Monday, June 8

Starting to Think It Might Actually Happen

I am a hunter, a finely tuned machine programmed to seek out good deals and destroy our checking account with piles and piles of amazing things. It's what I do. In fact, it's what I do best.

I don't pay full price for much of anything. Alexis spends her day frolicking about in Gap dresses, and I know for a fact people think I spend a fortune on her wardrobe. Nope. Not at all. I buy nothing from Gap without a coupon, and even then, I only shop from the clearance racks, and usually only at the Outlet. Her entire collection of summer dresses for 2009 was purchased last year at the end of the season. Her 15 or so dresses cost, on average, less than $10 each. Several were $6. I am a machine.

It was about a year ago that I first started reprogramming my bargain-hunter brain cells in hopes of finding a bargain on a house. I looked. And looked. And looked. A few times there were some false alarms. What I thought was a bargain was sold before we could go look at it, or further investigation revealed far too many problems for the price.

And then I found it. The (New) House. When I first found the listing, I was suspicious. It was priced $20K lower than other houses in the same neighborhood. Some of the information in the listing was clearly wrong. No way did the house have four bedrooms and five bathrooms for that price.

Just for kicks, I called our Realtor and set up a walk-through. I assumed we would find that the house was priced low because of things that weren't in photos. When we first walked in the door, that turned out to be true. Between damage to walls, missing faucets, messed up floors, and mold in the basement? There was definitely more than a few things to complain about, but they weren't *that* bad. There was plenty of evidence of plumbing issues, and based on the fact that the house is only three years old, we were pretty sure that shoddy construction was to blame. But still. The house was priced more than fairly, all things considered.

Did I mention that it was 1000 square feet bigger than the other houses in the same development that were for sale? 1000 SQUARE FEET BIGGER. Plus, it had a finished basement, complete with a second kitchen. Mold, shmold. That house is nearly FOUR TIMES bigger than the one we are living in. And the "errors?" Oh, the listing was wrong. Someone may count four bedrooms, but I count five. They may see five bathrooms, but they missed the half bath on the main level. The place is freakin' HUGE.

If you've been following along, you already know we are under contract and buying the house. We don't move until mid-July, so until then I get to sit and be overwhelmed with how we're going to manage to get enough furniture to keep the place from looking abandoned. It's a good problem to have.

As for the plumbing issues? We shall see. A bunch of leaks sprung up before the inspection process was completed, so the owner of the house (a bank--it's a foreclosure) is currently making all the repairs. Not on our dime. We may very well still end up moving into a house that features a swimming pool where the family room should be, but OH WELL. We can always all get by just living on the other side of the house, and we're paying over $100,000 less than an identical house a few miles away.

You know you've done good when your inspector can stand in the middle of an indoor lake and say, "If you're paying that then you did REALLY good."

Now I just need to figure out how to get the Bulldog to use a regular toilet. With five and a half bathrooms, she may as well get her own.



************************************************************************

If you have a second, I could use a little help over here. Thanks! I luff you! I promise to only ask about 20 more times!

44 comments:

  1. HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm moving IN! lol

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jee-zus that's huge. Are you planning on octo-momming it?

    ReplyDelete
  3. @Danielle--NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. NO. NO.

    ReplyDelete
  4. is that the new house ???? holy crap!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous11:54 PM

    Wow! That house is gynormous! Alexis can have 2 bedrooms, she could do one HSM and one Princess!

    ReplyDelete
  6. @Anonymous--Shhhhhh! Don't give her any ideas!

    ReplyDelete
  7. you could host a bloggy convention in your home. That's awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous12:43 AM

    WOW! I can't wait to see more pictures of the inside, because the outside? Freakin' AWESOME! Anyone who is overlooking foreclosures is missing out - we bought our foreclosure for about $45K less than what it is now worth (in the 'posh' part of the neighborhood no less!)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous12:52 AM

    More Christmas lights, more Christmas tree!!! Poor Mr. husband!!!
    Good buy!!!
    Melanie

    ReplyDelete
  10. DUDE! That house is HUGE!

    Also, you know that extra 1000 sq feet? You could fit my ENTIRE house inside that. (our house is 830sqft. And I don't know if that includes the outside reno bit, but I'm guessing it does.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous5:05 AM

    Very nice - well done. I bow to the Queen of frugal shopping.

    Now can you tell me where to find a wall unit, girls bedroom set and 2 kids desks that will not break my budget - oh yeah and I need it before I move at the end of July.

    I suck at shopping.

    ReplyDelete
  12. tehamy6:52 AM

    Awesome house! It's the ultimate in bargin hunting!

    ReplyDelete
  13. It's gorgeous!!! I thought you'd make us wait forever to see it. Looks like you guys will never have to move (til you get old & downsize maybe!). Lucky you too with getting it after the bubble popped. We HAD to move (job) before it popped and we've lost $ on this house. Know what we noticed after moving into a bigger 2 story house though?? It costs a small fortune to A/C & heat*L* At least you can use all the savings you got from getting a great deal to buy all your furniture & pay your electric bill!

    ReplyDelete
  14. @Melanie--I already figured out that I can easily house five full size Christmas trees. FIVE. Bwahahahahaha!

    The electrical box is going to need a little upgrading to accommodate the outdoor stuff, though. That part makes me a little sad.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous8:33 AM

    That is big! I know exactly how you feel. Our heating repair guys were amazed at how little Paladin paid for this place. Of course, I had nothing to do with it or I'd have low balled them a bit considering the shape it was in when he bought it (and still sort of is in some areas).

    ReplyDelete
  16. You're moving into a mansion? Yikes.

    I am also a bargain hunter. We rarely shop at Gapkids, but we were given a $20 gift card to there at my baby shower. Shopping on the clearance racks, it took three visits there to redeem it completely.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Holy Eff! That place is huge! Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Awesome! Is it a Ryan home? We "borrowed" a Ryan house plan and had our builder change it to make our house - a little cheaper AND we got the changes we wanted without calling them "upgrades".

    And? If we ever have to move I'm taking YOU with me. I'm a good bargain shopper, also never paying full price for A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G, but I got nuthin' on you, dear.

    ReplyDelete
  19. That is awesome...can you find us a house next?

    ReplyDelete
  20. BEAUTIFUL house. I love brick! My grandparents house is brick and whenever I see one I always think of them. I see nothing but good things ahead for you guys!

    (Oh, and I voted for ya!)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous10:08 AM

    Duuuuude. The house is, as Morgan would say, ginormous!!

    Love it. You are so coming to spend a few days in NY with me when we buy a house.

    ReplyDelete
  22. OMG that house looks huge! I don't think I would be able to handle the house work but it looks awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Holy house! That's awesome!! I don't know if this works in all states, but the woman we bought our house from last year bought a home warranty policy that covers all mechanicals, appliances and other major things that could crap out. It was good for a year and basically meant we wouldn't have to pay a dime if anything went wrong. I think it cost her $500. You should talk to your realtor or attorney about having the bank buy one for you guys!

    ReplyDelete
  24. @mom2tot--I am seriously blocking locking several doors. There will be no access to rooms we don't need, like the guest bedroom and bathroom. I don't have to clean what I never see, right?

    ReplyDelete
  25. One of those bedrooms is for me, right?
    Holy CRAP that's an awesome house!

    ReplyDelete
  26. It looks amazing! I've seen some inside photos too of course on flickr. I'm waiting to see how the shrine turns out. heh.

    I also enjoyed having many bathrooms in my house when I had a regular maid. Now, not so much. I'm thinking of closing off 3 of them and making everyone just use the downstairs. Or, an "if you use it you clean it" rule.

    Show pics of the yard too!

    ReplyDelete
  27. holy hell.It's huge. I guess the dogs get their own room too?
    What you saved on the asking price you might spend on heating and cooling bills and Curtains!!

    My friend lived in a small house the first 6 or seven years of marriage. She had four kids one after the other.
    She shopped and shopped and found a great deal on a huge house.
    Sounds like the same type of deal you did.
    The house had eight bedrooms. For the first year or so they all were too afraid to sleep in their rooms so all four kids slept together on the floor in one room.
    It used to drive her crazy. She would put them to bed in their rooms, when she woke up, they would be all huddled together in one room.

    ReplyDelete
  28. That is awesome!!! Let's hear it for foreclosures!!!
    The house we are closing on on Thursday is a foreclosure. We are getting it for a STEAL! Of course we have to completely gut it and pretty much start with a shell of a house, but all costs considered it will still cost us a third of what a house in that neighborhood would normally cost. So good. :)

    That house looks AMAZING!!!!! FIVE BEDROOMS AND BATHS??? HOLY CRAP!!!! That sounds like a hotel!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Oh my GOODNESS! Look at all the room you have for CHRISTMAS LIGHTS!!! And then think of the spring and summer...it looks amazing now - I can't wait to see how pretty it will be after your gardening love gets ahold of it. You are going to rock this house!!

    ReplyDelete
  30. I think Danielle's on to something. That or opening a bed and breakfast and quitting your job. You like to cook?

    ReplyDelete
  31. That house is gorgeous! Congrats!

    I just hope it isn't going to be a money pit. But I have a feeling that once you get a few of the kinks worked out, it will be fine. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  32. I love that I'm surrounded by people who understand the joy that is MORE ROOM FOR CHRISTMAS CRAP! Wooohoooo!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Holy crap I AM NOT JOKING was the first thing that came out of my mouth when I saw that picture! So holy crap your new house is freaking awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  34. I voted for you. I hope you destroy them all. You could rent out the extra rooms in your house like Forrest Gump's mom did. Alexis might meet the next Elvis Pressley.

    ReplyDelete
  35. My SIL bought a house in foreclosure and the bank fixed the leak issue in the kitchen to the tune of a brand new custom kitchen. You should be fine.

    Congrats, dear. With five bedrooms, I can come crash now? Yes. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  36. Wow, I was not expecting such a pretty exterior. Most of the houses around here that age are ugly stucco. It looks huge, congratulations.

    ReplyDelete
  37. WOW! I am so excited to see how you decorate all those rooms! (If you'll let me, that is)

    Your house is going to be on the news come Christmas time, isn't it?

    ReplyDelete
  38. Dang...that is a BIG house...Congrats!

    ReplyDelete
  39. WOW! That house is wicked! and I voted for you but then I kind of felt bad for the three blogs with only 1%. But not bad enought to actually vote for them...

    ReplyDelete
  40. @Poltzie--Allison Says IS one of my faves. Truly.

    ReplyDelete
  41. That is ENORMOUS!! Hope the problems are easy and cheap to fix in the end

    ReplyDelete
  42. Huge? That's a freaking apartment complex.

    ReplyDelete
  43. So can I move in with you when you finally get closed on it? I only need one room and a bath!

    ReplyDelete
  44. Woah - have I mentioned lately my jealousy? 'Cause I'm totally jealous. And living in a shoebox. *sigh*

    ReplyDelete