Monday, August 14, 2006

Q & A: new house

Hey, how is the bathroom? No pink tile I hope!
Two, count 'em, two full baths--both newly tiled with attractive faucets and even robe hooks.
The biggest...how did you arrange your finances/credit report in such a way that you were able to snap this one up? We haven't bought it yet--only have it under contract. If you are a current homeowner, it's very easy to get prequalified to buy your next home. We only had to call our mortage broker, and since we have so much equity coming from the sale of our current home, he didn't even need much paperwork. We could close on the new house in two weeks, but the buyer for this house needs four, so we'll wait until the end of September.
1a) People who don't have a Realtor Aunt...any hope of finding special deals like this?Actually, I have found all four of our house projects completely on my own! This one was a For Sale By Owner ad in the Open House section of the Sunday paper. My aunt, of course, did all the contractual stuff for the last house and for the new one. We might have gotten into a bidding war if she hadn't helped us quickly write an attractive offer to the sellers, though.
2) Compare and contrast what you've learned about granite tops...I've never been lucky enough to have a granite slab top, so I'm thrilled! Our current kitchen has granite tiles which we installed ourselves.
3) you're definitely going to need some counter space to the right of that stove..Yes, it's a bit tight, but there's a big island and a large counter with sink on the other side of the kitchen. The refrigerator will go into the empty space to the right.
4) Is that wood flooring in the kitchen?! Yes!!! The house did not have original hardwoods, so the owners installed Russian Beech flooring and finished it on site (not prefinished or Pergo). They said, "Maybe we overimproved it a little."
5) Definitely, furniture on the cheap. Nashville must have some great furniture finds. I'm going to wait until we get into the house before I let myself buy anything. I plan to watch Craig's List like a hawk. I've seen some great deals there. I'll have to take a photo of my mom's storage shed, too. I'll finally get to use my great-grandpa's dining table and sideboard--I've never had a dining room before! It needs repainting.
6) And, I hate to say this because it's shooting myself in the foot, but I bet there are people who would PAY to subscribe to insider info on your blog.) You know me, I'm all about free. I try to share what I know, in hopes that others do the same with me!

Thanks to Debbie for the conversation starters!

11 comments:

DonnaB said...

It sounds really great! I'm really happy for you!

Anonymous said...

It sounds really nice! What a blessing for your family :)

Anonymous said...

I'm a new kid on the block here - but have been delighted at all I'm learning this early in the game. I think your new home is lovely and definitely a gift from the Lord.

One small question, however....Craig's List?? Is this something every Prov 31 woman but me knows about?? :)

Thanks!

Meredith said...

Welcome, Dawn!
Craig's List (www.craigslist.org) is an internet classified service. It's free to list items for sale in your city, everything from real estate to furniture to cars. Because it's free, it's spread like wildfire. The big plus is that you can upload photos to your ads--which makes it much easier than buying something from a newspaper classifieds. And if you sell items, people come to pick them up, so no gas or postage spent on your part. I've been using it to make a little money and declutter before our move.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for 'conversing' Meredith. Helpful and concise answers.

And, I do hope you've been persuaded (or your hub) that you will NOT run out of blogging fodder!

Thanks for keeping your info free. My friend has a little cross-stiched quote on her wall..."An Open Hand Gathers". Perhaps your commitment to sharing with us has brought good things to you.

Debbie

Anonymous said...

But I do have one more question...

Have you been able to discover yet WHY (aside from Divine Providence) you were able to get such a good price on a quality home in a better area than you hoped?

Debbie

MommyLydia said...

I love Craig's List -- but I have been hesitant to sell through it because of an experience I had growing up. A good friend of ours (Ruth Kirtland) had just lost her daughter to someone that came to their house in response to an ad. He saw Kandy, and then haunted the area until he had a chance to kidnap her.

Here's the news story

Kristen said...

I am in love with your house! It's absolutely beautiful. I know you'll enjoy it. :)

Meredith said...

Ruth, that's horrible! Thanks for the warning. Just because I am afraid of strangers, I only let people pick up when my husband is home, and Andrew and I go in the bedroom during the whole thing.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the info ladies - both the good and bad! :?

Rebecca said...

Hey, I like pink tile ...