House Hunting: It's sorta what we've been up to

As you know, we've been renting a house. I actually love renting. These days when a home is more of a liability than an asset--and definitely no longer an investment--renting kind of redefines the American dream. BUT there's this whole issue of settling in. I am not settled in to our rental. There are only 2 clocks on the wall and one poster up in the boys' room. And in full disclosure, that poster covers up a hole in the wall (no, we did not put the hole there). Plus we have stacks and stacks of boxes in the garage that have not yet been unpacked.

So I'd love to have a place to call my own so I could paint the walls the color I want them, put things on those walls, and unpack the boxes. We're aiming for November to be out of here and into a place of our own.

Even though that gives us 6 months, being the impatient people we are, we have been poring over listing after listing. A few things that bother me about homes up here:

1. First and foremost: no Central Air!! Our rental has no means of AC either. At this point it has kind of a been a game to see how long we can go before we give in and buy some of those ugly AC units you hang out of your window. In the listings, they describe them as "individual cooling units"; makes them sound so posh, doesn't it? I hate to buy them, though, in the off-chance we purchase a house that actually has added that modern convenience of central air! You might think the northeast is ahead of the times, but I'm telling you - just look at the AC situation, and you'll see they are in fact behind the times!

2. No garages or detached garages: This is actually not an issue for us because I have specified in my search that I only want to look at homes with a garage. But there are A LOT of homes out there without a garage. Again we must look at the average age of the homes here; I mean who would park a horse and carriage in a garage anyway? As for me, however, I will take a house that is just a garage if I have to, but I will not live with having to dig my car out of 6 feet of snow just so I can go pick up a gallon of milk at the grocery store.

3. If you're from the south, you know that most homes have a master suite, which means there is a master bedroom with a private bathroom connected to the room. Well, here, again probably because of the age of homes, it is not as common. So when there IS a master suite, the listing will say, "possible in-law suite". OK, I get that too EXCEPT that these are descriptions on homes that are sometimes right at 2000 square feet. That's not THAT small, but it's not huge. Throw in my 4 kids...well, I love my in-laws, but that really would be kind of crowded, wouldn't it?

4. I described our rental house in a past post and explained how there are like 12 different types of flooring in it. I see that in the majority of the homes I see on realtor.com. Each room has different carpet. Now I saw a friend's house who did that tastefully, and the different colors complemented the theme of the room, but with these, there will be one room that has bright green carpet, another with mauve, another with bright red.

5. Some of our top choices have an above ground pool in the backyard. Why in the world do so many people up here have pools that they can only use for 2 months out of the year? I guess maybe because they don't have AC. I don't know.

6. The prices of the homes aren't too bad, though CT has certainly not been hit like GA in the housing crisis, so prices aren't bombed and homes are still moving. BUT the price of a home can be misleading if you are trying to work up a budget because you have to take the property tax into consideration. The property taxes up here are outrageous. I have not found a single house with property taxes even close to the little we paid in GA. Most times, the property tax comes close to doubling your mortgage! I'm surprised everyone here hasn't just up and moved to GA.

OK, I'm done griping. There are some good points about the homes here. Because they are old, they are full of character. Also, many of them have been renovated but the character retained. So it has been interesting looking at the homes. Our top pick right now was built in 1912! It's fascinating to think of all of the voices that have echoed down the halls of that home...if the walls could talk, huh?

Scripture & a Snapshot - Psalm 23

Bear with me for just a moment…I promise this ends up at Psalm 23!

So, as most people in the United States of America know, there has been a lot of snow lately. Personally, I have had enough, but I’m new here, so maybe I just need to suck it up and get used to it. But anyway, the problem many are facing here is the huge amount of snow on rooftops. There are buildings caving in, and the “roof rake” is a hot commodity, one I have not been able to get my hands on.

Well, a couple of days ago, I came home to find a big puddle of yellowish water on the kitchen floor. “Great,” I thought, “the cat has decided to use the kitchen floor as a litter box.” Upon further examination, though, I decided that the cat, as huge as she is (and I don’t mean big-boned either), she could not possibly have peed that much. That’s when I heard the drip, drip on the window sill. We had sprung a leak.

Well, the one leak soon became several leaks, and I did my best to contain the water in the cups while our landlord decided what to do and while I waited for my husband to return home from his week-long business trip. I shot this picture to send to my husband because, well, because misery is better with company, right?

Once I took this photo, I decided I really liked the colors of the glasses against the winter landscape outside, and the verse that came to mind was from Psalm 23 where it talks about my cup overflowing. Of course, in the context of the verse, an overflowing cup is referring to blessings rather than the complications of a leaky roof, BUT I realized this verse - this whole passage, really - is still very pertinent here.

For one thing, all jokes aside about our leaking house. OK, just one joke: The other day, Audrey came in and said, "It sounds like it's raining in here. Weird." Now moving on...Honestly, my cup really does overflow. I cannot even begin to list the many blessings God has given me. And all of them completely undeserved.

What is more, I am continually aware that He--my Shepherd--is with me through the dark valleys. Even the not-so-deep valleys. Like roof leaks.

So has my cup, er, have my cups overflowed? Yes. But my cup full of blessings is also full to the brim and spilling over.

The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want.



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This Old House

I'm prefacing this entire post by saying that we are incredibly blessed to have found such a great rental home. It's quirky, yes, but absolutely way more than adequate for our family.

The vet who took Daisy came over to our house a few days before the drop-off to meet her. "Wow! What a nice area," she commented. "It's lovely to see such new homes!" The home we are renting was built in the '70s. Having built our home in 2005, this home to us is old. I suppose it's all a matter of perspective.

If you'll recall, this is the home that had the Dog Smell. Well, we certainly did not help it out at all with Crazy Daisy, but we purchased an ozone generator, and we are slowly but surely, room-by-room, eradicating the smell for good. The cat thanks us for that.

Our home is quite a large one and, in fact, has two front doors because it underwent a major addition years after it was built. The addition added a garage which is deep enough to house 4 cars.

Although we do not own 4 cars, we have made very good use of the extra garage space for storage. Above the garage is an unfinished, very large bonus area. We are not using this area for a number of reasons. First, the owners are using it for storage. Second, a rather precarious stairway leads up to the bonus area, and we aren't quite sure how to get to the local ER yet. Last, there is an odd hook and chain thing that hangs from the roof in the bonus area. I am not sure I want to know what it was used for in times past, but I can think of two mischievous boys who would be happy to re-purpose it. So the area is off limits.

We also do not venture into the basement. At least I don't. It's dark, musty, and creepy. The kids go down every now and again to play ping pong on the table the owners left. I have actually made the trip down a couple of times to check the oil level on the ancient oil tank that fuels our heat.

As for the part of our home we actually inhabit, it has lots of character. One of the things I find most quirky is all of the different flooring. If I'm counting right, there are 12 different kinds of flooring, 7 of them downstairs. There are these two different kinds of carpet in two adjoining rooms. No threshold, no transition of any kind.

Then there is this area where 3 kinds meet and are broken only by the marble threshold.

Then of course there are the light switches. There are numerous light switches. In every room. In some rooms, there are 3 switches that turn on the same light. The kitchen alone has 3 different light zones, and each zone has 1 or 2 switches that control it. There are many switches that we have not yet figured out. Then there is our room. As you walk into the room, there is a little panel where a light switch should be, but there is no light switch. Instead, the switch is way over on the other side of the room, over by the far window. I'm sure it would not be difficult at all to turn that panel into an actual switch, but since this is not our house, we will not fiddle with the electrical wiring.

"If this was our house, I'd...". That is a common phrase in this house. It's not our house so we won't make any changes, but we are enjoying living in it. Our favorite place to hang out is our kitchen, which is open to a small living room with a fireplace.

There is a lot of counter space in the kitchen, and the countertop bar seats six (someone knew we were coming), so we eat all of our meals in here. Of course, there is no commercial grade stove/oven here, but the double oven is a lifesaver, and the stove will do.

The dining room is right off the kitchen, and this is where we do school. Since it is off the kitchen, it is very convenient. There is a lovely window that looks out of the dining room onto a HUGE deck.

I suppose we might make use of that next summer. What we won't use is the above ground pool. We had them cover it. I do not like above ground pools, and I would hate to be responsible for someone else's pool. It's surprising how many people here have pools. They use them for what? Two months out of the year? And what's even stranger is that fences are not required around a pool. Not good to have the liability.

Anyway, the downstairs half bath is around the corner from the dining room. And, tada! It's a multi-purpose room. Yes, that's a toilet. And, yes, that's my washing machine. I bet you don't have a Half Bath-Laundry Room in your house!

Another favorite place is the very large living room. It is also a multi-purpose room: a gym, a library, a piano room, and a theater. OK, so it's not a theater. Our theater chairs are in there, but our other theater stuff is packed up. But our
laundry holdertreadmill is in there as is our keyboard. If only I could find the piano books. And this room has a fireplace like the smaller living room.

Off of the living room is yet another multi-purpose room. It serves as my office, a guest room, and the laundry staging area. And, yes, that is a curtain to the left of the picture. There is no door on this room, so it is not officially a bedroom, but I threaded some curtain panels on a tension shower rod and voila! A "door".

There is also a little room/closet off of the office/guest/laundry staging room that I use to store school stuff and the kitty's potty.

That is downstairs. Upstairs are 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Which I'm not going to show you because the kids rooms are a wreck, and we still have a couple of boxes in our room, and I really want to maintain the perception that we are entirely together and are totally unpacked.

So, we are very comfortable here and very happy to have this house available to us. We'll see what happens in a year. Then we will decide where we want to be. Most likely, we will move close to whatever church we eventually call home. All of our married life, we have been 30-45 minutes from our church--we have never lived where we live, and I want to change that. So once we find a church, we will better be able to choose a city in which to live. One thing I thought would never come out of my mouth is that I would love to own an old home, and not old like from the 70s but old like from the early 1900s. My oldest daughter is not at all happy about my campaign to own some history, but until she offers to pay the mortgage, we can go as far back in history as we wish!
 

**I stole a couple of these pictures (the 2 pics of the front of the house and the deck picture) from the real estate listing.

For Sale. Again.

After a few weeks' break, our house is once again on the market. Waiting for the floods of expectant buyers...because there were so many of them the last time we had our house for sale. This time, however, I think we have a more aggressive realtor. She's even doing an agent caravan for us next week. In preparation, of course, there has been a lot of cleaning to do. And a little reflecting...

As I was cleaning out a closet, I came across a pile of pictures that never made it on to the walls of our home. And I realized we have never really fully settled here. Somehow we knew we'd be moving on soon, that this wouldn't be our final resting place. As a direct result of the many, many addresses I have called "home", I am loathe to label any place our final resting place (aside from Heaven), although I am trying to curb my wanderlust and replace it with contentedness for wherever I happen to be at the moment. And as I survey all of this junk that will have to be packed up, moved into a temporary resting place, then packed up again to be moved to our new home, I've decided that I might be persuaded to stay at the next location for a longer period of time than I have ever spent in one place...just so I don't have to pack up the house again.

I say "temporary resting place" because the plan is to rent for a year or so while we build a new home. (Yes, we actually enjoy the building process.) Of course, there's no real telling if this is just our plan or also His plan. So, in an effort to not sound too presumptuous, I won't tell you that we have already found a piece of property we wish to purchase. And I won't tell you we've already picked out a new house plan. And that we've already made changes to the new house plan to make it our dream house. Because, if I told you all these things, you would truly think me a bit overeager and possibly a touch psychotic.

What I will tell you is that, although I'm not particularly worried about the opinion of the agents who will parade through here on Tuesday, I did ask the maid to come in. It hurts my pride a little to have the maid come in, but if she didn't, I wouldn't have time to do important things. Like blogging and stuff.

Ridiculous Homebuyer

Dear Whack-O Homebuyer,

My realtor just informed me that you decided NOT to come see the house. You had previously inquired about the possibility of us fixing a pothole in the road at the end of our street. (And would you like us to put in a Kroger at the corner of Main and Oak for your shopping convenience?) Although a pothole or two is typical for a non-county road like ours, we informed our realtor that we would be happy to entertain such an "improvement" as part of an offer.

When I talked to my realtor today, she relayed your surprise that we had not gone ahead and fixed the potholes. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe we ever had an offer on the table? In fact, you never even came to SEE the house. So it should not need to be said that we had not even gotten as far as to find a pothole-filling person to fill the pothole. At the end of the street.

Secondly, my realtor explained that you were a bit taken aback because you chatted with a neighbor who told you that we did not contribute financially to the "road pool" when the gravel road was initially paved by all of the residents of _____ Drive. Let me explain this to you very simply:

This neighborhood has been here for over 20 years.

In 1999, the residents who lived here at the time pooled their money to pave the gravel road.

In 2005, we built our house here.

Do you understand that? I think you read too many political blogs because you're making ridiculous requests, claims, and assumptions.

By the way, I was also told where you've decided to buy. I know the neighborhood well: your bathroom will likely look right in to the bathroom window of your neighbor; your room will probably have a nice view of your neighbor's backyard; and you'll pay a hefty annual HOA fee to share a pool with a thousand other residents and their children. Oh, and the HOA will tell you what flowers to plant when and where. And what color to paint the house. And lots of other great things. So enjoy!

Sincerely,
An I'm-Not-Bitter-But-Simply-Incredulous-Homeseller

If we don't sell the house...

The kids are a lot more warm-blooded than I. That's why they were able to dive into a 74 degree pool on an 80 degree overcast day. I watched from the patio. If we don't sell the house, we're putting in a heater!

The boy moves too quickly to get a focused picture of him!

"If we don't sell the house." That's been the quote of the day around here. If we don't sell the house, let's put in some shrubs there. If we don't sell the house, let's paint this. If we don't sell the house, let's move that here. With the housing market down, we aren't holding our breath that we're going to sell this house.

If we don't sell the house, we will have the opportunity to enjoy more perfect days like today: splashing in the pool and then lunch out on the patio...featuring ribs from the grill, sweet potato fries and regular fries, baked beans, corn salad. You can't ask for time more well-spent with the family.

Of course, if we DO sell the house, there will be new moments to capture, new perfect days to create with each other. And if we DO sell the house, the best thing is that the only really important things from our current residence will move with us: one sweet, cuddly, adorable princess; one tender-hearted, affectionate, sweet-loving boy, one mischievous engineer with a fantastic sense of humor; one compassionate, thoughtful academic; and the love of my life who also happens to the be the gourmet chef of this household!

So whether we do or don't sell the house, the things that really matter are known. And together.

To-Do List

It's been a million miles long over the last week. And I'm learning to juggle more tasks than ever. And I'm trying not to drop the ball. Cliches aside, the For Sale sign went up yesterday! Admittedly and thankfully, our to-do list has been whittled away to almost nothing, though there still are a few tasks to complete. We're not expecting the buyers to be lining up outside the door anyway--especially in this market--so I think we'll have time to get to everything!

I can't even begin to imagine how we accumulated so much junk in three short years, nor how we could have let some of these projects slide so long that their enormity grew to unmanageable proportions. But that is the way of the busy life we lead. The house certainly looks mighty pretty now: the delight of living in a clean, repaired house will lessen the disappointment should we be unable to turn it over to someone else.

And so, while the to-do list is all but completed, the juggling doesn't end. Last week presented the kids with sort of a pre-summer vacation. We resumed today and will have to go into June because of our lapse last week. But it will all work out. And my dear husband who took a few days off last week must also get back to work and traveling. So life will resume as normal except that I have the near impossible task of keeping the house clean. The older three have actually done a fabulous job at keeping their rooms clean; it's the little Princess who has turned into quite a tornado, leaving game pieces, Polly Pockets, and Little Pet Shop Pets in her wake. So there is that plus I must resume work on my classes that I'm teaching, and I'm also taking a class to keep up my certification.

Life is never dull or boring. Or relaxing. Maybe in 18 years I'll be able to relax. Of course, then my to-do list will consist of catching up with 18 years x 4 children of scrapbooking!

Minutes from Annual Meeting

Present: My better half and me

Annual Topic: Let's sell the house and move

Notes: Yes, I know we've only been in this house for 3 years, but we built it as an investment. Really, if you know me, you know it's just because I get a little antsy being in one place too long (by too long, I mean more than 2 years). But every year around this time, for some reason, it always comes up. And another recurring topic: Let's move to Florida. The vote was unanimous once again, however, to nix the idea because it really would just be too much work. The fact that our reason for making a move south is based solely on the weather does weaken the option a bit as well.

So we really are serious enough right now that we're having a realtor in tomorrow to assess the house and see what he thinks.

Action items: Because we love to pull off a good first impressions with our realtors who visit once a year, this past week has been a major spring cleaning week for me (with a little school in between the scrubbing, vacuuming, and dusting!). And, if selling doesn't seem like a good idea after the realtor stops in, well, at least the house will be clean for a few weeks!