MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I have been slowly trying to get all things settled and moved in. To be honest I haven't done quite well. I don't have any furniture for my formal dining and living room, so that became the drop off for ALL Boxes when I moved in. At the time I thought...oh this will be a GREAT place that way all boxes are in one area and not scattered about the house. Umm, now they sit and someone really needs to unpack those!

I debated on decorating for Christmas. In the end, I couldn't resist the urge to put decorations up in my new house for the first year. So while the boxes still remain in the front I have managed to decorate up my den and the outside of the house!

My mom and I had Thanksgiving here at my house. I made the entire meal, and I'm proud to say it all came out quite well! :) I LOVE cooking and entertaining! And now it looks as if Christmas is going to be at my place as well with my aunt and cousin coming. Good thing I went ahead and decorated...it just wouldn't have been the same!



Here are a few pictures of the Holidays so far at the house...

MMM...Doesn't that Thanksgiving meal Look FABULOUS?!

The Outside of the house

A Wreath my mom's friend, Ruby, gave me. I wanted to hang it over the garage, but didn't want to venture up to the ease of the house over the roof in attempts to hang it!

And Finally my Beautiful Christmas tree with my first attempt at decorating a mantle.

I hope you all have a VERY Merry Christmas! May the Lord continually bless you and I hope you feel the Joy and Spirit of Christ this season!

Bittersweet Move

So my furniture got moved into the house yesterday. I'm just about all there. I still have random stuff left here at the apartment. I am OFFICIALLY the WORLD'S WORST Packer! I hate it and honestly am NOT good at it!!!!

I have been having such mixed feelings about being in a house. I'm really sad about leaving this apartment. Yes I am CRAZY!!!! I won't miss the noise...it was eerily quite in my house last night though. But I'm so going to miss this neighborhood and my runs around the canal and lake. I know I'm only moving 4 miles away so get over it I can come run down here whenever I want, but it's not the same.

I've also struggled a little with being fully happy and excited about being in this house because of the reason I'm able to be in a house. This was only possible because of my dad. And bluntly that just SUCKS!!! I'd MUCH rather have my dad here than have a house because he passed away. I want him to be proud and approve of what I've done. It's money that he left me, but I still see it as his and I just want him to approve!

It's so complicated, but I've gone out and made this HUGE purchase and in some ways I think that means that I'm moving on. But I haven't. I can't go to sleep or wake up without thinking of him. And there are days when I'm still trying to piece it all together and reminding myself that my dad's gone. He'll never see the house, and he won't ever share in the joy with me. The only other big purchase I made was my first brand new car. And my dad was there through that process. And now I've been able to purchase a house and only with his help, and now he won't get to share in this.

I don't know how I begin to sort through that. Change has always been a bit difficult for me. I'm not fond of leaving people I love or memories and places that are meaningful. Once the final transition is made I'm sure it will be fine.

Homeowner

Here it is...My NEW House!!!! WELCOME!!!

I finally made it through the whole offer/counteroffer process and closed on October 10th. It was quite an ordeal with financing, dealing with the seller and getting everything closed. But I'm DONE and now have a HOUSE! :) It's kinda crazy! As a friend said...I now own a piece of Earth! :) I have spent the weekend LITERALLY cleaning the place from Floor to Ceiling. This is the one time I have without anything in the house to CLEAN, so I'm doing just that. I still need to pack up my apartment and then get my stuff moved into the house.

Here are some pics around the house...

Entry:

Guest Bathroom:

Master Bedroom/Bathroom:

FamilyRoom/Dining Room:

Kitchen:

Backyard:

There's Lots I want to do to remodel. I'm planning on starting with the kitchen first. I already have my colors and ideas. I'll also be doing quite a bit of painting around the house to get rid of all the wallpaper! :) For now though, I'm excited about this process! :) I'm planning a Housewarming party in January, but anyone is welcome anytime! :)

HOPEFUL!!!!

I put an offer in on another house tonight. The last house I really felt was not meant to be. This new one I really like! It is in a NICE neighborhood with CUTE curb appeal. The house on the inside is clean with a GREAT layout. It has LOTS of room for updating and modernizing!!! I think the house and layout would fit me well! So many little things that just make it unique and that I like...art niche in entry, open kitchen to family dining and family room, island in the kitchen, skylight in kitchen, corner fireplace, bay window in master bedroom. It is overall nice. :) And with some painting and changing out fixtures with eventually updating the kitchen it will be a whole new house!!! :) :) :)

I'm hitting them low with my offer, but I'm hoping it can go through. I know I will walk away from this one if I can't get it where I want. I can't take it and put myself somewhere I don't want to be financially. So I'm just crossing fingers and toes as my mom says. :) All I can do is hope that all of this can go through for me. :) I have a friend who for sure thought she wasn't going to get a house she really wanted because she low-balled to all that she could afford and GOT IT and is happily moving this month. So maybe the same could happen for me! :)

Fingers, toes, tongue crossed, and prayerfully placing it in God's hands!

Well they countered my offer right as I was leaving to go out of town. I told my realtor I would consider it while I was out of town, but everything was moving so fast I didn't want to jump at their counter. I needed to get-away with everything else going on and I couldn't have this hanging over my head. I'm glad because I would have just been out of town and freaking out. So I was able to get away and while there thought more and many of my hesitations I had about the house seemed to clear.

I didn't have cell reception or any phone access where I was. When I got into Austin my realtor called and asked what I wanted to do. I told her some things that I was going to stand firm on with my offer and some things I'd go with on their counter. So she called their realtor. Not 2 minutes later my realtor calls back and they are working with another offer now. :( I waited too long.

That's how it goes. I'm disappointed, but I specifically prayed and turned this over to God. I had MANY hesitations about the house. So if this was not meant to be it would have come to this. So now I've gotta get out and look again. :) Yes I'm sure I'll find something. But here we go again....

Made an Offer

I only got about 3 or 4 hours of sleep last night! On Monday I went out and looked at houses again. I walked into one of them and LOVED It! The entire inside fits ME! I could move in and just live, very little I'd want to change. It is on the smaller side at 1579 sq ft. But the floor plan is very open. The entire back of the house has windows and makes it feel so open. The people that live there have done a GREAT job at updating the house. The front and backyards are landscaped nicely, and there's a little pond in the back. :) The house is kind of nestled back between houses making it cozy and private.

The house has only been on the market maybe a week. My realtor felt if I liked the house I better jump on it and make an offer, because we feel this one could go. So I went in today and drew up an offer. I am nautious, sick, nervous, can barely eat and sleep. Part of me is so ready to move forward and buy a house and another part of me is so hesitant, and I think ultimately afraid of the commitment!

This whole house hunting/buying process is like relationships! GEEZ! I go in and out of these houses and like aspects of them, but want to change portions. Now I find one and immediately think this is the one, but now I'm hesitant on that COMMITMENT factor! :) I think I've been there in a few relationships...geez if only this guy was this way, or wow this could be the ONE, but how do I know for SURE, and will it be Perfect?! :)

Yeah I've managed to make myself sick over the whole process! There's alot that could happen and I'm prepared that my offer may be declined, countered, or worse I'd end up in a bidding war. I'm prepared to walk away from that last one! :) I've decided, I've begun and now I'm turning it over to God...if this is THE ONE, things will fall into place and move forward. If not something better awaits! :)

Here's a few pics of the house...

This or That...Give or Take

Well since I last posted I have decided the area I want to buy in. I was initially looking in both Grapevine and the Valley Ranch/Las Colinas areas. I have decided to look in Valley Ranch only. I took a run along the canals in Valley Ranch and got a good feel for the neighborhoods. Most of the homes are garden/patio homes built in the 80s and 90s. Valley Ranch is basically an "area" in North Irving. It's where the Dallas Cowboys Practice/Training Facilities are. The area has held steady in growth and sales and the area is pretty strict on building. So I feel that the area should maintain it's "nice" area status and established neighborhoods.

So yesterday I went to look at homes again. I'm really having difficulty figuring out how I'm supposed to know if I've found "the" home. Everyone tells me you will just know when you walk in. The problem is that there are aspects to each home I like and aspects I don't. We saw 6 houses yesterday, 2 of them I can say FOR sure were no's. It was clear, that I just did NOT like the homes. That leaves 4 homes that had good potential...

This house actually has a cute porch area, the shrubs to the right just need to be trimmed down. The entire house has had upgrades done, and I like the layout. Nice larger kitchen with granite counters and slate floors. The master bathroom has been COMPLETELY redone and they did a Beautiful job! :) The backyard has a HUGE deck with a spa. The yard surrounding the deck needs some landscaping work, and the deck is nice, but I almost feel it is too big for the yard. The other negative is the back fence backs up to apartments. Otherwise I like the house and feel I could do some great stuff with it, with little changes. It is 2 story with 1600 sq ft. 3/2.5/2 and they've already dropped the price $8,000.

This house was pretty nice. Actually quite large. The house is empty and I had a little trouble figuring out what some rooms could be used for. The way the kitchen was set up was open to a den area, and kinda looked odd. My thought was to turn the counters in the kitchen and expand out the kitchen in the den with a dining area. Hard to explain. The idea is that it would take remodeling. There was a HUGE master bedroom with a seperate sitting area and just an average master bath. It was nice, just basic. My realtor said it had good bones with lots of potential. Upstairs was quite large with 2 bedrooms and a bathroom. The bathroom upstairs could almost be made into a master bath again. I didn't like the backyard at all. I guess it has potential, just needs work. Overall the house is in good condition with nice qualitites, but I can see where work would need to be done for it to be "ideal." They've come down $50,000 on the price!!!! It's 22oo sq ft. with 3/2.5/2

The next 2 houses I liked are actually on the same street and have the EXACT same floor plan. My first concern was that on this circular street just about EVERY house is for sale. Kinda puts up a red flag. The first house is on the canal. The backyard is nice with a pool overlooking the canal, and I have direct access to the jogging trail along the canal. Okay the inside...well it's just kinda average. The living room and master bedroom overlooks the pool and canal. The kitchen is a little small and the dining room had mirrored walls! YUCK! :( There were 2 nice sized bedrooms upstairs with HUGE closets. I go into the upstairs bathroom and think I have stumbled upon yet another closet, I'm excited! MUCH to my disappointment it is the Washer and Dryer! :( YUCK the W/D is UPstairs and IN the bathroom. :( So for this house the inside needs some work done and I don't like that there is not a utility room. But I Love the pool and backyard.

The second house is on the same street with same floorplan. They have redone the inside of the house which is nice. Upstairs they took the wall for the 3rd bedroom down and made a big loft area. Which is a nice idea, but now I'm down to 2 bedrooms, and I'm not sure on the resale with that. And the W/D is STILL Upstairs. The backyard does not have a canal view or a pool, just a regular backyard. The house with the pool and canal view is $10,000 more than the one without.

Everything is just give and take. I like aspects of each of them, but they don't have it ALL. So I'm not sure if I sacrifice and put work into a house or what. My realtor thinks I need to keep looking at houses. She thinks I just haven't found "it." I think part of my problem is I'd like something that I can move into and immediately be happy instead of having to do remodeling...because then I don't know how much EXTRA I wind up having to pay into the house and then when is it something that I'm "happy" with? And I still tend to think into the future of knowing I won't be in this house Forever, so I'm trying to estimate what would have good resale later.

Ugh it's just so confusing! :)

I have been rejuvinated! I was starting to feel like maybe this homebuying thing was not for me, and I wasn't going to be able to get what I want. Today changed my thoughts! I've changed Real Estate Brokers! I'm SO HAPPY with this decision. I LOVE This lady and know I will have someone who is going to get what I want. And I'm happy...I think she likes me! :) Seems silly I know, but this lady is normally selling and helping people buy half million/million dollar homes, so it means quite a bit that she'd take me on at my MUCH lower price point! :) Our personalities just click...looking at homes today was FUN with her! :) And she gave me some GREAT tips/pointers!

We looked at 6 houses today! 2 of them I liked...

1st one is in Valley Ranch right by the Canal...no canal view though. :( I'd describe it as kind of a garden home. It is 1700 sq ft. with 3/2/2. The home was at a level that would basically require very little remodel...only little fun things I'd like to change for me. It has a pretty small back yard, but I could get creative with landscaping! :) I'm only including the pic from the outside, because the inside photos didn't turn out great.

The other one I liked was in Grapevine. It is a HUGE house...definitely more than I need. 2400 sq ft with 4/2.5/2 Even though it is big, the layout is GREAT! Wonderful foyer entrance with formal dining, great living room open to breakfast nook and kitchen and half bath. With the Master Bedroom and Bathroom on 1st floor. 2nd floor has a small loft area overlooking the foyer, a game room area and 3 bedrooms and a full bath. The other cool plus is a walk in attic! Way neat. My realtor gave me great tips on how to capitilize on that space and essentially build out my square footage with that. Could be REALLY neat!!! It had a nice sized backyard and the owner has done some nice landscaping. So although it is fairly large, it is set up for me to do all my living downstairs. I have concerns on this property...we are going to have to look into. Just looking we can't figure out what may be wrong with the property...They have dropped the price $15,000 and it's been on the market 85 days. Hmmm. The outside is stucco, so we are wondering if it is faux stucco, which here in DFW is known to cause problems with mold and rotting.

Then there was also a 3rd house. What a difference. First let me just say we were laughing because it was TOTAL Bachelor's pad! Poor guy NEEDS a woman! :) We were thinking of asking if the deer over the fireplace could stay along with the Red Bull Mini Fridge instead of a FULL size Fridge, that, hmm was MISSING! :) Wow! Okay so looking beyond that. The house needed QUITE a bit of upgrading and work. My realtor was actually shocked that another realtor would let it be shown/be on the market in its state. Why am I mentioning this house? Because the backyard is ON the Canal in Valley Ranch! PERFECT for me. I LOVE that. But the house could definitely use some TLC and I think for the layout to really make since there may need to be some remodeling done. Overall it would need some work that is FOR SURE. We are going to kind of keep an eye on it and see what happens. His asking price is a little high and may start coming down. I just LOVE the idea of being Right on the Canal! :) But NOT at that price when the home is like it is. It is 1600 sq ft. 2/2/2

The view straight out the backyard...it has a side yard as well. That's a jogging trail on the other side! LOVE IT! Even saw a couple of runners! :)

It was a good day. From here I'll just look at homes as I see things come up. I really liked those 2, but nothing that said I GOTTA have it TODAY! I'll keep my eye on them. One tip she gave me is that I need to wait until later August because I'll start to see home prices drop a little. I'm looking in areas with good schools, so right now LOTS of people are trying to buy into these areas to get kids into better schools before school starts. She thinks if I'm patient some of these houses may drop in price and new things may even pop up as options for me. So we'll see! :)

And the Hunt is On...

And the hunt is on! My apartment lease is up and I'm busting at the seams in this one-bedroom place. It's time to find me a House! It's always been a little scary for me to think of venturing out into homeownership. Does this mean I'm finally deciding to settle in the DFW area? I'll tell you No! For the time being though it seems like I've made this place home. Who needs a prince-charming and his castle?!

I'll chronicle all the HIGHs and lows of house-hunting with the idea of posting pics for some help along the way. I've secured me a mortgage pre-approval and I've got me a 15 year licensed realtor specializing in the Irving/Valley Ranch area. I'm ready to go!

I've been scouring the internet like CRAZY. Man are there a TON of homes. My realtor seems to think otherwise and I'm a little frustrated with that. I'm not going to be your half-million/million dollar home buyer, but I believe we can work with what I've got! I'm interested to see what these houses are going to look like once you get into them versus what I see on the internet. The first walkthroughs should happen on Friday, so I'll be sure to post the results!

Keep your Fingers Crossed!