Thursday, May 13, 2010

. . .And Then the Realtor Laughed

No big secret we need to move. Besides the obvious 27 steps in our home that I can't go up or down too often we also need to cut expenses because part of the hospital and some of my medications aren't covered. We are going to have more money going out than coming in with my illness unless we cut costs - and our biggest expense is this house [2,000/month plus utilities argh].
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So in the interest of expediting a home purchase I called our trusty [and very, very gorgeous!] realtor Clark and told him what was going on. Clark is a big sweetheart and besides being our realtor for the past 5 years he is also a friend [and did I mention - easy on the eyes? - which I don't think the man realizes how good looking he is. Oh, and he has a heart of gold. Seriously. The total package - but so is his sweet wife :D They are a pair.]
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Okay, enough about Clark - except after I told him what exactly we needed [I'll get to that in a sec] I swear I heard him laugh. Not mean or anything - just like he thought perhaps I was kidding because we live in an area that isn't market depressed - prices are going up and for what we want in this area it would be around $300K - $400K. No, I am not kidding. This is what we get for living so close to Washington, DC where the job market remains stable.
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So I ignored Clark's doubt that we would be able to find what we wanted AND cut costs because I had a trick up my sleeve that Clark didn't know - something that had hindered us in the past but doesn't now - because IT she is leaving for college and we don't have to stay in the same school system anymore. WOOHOO. We can move out of Loudoun County. Yippeeee! [For clarification - we didn't want to move Squirrel away from her High School while she was attending, but the Porcupine is still in middle school and much more ameneable to moving at a younger age. Heck, the Porcupine is just easier. Period. Hi Squirrel! ::waving:: Mommy loves you sweetie.]
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Now Clark knew that we had possibilities because we gave him the paramater of 50 miles from Pooldad's work, under 150K and all on one floor type rambler with no school restrictions. We didn't care about how much land or even if it had 2 bathrooms - 1 would be fine - even 2 bedrooms is doable at his point. I don't much care - I just don't want to see stairs and I want a home I can take care of for my family - y'know?
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Within an hour of talking to Clark he emailed me 18 - yes, 18 - single family homes that met every single one of our criteria and all of them had at least 3 bedrooms and 2 baths and most of them were on 1/2 acre or more - HELLO!
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Have I also mentioned my realtor is very, very good at his job? And the MLS is a wonderful thing?
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We have narrowed it down to a small town approximately 45 miles from Pooldad's work where there are three homes that we are going to look at on Saturday. His commute will double from 30 minutes to 60 minutes but 24 miles of it is a non-traffickey type highway so it should be smooth. Fingers crossed, right?
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The pic' above is of the backyard of the home I like the best. It is a raised rambler with 3 bed/2 bath on the walk-in level and a full finished, walk out basement and a huge, fenced in yard. It is also newer and in good condition. Hopefully we have a good chance at it because it has been on the market for 8 months [being as it is a bit outside the beltway and DC and subject to a lesser housing market than here] and the price is sweet.
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Happy thoughts and wish us luck, 'kay? And if anyone needs a realtor in Northern Virginia? I can so hook you up! :D

9 comments:

Phelan said...

Happy thoughts and luck!

RVVagabond said...

Wow! What a view! Crossing fingers and toes that the house turns out to be the home you want and that the process moves smoothly for you, if so.

Word vert: etlis. I tried looking in the etlis for where the house might be located but couldn't figure it out.

Anonymous said...

Happy thoughts and luck headed your way - I cannot wait to read the outcome!

I tried the word vert thing and all my little phrases seemed dorky. =)

OmaLindasOldeBaggsandStuftShirts said...

The view is wonderful from this porch....or deck...or if it's what you want, I hope you and the fam get it. Just being able to get to all areas will be a huge boon for you. Bueno fortuna.
vert word flopins. I caught me a big ole fish but he just keeps on flopins on the ground.

ellen abbott said...

Well you certainly need something going your way. Hope you find the perfect place.

Gail said...

This will happen. Good luck in finding the perfect spot for you and your family.

Teresa said...

awesome! we found a house, too that i would love to put in an offer on. but, it's a hud home and may be more difficult to buy. plus, we still need to sell ours.

we need about the same as you... needs are few, desires are even less. we need 2 br/2 bath on the main level. we need no steps for ron (one or two would be ok; could build a ramp if need be). we need a kitchen big enough for a wheelchair to maneuver. we need a bedroom big enough for his stuff.

everything above that is just gravy. we looked at four houses yesterday; i wouldn't subject my dog to two of them, one was iffy, and the 4th was "the one" that would be the best. its only downfall was no fence (for our little yorkie) but that's fixable. the basement is totally finished, and there is a lower level laundry and a main level laundry. great for us. my son is moving back in with us to help with ron so that would be great for us each to have our own laundry room.

Rudee said...

Good luck with the hunt!

TinaM said...

Oh I do hope you get it!!! Good luck!