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| My dream kitchen . . . finally a place for all of my fiestaware! |
And now I can tell you all about the house buying saga we have been going through since late August. Our first realtor screwed us on a short sale in south Melbourne Beach. It was built in 2002, which is very rare for our area, most of the houses are built in the 1960s and 1970s. Because it was so new, insurance would be very reasonable. It was a very cute three bedroom about 600 feet from the beach . . . and we told our realtor we wanted to put an offer on it. Well, he didn't call the listing agent until two days later, at which point they told them they already had an offer that had been submitted to the bank. With short sales, only one offer can be submitted to the bank at the time. We ditched that realtor, and put in a back up offer on the house just in case the first offer didn't go through. We still looked at other houses, and didn't find out until two months later that the bank decided to let the current owners stay and forgive some of their debt on the house!
We got new realtors, a team from an agency on the island, and they have turned out to be a godsend. They have certainly been patient along with us and shared in some of our heartbreak as we looked for our first home.
The second house we put an offer on was on the border of Indialantic and Melbourne Beach - a four bedroom with a pool that had been renovated. It had gleaming tile floors, tons of sliders on to the pool lanai, and a brand new kitchen. The bedrooms were small though (the entire house was about 1750 square feet) and the master bathroom was tiny and awkward. We loved the vibe of the house though. Unfortunately, they were asking way over what the comps were showing a reasonable offer should be. We offered less, they countered, but it was still out of our comfort zone. We walked away . . .
The third house we put an offer on was in the heart of Indialantic, about .6 miles away from the beach. It was also a three bedroom, and it was a STEAL. We were the first ones to see it, and we immediately put in an offer. The owners, however, were moving to Chile and had left the same day they put their house on the market. Really?! Their agent wasn't able to contact them with our offer until the 24 hours later, at which point, three other offers had come in. We were beat by $100 (and an offer that waived the home inspection and offered cash, which we definitely couldn't do).
The fourth place we found (I know what you are thinking? Number 4?) was a cute four bedroom in Satellite Beach that was also a short sale. Our offer was accepted by the seller but still had to be presented to the bank. Around that time, my dad came to visit and he was not crazy about the house. For those of you who don't know, my dad is a general contractor/builder/renaissance construction man, so his opinion is what counts. We backed out of our current offer without penalty and went on searching. Funnily enough, Dad saw the house we just finally bought while he was in town, and LOVED it. Weird how that works, right? I should also mention that Justin had found that particular house back in October, and had actually sent me an email on my birthday that said "Check out this house in Indialantic - I love it!" It was way out of our price range, I should also add.
The next place we put an offer on was a two bedroom condo in Indialantic, about .2 miles from the beach, that was a super cheap short sale. We figured we could live there while we still looked for houses, and then rent it after we found something. An investment, if you will. Of course, we were not the only ones who thought that, and the condo had 7 offers on it 24 hours.
We come to the second to last stop in our journey. Which also happens to be one of the biggest heartbreaks. A historic home in Indialantic came on the market in mid-December. It was built in 1924 - a little beach cottage with a metal roof and an adorable detached garage. It had been renovated - gleaming hardwood floors and windows everywhere. The sunlight in that house was amazing. It only had one bathroom. We didn't care. We were in love! We saw ourselves on the cover of Coastal Living. It was going to happen! We put in an offer and they accepted! And then the home inspection.
The home inspection revealed active knob and tube wiring for the electricity. Which is un-insurable. NO ONE WOULD INSURE US. We had numerous electricians and contractors come out to give us a bid on bringing it up to code. We were looking at $30,000. We considered it, we loved that house that much. Then we found out there was dry rot on the cedar shakes outside, and the roof over the screened-in porch was on its last legs and needed to be replaced immediately. Justin and I weighed every pro and con, looked at it from every angle. Christmas Eve we decided to walk away.
We also talked with both sets of parents on Christmas Eve and weighed our options. There was still the house that Justin and my Dad loved. (I loved it too, I just thought it was out of our price range!) It was still on the market, and they had dropped the price 3 times. It was possible that we could get that house for the price we wanted to pay. The day after Christmas we submitted an electronic offer. And then we waited . . .
There was some back and forth about the condition of the roof (its older) and then the week after New Years, the seller had some activity and actually showed the house 3 times. Luckily for us, no one put in another offer. They finally accepted ours January 6. We were so relieved and ecstatic! But if anything this house hunting has taught us, we knew we had to wait until after the home inspection. It went well, just some very minor, fixable things and now we are packing up to move!
See the progress I've already made?
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