My New Home

This was only the sixth place I looked at and when I initially did the drive by, I wasn't all that enamored with the place. The complex was small and intimate and the townhouse I was looking at was the farthest inside end unit, but still...I just wasn't 100% sold. The whole place needs a paint job.

Then on Tuesday, I met my real estate guy to take a look inside. I loved it. It is extremely private, from the back patio to all the windows. The only window you can look out and see other people is off the back deck of the master bedroom. We can look into the houses of the neighborhood behind us and they can do the same, if they happened to be sitting in their front yard.

Ryan and I went together and viewed it on Wednesday morning and just like that, I made an offer. She accepted that evening and all the sudden...no breaks. Things move very quickly in this beginning process. I've got the interest rate locked in at 5.375%, which I'm told is excellent. I have the inspection scheduled for Monday at 2:00pm and my mortgage broker told me the loan is set to close 30 days from yesterday.

Just like that, I'm a homeowner. I can't wait to move in. Behind our back patio is a strip of grass and just beyond the grass is a dirt area for me to use as I please. Some of my neighbors have flowers or shrubs planted, a few have actual gardens with vegetables planted. I'll have my garden!

Here is a photo of the complex itself. There are four buildings and each building has four units. I like it that it's small and that the entrances to each unit are staggered, so if I'm at my front door, I can't see my next door neighbor's front door.



Here is the front door. The current shrubs aren't anything to look at and my girlfriend has offered to donate a slew of succulents to put in that plot.



The kitchen is very good sized. Lots of cabinet space and matching, if not completely new, appliances. The shape is kind of funky, as you see in the next photo, but I like the angles.



Here I am with the real estate agent. I'm sure I'm saying something very important. The current stools at the eating bar need to go. They aren't comfortable at all. Ryan and I will find some comfortable ones we like.



The fireplace and back patio. There is a mirror above the fireplace, which will go immediately when we move in. It makes it look like the staircase is behind the fireplace. That would defy the laws of physics. Ryan didn't get any pictures of the staircase, but I wish he would have. It's very wide and I'm excited to get a railing that we like later on down the road.



We love the bay window, especially since it looks out past the fence into someone's backyard. The house on the lot next door is set way up, so it can't even be seen from the window. I want to fill it with plants. Ryan doesn't want me to. We'll see who wins that battle.



The back patio and deck off the master bedroom.



I didn't include pictures of the bedrooms because they have nothing in them yet to show the scale of how large they are. We're currently debating between using the master as a guest room/second living room and just moving our bed into the 2nd bedroom. We don't spend a ton of time in our bedroom, other than for sleeping or sexytime, so it's not a big deal if it's smaller than the master.

At any rate, I am thrilled to be moving out of my very small apartment and although the mortgage payment will take some time to get used to, it will be well worth it.