Buying A Home

     After a lot, and I mean A LOT, of deliberation and prayer, Nate and I decided it was time to look for a home. It was kind of a hard decision to come to.... it means that our roots are becoming more firmly planted in Oregon soil, and this will be the place our children grow up in. While this was always the plan when Nate got his job, it just seemed so far away. Now that we have been here awhile and we have started looking at places to raise our family, it's hard to believe that we've come to this time in our lives.
     Housing in Oregon is a little different than Utah, and I can't quite get used to the homes and the look of homes here. Property taxes are pricey (for a .05 acre lot, they run anywhere from $1900-$2500), so you can imagine how much taxes are on a bigger lot (let's just say, it's a little more than we can afford). Also, homes here aren't very big. The average size is about 1400 sq. feet, with no basement (it's too wet and moldy) with 3 bedrooms 2 bathrooms. Homes under $200,000 typically come with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. No family room, no office or den, no extras. I also didn't want a home that had to have any repairs made to it. I just want to move in and enjoy my home. I'm fine with painting and maybe replacing the kitchen cabinet fixtures, but nothing more than that.
     So, we contacted a lady in our ward who is a realtor, and we set out on the home finding adventure. And let me tell you, it has been an adventure. We have walked into tons of homes, and I cannot believe how some people live! I mean, I'm not the cleanest person on the planet, but these people live like slobs. There were a couple of homes that I didn't even let my girls touch anything in. Ugh. I am shivering just thinking about it.
     I had pretty much given up our search when our realtor let us know about a home that was going to be re-listed. The home is in our current ward, and is being sold by a lady that I serve with on the Enrichment committee. In fact, our realtor is also the one selling the other home. This home is beautiful and has been well maintained.... and it has been for sale for awhile, it was just a little out of our price range. When I heard what the new price was, my jaw dropped! About a week later, Nate and I put an offer on it.
     Now, it's a short sale, so the buyers have accepted our offer, now the bank just has to accept our offer. According to our realtor, everything is moving quite smoothly, which is pleasant.  It is a townhome, but what I love about this little community is there is a swimming pool, playground, clubhouse, and gym. Plus, several members of our ward live there, so I will already know a lot of my neighbors! :) We won't know for a couple of months if we get the house or not, so in the meantime, I just sit and stare at the beautiful pictures and try to imagine where all my furniture would go. :)

Yay! It has a garage... and the garage has tons of built in shelves for storage!

Yay! There's already a place for a little garden! 

I would plant some grass around the garden plots....

Yay! There are two side windows by the front door!

Yay! There is a microwave above the stove, which free's up counter space!

And you all know how much I hate having cluttered kitchen counters...

it drives me insane to have tons of stuff on the counters....

grrr.....

Oh, and yay! There's a pantry!
Oh, and yay! ALL APPLIANCES ARE INCLUDED!
Yes, that means stove, microwave, fridge, washer, and dryer.

The only thing I don't love is there isn't really a lot of space for the kitchen table...

but when a well maintained home comes available at this price, 

there are a couple of things you have to live without...

Yay! I imagine having a TV hung there....

you know, for when we actually get a flat screen TV,

which we're thinking is going to be sometime very soon...

our TV is on the fritz!

Yay! A hallway!

Yay! The Master Bedroom!

Yay! The Master Bathroom!

Yay! A soaker tub!

Yay! A. Walk. In. Closet! I'm in heaven!

Yay! The first bedroom! The girls will share this room...

Yay! The second bedroom! It will serve as our office/craft room for the next couple of years...

YAY! An actual laundry room!

No more washers in the kitchen (like student housing)

and no more washers in the hallway closet (like our current apartment).

There is an ACTUAL space for laundry, and ACTUAL cupboards to put 

all my cleaning supplies and laundry stuff...

Oh happy day!

Yay! For the upstairs bathroom...

There is a half bath on the bottom floor, there just isn't a pic of it...

     I know it may not seem much to some of you, but we would be beyond thrilled to live here. Of course, it wouldn't be our permanent home... we would probably live here for the next 5 years or so and then probably rent it out. These townhomes are close to the MAX station, so they rent extremely easy, and people rent these for more than what our mortgage would be.
     We are nervous/scared/excited/happy to have the possibility of owning a home. We just have to be extremely patient for the next couple of months to see what the bank says...