We Bought a House

After nearly a year and a half of looking, we finally found the right house for us.  While we were looking, a lot of people told me that they knew which house was theirs the moment they walked in the door.  We looked at 60+ houses and I kept waiting for that feeling.  There were some houses that I liked, and thought I could tolerate living here.  We even made offers on two different houses, and still the feeling never came.  There is one area in particular we were hoping to move to.  Although it is still a suburb of Philadelphia, it is not nearly as cityish as some of the others.  We looked at 15 or so houses in this one area, and still didn't find what we were looking for.  I decided that we should start considering some other areas.  I looked on Zillow, and found 10 houses in other areas I wanted to look at.  As I was about to close the computer for the night, I felt a small prompting that I should look in our desired area one more time.  I found a new listing, and decided to give it a try.  Wouldn't you know, the minute we walked in, I had that feeling.  This is the house for us!!  Instead of looking at more houses the next day, we made an offer on "the house."  The next day, the sellers made a counteroffer.  We made a counter counter offer, and it was accepted. 

After going through the crazy process of obtaining a mortgage, and signing my life away on a large stack of paper, we are officially HOME OWNERS!!  We closed on our house yesterday, and I was over there today shampooing the carpets.  We will be moving within the next couple of weeks.  (Our current lease doesn't end until August 3, so we decided to take our time)  We are so excited!!  It's not perfect, but it is good for us right now!!  These pictures are from the inspection, so the furniture you see is still the previous owners. 

 The basement (unfinished), but very spacious.  We can double our square footage when we decide to finish it; however we are in no hurry to do so.  The washer and dryer are staying with us.  :)

 The other half of the basement - can I say how excited I am about the storage possibilities here.  I might actually be able to use my closets they way they were intended.

 The Dining room and family room.  I love how they are connected and open.  You can see the edge of the kitchen counter in this photo as well.  Eliza can play in the family room while I cook dinner, and I can still see her.  AWESOME!

 The kitchen.  Look at the cupboards, triple the space I have now.  Not to mention that there are 7 drawers which definitely tops the 2 I have now. 

 The living room.  Eliza is playing on the floor with our awesome Realtor, Jane. 

 The other half of the living room, showing off the huge coat closet and front door. 

 Bedroom #1, it will probably be Eliza's room. 

 Bedroom #2 - a guest/craft room for the time being. 

 The master bedroom - it's connected to the bathroom. 

 The other half of the master bedroom.  I'm a fan of the two separate closets, no matter how small they may be. 

 The bathroom - the downside, there is only one in the whole house.  Not impossible, but not ideal.  It is actually pretty large though.  This picture only has half of it. 

 The front of the house from the curb.  Isn't it cute??

 Eliza and I at the end of the driveway.

 The shed in the backyard.  Ironically, the shed is positioned in the middle of the yard.  We might eventually move it to the back of the yard, thus freeing up more yard space.  Our lot is just shy of half an acre.

 The back patio.  Unfortunately the owners took the patio furniture - it would have been nice, but the wooden benches are still there for entertaining. 

 The back of the house from the side yard. 

The whole front of the house.  Notice the attached garage - automatic door and everything.  YES!!  No more hauling groceries all the way down the LONG sidewalk.  The garage enters right into the family room which is right by the kitchen.  The driveway is double wide so we can park the truck in the driveway and still get the car out. 
Except for the basement laundry, all living space is on one floor.  I love ranch style homes!