, they didn't back away - in fact, they embraced it, which is quite telling of what kind of company they are. Though work is important to me, family ranks #1 on my list of priorities, and as such was an important factor in whether or not I accepted any job offer. Unfortunately the commute is about the same (actually, about 5-10 minutes longer, booooooooooooo) but I'm looking at it as a built-in opportunity to exercise. Training for a 5K, here we come!!

2. We are buying a house!!
Yep, we finally decided to take the plunge! Only here's the twist: we're buying the house we're in right now. I must admit it's not our dream house, but it's the best of the options we've looked at and it's available at a fair price. And really, does anyone really ever get their dream home as their first house? My guess is a big fat no. Unless you're Richie Rich or someone ridiculous like that. Plus, this way we don't have to move, which is a HUGE plus because moving is a PITA. Also, the house we're in now provides a ton of blogging possibilities, which certainly doesn't hurt.

3. We got permission to paint the front door!
Finally! Yay! And I didn't even have to offer baked goods.

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However, since we are buying a house (see #2) we have an appraisal scheduled for Monday morning, which means the front door may have to wait in favor of some other projects (like finishing the office, cleaning the basement and garage, etc.). Brian originally scheduled it for yesterday morning, but with less than 24 hours notice and a lot of tweaking to do to make sure our house was in tip-top shape, I convinced him to reschedule it so we wouldn't be up all night killing ourselves.

Soooo yeah. That's what I've been up to. Lots of exciting things happening in the K Household lately! I'm hoping to share the final office redo next week, so stay tuned!

House hunting update

After my mini-meltdown post about how frustrated I/we are at finding the right home for our family, I received an outpouring of advice and well-wishes. Thank you all for your support while we're on this journey, it is much appreciated!

Since that post, we have taken a look at some other properties that were closer to the train and within a good school system, but there was always at least one deal-breaker. For instance, we saw a really cute older home in Lombard last week, but it didn't fit Brian. Literally - he kept hitting his head on the ceiling between floors or barely fit his body through the tiny door frames. Ahhhh the perils of having an extraordinarily tall hubby (he's 6'5"). Plus, the homes in these areas were almost always at the very upper-end of our price range, and we could get a lot more for our money elsewhere.

We did, however, see a house in the town we're currently living in - granted, it doesn't have a basement, but it has a TON of living area and ample storage, plus is in an older part of town which means bigger trees. It was built in the 70's and is in pretty decent shape - it can use some cosmetic fixes, but has some really great bones. Plus, it's closer to public transportation for me and still close enough to Brian's job.

The catch? There's a neighbor across the street that looks a bit shady, and the school system isn't that great. It's not terrible, it's just not as good as some of the other areas we've been looking at.

Basically, when we find the right house, here's how I'm hoping my attitude will be so I know it's the right one (albeit without the gun, because guns kind of scare me):

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So yeah, that's about where we are right now. Hopefully we'll have a positive update in the near future, but until then please keep throwing those good thoughts our way. :)

Slapped back down to Earth

The excitement of buying a house has officially worn off. My emotions on the matter have switched from ecstasy to frustration.

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Lemme tell ya: finding a house that fits all most of your requirements within your price range in the location you want is tough. Over the last couple of weekends we scheduled some showings and went on an open house spree in a couple of local suburbs that were closer to the train for me while still being within 20 minutes of Brian's office.

Some highlights:

• Saw an older home with two bedrooms and one bath. The first floor was beautiful - large, updated kitchen, larger living areas. However, the bedrooms were small, the bathroom was outdated, and Brian bumped his head on the ceiling on the staircase because it was too low. Not to mention the dungeon-esque basement and the extreme proximity to the train tracks (like, right in the backyard - waaaayyyyy too close for comfort). 
• Saw a ranch that was three bedrooms and two baths. It was nice enough - just small. Like, claustrophobia-inducing small. That, and it had a septic tank, which I've never been quite comfortable with. I know if you maintain it you won't have problems, but still...yuck-o.
• Saw an adorable cape cod with three bedrooms and two baths. Except the kitchen was tiny - no more than one person could fit in it at a time, which is a HUGE minus for us. That, and it had no garage.

So, you see where I'm getting at. Is it really so much to ask that a house be in the areas we're looking in have 2-3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, a basement, and a garage within our price range (which really isn't all that low)? Are we reaching for the stars here? Apparently we are. Ridiculous.

I'm already exhausted. Blahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Someone please tell me there's a light at the end of this tunnel?

This shiznazz just got real

I feel like a toddler who is keeping a secret. As in, I'm literally bouncing up and down in my seat, covering my mouth, and giggling like a madwoman.

*drumroll*

We have been pre-approved for a mortgage!!

Here is a series of gifs to sum up my thoughts on the matter.

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You guys, this is a BIG. FREAKING. DEAL. After years (YEARS!!) of me being the breadwinner on a relatively humble PR salary, and Brian making poverty level wages as a graduate student - not to mention our student loan debt - we didn't think that we would be in this position so soon.

However, after the birth of our son, Brian in particular took a good, long, hard look at where he was going and did something very brave: admitted that his dreams and priorities had changed. Don't get me wrong, he's still going for his Ph.D. (for the time being at least) but he has decided to work full time as an engineer and extend his doctorate studies so we can improve our quality of life. Not necessarily financially (although his salary is a VAST improvement over what he was making as a grad student!) but definitely in terms of spending time with Owen and I. Being a graduate student is hard work, and those of you who have been there or have spouses/significant others who have gone through it can agree that it's a lifestyle that isn't necessarily family-friendly.

So now, with our powers money combined, we are now in a position where we can own a home. Dude. WE CAN OWN A FREAKING HOUSE. SQUEEEEEE!!

...can you tell I'm a little, insy-bitsy bit excited??

We got pre-approved for a ridiculous amount of money. Like, whoa. Which I guess we can conceivably afford, but then we'll be eating Ramen admiring our beautiful house with no furniture. And that's just dumb.

So, we're looking at houses that are a little more than half of what we got pre-approved for so we can maintain our quality of life. Plus, I'm not so sure I want to buy a pristine house right off the bat - I LOVE older homes and would be tickled pink at the opportunity to spruce one up.

So there you have it. Step one: complete. Now comes the difficult part: actually finding a home we can agree on. Within our price range.

This should be fun.

:)

P.S. - Since I'm still in the honeymoon period of "WEGOTAPPROVEDFORAFREAKINGMORTGAGE!!!", I'll save my tips for the pre-approval process for another post. Stay tuned!

No excuses - play like a champion!

Well, Brian and I have finally decided to attempt to take the plunge.

We're going to get serious about owning a home.

(seriously. like, for realz.)

For the past few years, due to Brian's school schedule we've lived like vagabonds, never wanting to put down roots in any one place because we never knew where his school/career would take us. Since he was recently offered a full-time job, we're finally in a financial position (and have a good excuse) to buy a home. Which we're pretty stoked about.

As far as areas/towns we want to live, right now we're all over the map - I think that Brian would prefer to stay closer to where we are now since it's close to his work, but my daily commute is killing me, Smalls. Although we can definitely get more house for our buck out where we are right now, the area is so....blah. I don't get great juju vibes, and I want me some of those.

Here's a shortlist of towns we're thinking of looking into (other than the one we're living in now):

Oak Park
Pros: L-O-V-E this area. It has a city feel without being in the city. It's walkable and has a ton of transportation options, and their downtown area is just adorable. Also, since it's close to where I grew up I feel kind of like I'm going home.
Cons: It's pricey, and taxes are out of control high. Like, whoa. And there is a teensy-weensy little bit more crime here than some of the other 'burbs we're looking at (but honestly, crime is everywhere....heck, we had our tires slashed when we lived in the middle of nowhere, Ohio).

Elmhurst
Pros: Every time I venture into this area my heart screams "YOU SHOULD LIVE HERE YOU SHOULD LIVE HERE!!!!" It's full of shopping, has convenient transportation options, is super close to the highway, and has one of the cutest darn tootin' downtown areas ever.
Cons: Although not nearly as pricey as Oak Park, it's still on the higher-end of our budget. And taxes are a little higher than we would like.

Plainfield
Pros: It has a cute downtown area, and the housing is super-affordable. Taxes also aren't too shabby either. Plus, Melissa McCarthy grew up there, so there's some added coolness factor. It's also pretty close to Brian's work.
Cons: It's kind of out in the sticks - there aren't a lot of transportation options for me, and everything's so spread out. I like to be able to walk/bike places easily, and I'm not so sure I can do that here.

Naperville
Pros: Has a super-cute downtown area, transportation options, lots of parks, great school district, lots of shopping.
Cons: Taxes and property value are pretty high - still within our price range, but we wouldn't get our ideal choice. Plus, parts of it are kind of suburban sprawl-y, and even though I can take the train to work from there, that's still a heck of a commute (pretty much the same as what I'm doing now).

Berwyn
Pros: Has a few transportation options, near the fun suburbs like Oak Park, Forest Park, Riverside, La Grange without the high price tag.
Cons: It's very residential, and a little sleepy. Plus, apparently certain parts of Berwyn aren't that safe, but maybe that's changed (it's certainly changed since I was a kid). Taxes are on the high end, but still manageable.

Oh, and every single time I see/hear the word Berwyn, I immediately think of Svengooli and his "BER-WEEEYYYN" bit. So, anytime anyone asks where I live, I can say "BER-WEEYYYN". Wouldn't that be fun?

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Chicago-area peeps: any other suggestions? Please note that we're looking in the West and Southwest 'burbs so we're somewhat close to our work.