Making an Offer

We can check another first off our grown-up checklist.

It's like we're trying to pack it all in to one year (graduate school, new job, pregnant, etc), in case Nostradamus was correct and the world ends in 2012. So today we made our first ever offer on a house!

I tried to post a picture of our adorable little postage stamp house, but couldn't find the MLS report to steal a photo from. Is that a bad sign? Am I already demonstrating irresponsibility as a prospective homeowner??

We looked at "our" house, 7255 SW 54th Street, in the Maplewood neighborhood close to Multonmah Village, last Thursday in the dark. We liked it, and went back to visit on Saturday, with our friend, appraiser, and fake parent, Chuck, in tow. We loved it just the same. It has some cute curb appeal, but could use landscaping, a front deck, and maybe some better window trim. You walk in the front door, to hardwood floors in the living room. Straight ahead is a decently big kitchen, with an attached eating area. Not a formal dining room, but large enough to accommodate our 6-8 person table. There are two bedrooms on the main floor and a full bathroom. The stairs across from the bath lead to our humble little getaway. There's a master suite with full bath, and an adorable room-without-a-door that will first serve as the nursery, and eventually the grown-ups' office/sewing room. In other words, the upstairs is our own private hideaway (aside from the months/years we will have a screaming baby to attend to). Down the stairs from the kitchen is a full basement. It's half-finished, in that it's not gross to walk around, but is cold and not cozy to hang out. Eventually we want to put up some walls to segregate a laundry room, a shop, and a bonus room. There is a deck upstairs off the kitchen/dining area, with stairs leading down to a big, un-landscaped, yard. It already has some fencing, so Gizzy will be free to roam.

Alex and my tortoise-and-the-hare decision-making differences were profoundly clear when we decided we liked the house and wanted to move forward. I feared it was a race, and some other, less perfect young couple would swoop down and make an offer before we could. I was told "all the good houses go in a few days," and I didn't want to fall victim to this new wives' tale. Alex, on the other hand, likes to take his time, consider every possible angle, discuss and re-discuss the details of every architectural feature, hem and haw over a fair offering price - and then sleep on it. Fortunately, with the help of our realtor, Marcia, and our fake dad, Chuck, we were able to meet somewhere in the middle.

Which brought us to making our official offer - and a really yummy, realtor-paid brunch. We offered $290 on a house listed at $299. Alex wanted to offer $280ish, "given today's market," and I was willing to pay asking price. I just didn't want anyone else to take away my new dream house. Again, we met in the middle.

And more than anything - our excitement about possible home-ownership, the new neighborhood, painting our baby girl's nursery - we were pleased with our ability to come to a mutual, satisfactory agreement about the house itself, the asking price, and the process, despite having two totally different speeds. I love my husband and his tortoise-like ways. And I'd like to think my hare-ness complements him well, too.