Possible new house....

[Lindsey]

We are putting in an offer tonight. I am so nervous about it I almost feel sick! And it's not because of the house, it's because of leaving the condo. After all this work I put into it, it's like my baby. It's perfectly ME in every way. I also feel bad that my family members who put in so many hours helping for free might think I'm being ungrateful by just turning around and selling it.

Scott's family is still being pretty unsupportive which is really being hard on him. We're going to visit them this weekend and I hope we can change their minds.

Judy, you're right, there's not much to do! There are things we would LIKE to do eventually but there's no rush. I would love to paint because the off-white walls look very dirty and you can see some drywall screws right through it. Eventually we'd also like to change the counter tops... it's just a laminate counter and there are seams everywhere, including right in front of the sink where it is starting to lift from moisture. We would like to maybe do a tile countertop. But all of that can happen in time.

The old floors are PERFECT. There are some scratches, some wear, some spots, and it's all great because if I drop something it won't show My grandma was telling me that you can't put much moisture on real hardwoods, but we looked through the pictures of the old house before they had done ANYTHING, and the floors were covered in SNOW! They must have had to shovel out all the snowdrifts. So I'm not too worried about moisture!

We're a little worried about whether we can get it for sure. We do have a limit we're comfortable spending, and my realtor looked into the details and the current owners still have a mortgage for about what we want to pay. It's been 7 months on the market so maybe they'll be happy with breaking even and getting it off their bank account, or maybe they'll think it's worth more and want to make a profit. Who knows!

[judy]

WOW!!! This is so exciting Linds! I can't wait to find out what happens next....I hope you get it!!

[DIANE W]

I am so happy for you both, in some ways it is good that it is not too perfect, because then you can still do little things to make it your own without rushing in and having to do it now, you can take time.

It is a really great house, it looks really posh.....

It is a joint decision between you both, and sometimes family dont agree, well i think that is just life - and this is your life and you must do what feels right for you - nobody else. In an ideal world everryone would be happy for you and pleased, just not in reality. My family always feel they have the right to comment on decisions we make - i have learnt over the years to not be put off with it.

I understand about your feelings towards your condo, that is natural after the work you all put in, but you will feel like that about the new house too in time, but that will be your home for a long long time, your family will grow into the house.

Oh i am getting excited now and its not even me!!!!!!!!!

[Blueyes]

Baby, don't waste time trying to persuade Scott's mother to like your house decision. The only thing that's important is what you and Scott decide for your life. She's probably just jealous

[paula1961]

I'm so excited for ya Lindsey! I can't wait to hear whether you and Scott got the house.

[Lindsey]

I'm a nervous wreck! We've been negotiating the whole weekend. We put in our first offer 50,000 below their asking price, and asked for the washer and dryer to be included (they were not included in the listing). The counter offered 10,000 below the asking price, with no washer or dryer . We pushed our offer up 15,000, and they moved down another 5,000 but included the washer and dryer. Our hope is that we can meet in the middle because that's the limit we set for ourselves! So by noon today we have to respond and we're going to give them our final offer, and our realtor will explain to them we have no room for any more movement. Take it or leave it.



Just in case they do take the offer, we are showing our condo tonight with the hope that in the next couple of days it may be on the market. Our realtor's husband has a client who is close to putting in an offer on another place, so we'd like to show it in case she likes ours better.

[Lindsey]

Originally Posted by Blueyes

Baby, don't waste time trying to persuade Scott's mother to like your house decision. The only thing that's important is what you and Scott decide for your life. She's probably just jealous

I tried to persuade, but to no avail! We went out shopping while Scott was getting things ready for his nephew's baptism with his sister. She basically just thinks we're rushing into it and it's a big decision etc. Everyone in the family seemed concerned about the indoor hot tub for ventilation, chlorine smell, health effects of breathing in the chlorine and bromine smell? I don't know. I could look into it but I did a little google search last night and didn't find much about it. And I didn't smell it at all when I walked in the house.


BUT now that may not even matter. Our realtor just emailed and said she talked to the listing agent and he said his clients don't want to go any lower than what they're at. She honestly doesn't think we can get it for the price we want. But she said we might as well try, and give our final offer.

My heart is breaking I don't know how I'll get any work done today.

[Blueyes]

Oh Lindsey, I'm sorry! At least you tried

[Lindsey]

Thanks Betsi. Scott has been all about sticking to our guns for the whole process, but he just said "Would you really be willing to give it up over a couple thousand dollars?" ... When you think about it, a couple more on a 25 year mortgage is only going to bring up our payments less than $10 a month. Our "limit" is well below our ACTUAL limit so it seems silly to let the house go over such a small amount. We could still afford it.

I think we may offer our "limit" but not say it's our final offer. Our realtor has already told them we're close to just ending it so they may just go for it anyway.

[Lindsey]

Just signed the new offer again.... hopefully she can get to Scott's work for him to sign and have it sent off before our cut-off of noon! That's just another half hour.

[paula1961]

I'm getting so excited and nervous too and it's not even me lol!
I so hope they accept your offer Lynsey!!

[Lindsey]

Thank you Paula! I'm beginning to feel indifferent... It would be such a cool house to own, but they obviously aren't that bent on selling it. I have been spending my morning looking up houses we could get for a similar price. There are some gorgeous ones that are brand new! But they don't have the character or the history that this house has... not to mention the size!

But even if we have to stay in the condo, if I have Scott and Layla with me every night I'll be happy no matter where I am.

[Lindsey]

Oh my gosh... Scott just got a call from our realtor

The house is ours for $2,900 more than our last offer if we want it. They won't go any lower. They will give us everything we're asking for (including washer and dryer) but that's their final offer. That is $71,100 less than their original asking price last summer, and $22,000 less than the current listed price. That's a pretty substantial drop in price, and I'm sure the house is worth that much...

My heart is racing and I don't know what to do! They're giving us some time to think about it.

[gja1000]

Hi Lindsay! I haven't written much on this thread because I've been out of town and only able to read a little bit.

It is always good to buy as much house as you can afford when you are young. It won't be as much of a stretch after you get get older and you will have a fabulous house for the rest of your life, or until you decide to sell it. Since you are getting it so much less than the original asking price, then you will make A LOT of money on it someday and have such a wonderful place to live until then!

I know it is horribly stressful, buying/selling always is - it just about makes me sick - I can't even buy a car, Gary has to do it cause it causes be so much stress!!!

I say go for it, if you can afford it and if it is what you want to do. I know you have probably looked at all the positives and all the negatives and then add them up. If the positives outweigh the negatives, then the decision is easy!

Good luck, can't wait to see what you decide.

[Lindsey]

Thank you Gayle! I'm so glad I have this forum for times like these! I can't talk to my parents because they're at work Your advice is just as good!

We have a showing of the condo tonight and if this girl really likes the condo, our choice will be easy! If not, we have the worry of waiting for the condo to sell in the next 6 weeks, and if another offer comes in on the house we've lost it. That would be tough on us.