April is House Hunting time

March was really rough for the family. I was away at conference for 16 days out of the entire month. Though both conferences ( NASPA and ACPA) were local, I was really busy with recruitment and conducting on-site interviews, and didn't get to see the family much. Luckily they did come down to Baltimore to stay overnight one night and the next day we went to the National Baltimore Aquarium, which was great fun for the kids (and grown-ups!).

April came along with a lot of rain and coldness. I was training for a half-marathon, so I got up real early to go run with a group of ladies at the local YMCA. This has been a fun group to get together  and run outside with. Fortunately, the weather started getting better and the sun was getting up earlier.

April was also the big kick off for our house hunt. We decided when I got my Temple job that we would move right off campus in Newark, DE and I would be the one traveling the most. This allowed for one-layer of transition. Now the lease for the rental house is up in July and we needed to look for a place to call home. We had to first decide where we wanted to live. Karl is still working in Newark and I will be in Philadelphia. We went to look at neighborhoods in PA and Delaware and decided to stay in Delaware for several reasons: 1) if we were in PA my train commute would still be roughly 40 minutes due to the area we would want to live in (Media/Swarthmore). Karl’s commute, though, would be 45min -1 hour and considering he works late and isn’t the best driver at night being in PA wasn’t the best choice; 2) the kids would be in PA, and both parents would be 45 minutes from them and would not be able to get to them fast enough if something were to happen; and 3) the cost of houses and taxes are so much more in PA than DE, and for only a little better school system. We couldn’t justify that. So the decision was made to stay in Delaware and look into North Wilmington. This area has the best school district and is the closest to both of our work locations. So off we went looking at areas within North Wilmington. We learned a lot about the developments and what we would like. We made a must list and a want list. Karl and I differed on several points such as:

§  Lulu 

o   Something unique that stands out

o   Nothing like a cookie cutter house that looks like a monopoly board

o   A bit of a fixer –upper is fine

o   Walk-in closet

o   Space for kids to run outside

o   Updated kitchen  (NO white appliances, counter tops or laminate flooring)

o   2 bathrooms

o   Open-space flow in house

o   A garage or basement for all my holiday boxes

o   An office or glitter room

§  Karl

o   No/minimal fixer – upper

o    Lots of updates

o   Space for kids to run

o   Nice backyard/close to park
    2 bathrooms
    Open floor plan

Carlita also had her demands: stairs and a purple room. Luke really needs a dark room to sleep. That’s all.

Next we needed to know how much we could afford. We checked out three brokers. All said the same thing about our finances. That we needed to pay off debt in order to be considered for a mortgage.  One broker we really liked, but never got back to us so after a month, we let him go. The second broker was a bit arrogant and I didn’t like that. The last one I found accidental by looking at a house and we hit it off. He was experienced, knowledgeable and someone I could trust. So once we figured out how to get our debt paid off, we got pre-approved for up to $300,000. Now that was way too much for us. Karl and I set up our budget at $200-$250,000 thinking that we’ve seen enough houses in this price range that surely we could find a house.

So the house hunt started. I took off every Friday in April to do the house hunting. So the first Friday it was real estate agent selection. We interviewed three agents. Our criteria were to have someone who we could be personable with and have a strong desire to work for us and find a home for us.

First agent was an experienced agent with 30 years of experience. Really knowledgeable of the market. Older gentleman and a nice personality. I liked him a lot. Rated 4.

Second agent was a newly licensed agent who used to be an RA at UD several years ago. Great personality and desire to get started. Really liked her Rated 4

Third agent was several years experienced, but desire to be in the industry was driven by the amount of money he could make. When I told him what I did, he told us “O I was one of those who drank in the halls and never got into trouble”. Yep he was not the one for us. Rated 1

So after mulling about it we went with agent #2. She was youthful, a minority, and someone I could chat with any time of the day.

So the next week was spent looking over housing listings and determining which houses we wanted to go see. There were many we wanted to look at, so the next Friday we went to see 8 houses. Only 1 or 2 were good. We quickly realized that the price range we were in gave us a certain housing area that we really didn’t want to be in. So after much thinking we decided to increase the price of houses we were looking for to $250-$275,000.

So over the weekend we determined another set of houses to look at and on Tuesday met up in Claymont, DE to look at 6 more houses. Only 1 was okay. Friday came again and we looked at another 8 houses. One or two houses now were good enough to make our top 3.

So we had a top 3 and invited Sandra and the fam to come visit them over the weekend. Mike, my brother in law, was very helpful at how to look at issues in the house--what to look for in the basement, foundation, around the house, etc. Our top 3 houses quickly disappeared. What we thought would work for us really didn’t, due to too many issue with the houses. One house was beautiful outside, but not good in the basement with a foundation that had major issues. The second house was custom made, but really did not have good flow. I loved it, but it was way too close to a major street. Too dangerous for the kids. Now the third house (South Rd) we loved the location and the charm inside the house. It really had that mix of old and new. We really were thinking of bidding on this house, but we didn’t like the flow and that we couldn’t see the kids if they were outside. Also we would have to put up a fence and get permission from the home association.

So we went to look at more houses the next Friday – 8 more houses that just didn’t work out. South Rd was still number one. Then a house came on the market, Boothby, and I saw there was an open house on Sunday. It was the same Sunday I was running the Broad St. 10-miler (I was able to get a bid because someone couldn’t do it and they posted about it on Twitter – love social media). So after I ran that race (and that was painful), I went to the Y to take a shower and met Karl and Tiffany (the agent) at Boothby. Immediately we loved it. Karl loved the flow and openness and everything updated. I loved the area and backyard. We were there for most of the open house and then left. Then Wednesday went to see more houses – nothing compared to South and Boothby. So I invited Sandra back up and took her over to Boothby. She loved it. The house is 5 minutes from a state park so we went over there and decided to bid on the house. What!!! Really we bid on the house. The house was going for $279,900 so we asked for $265,000 and sellers’ assistance. After going back and forth we settled at $272,500. Not really where I wanted to be, but with everything in this house really worth it.

So now we're under contract and having to figure out all the steps. We got an inspection done and there were roof and foundation issues. The sellers are fixing these issues. Next we officially applied for the mortgage and are waiting to hear back from the underwriter. If everything goes well, we settle on the house June 22^nd. I really can’t believe it still. I’m waiting at each turn for something to go wrong. There has been a lot going on.  Some of it can’t be posted here, but this process has been intense. It’s easier to have a kid than to buy a house today. Everyone is nervous about the housing market and people are not buying or selling. Very tough. I wonder if we could have bargained more for the house, but we will never know. I also wonder if there’s a better house for us out there. Nothing really has come on the market since early May worth looking at. If they have, they are in bad neighborhoods, or have alot of fixing up to do.

So we’re almost there with the house. Once we know for sure, we have to figure out the next steps of finding daycare and getting Carlita ready for kindergarten for the fall. Also moving and getting settled into the house. Just a lot to think about!!!!! We’ll keep you informed!