1000 square feet

Building the new house is exciting.

But since it won't be completed until September, selling the Yellow House this week meant having to find temporary housing for a month and a half. Maybe longer.

The Yellow House has just about 1900 square feet.

Our living quarters between the Yellow House and the new one? Take a look --



Our living space has been cut nearly in half.

We're cramped to begin with. Too many toys, clothes, and useless gadgets.

And a mom's gotta have her space.

So 1000 square feet seems a bit tight.

Dad2Amara reminds me it's only for a few weeks.

But it already feels like an eternity.

The place that could take Dog2Amara and accept a short term lease is a bit older. And some of the residents looked...questionable.

Yeah, I'm a snob.

And Amara's already called the bedroom with the walk-in closet.

So I hate to say it but I'm already dreading the place.

I last 54 days trying to sell this house.

Can I last that long in an apartment again?

sold!

After several rounds of offers and counter offers, Dad2Amara and I are pleased to announce that we close on July 11th!

While we still have a few steps to go to make it final, I've learned many things during this whole house selling process.

One, I didn't hate the Yellow House. I started to cry when I heard the realtor on the phone say the counter offer was accepted. All I think of were images of me holding a newborn Amara, introducing her to her dog and her new house. I was balling. We put a lot of work into the house. So yeah, a part of me will miss it.

Two, I learned I really do dislike my neighbors. I asked the realtor to bring the "pending" sign soon so they can all stare with envy.

Three, the right price is key. Too high, they won't look. Too low, and they'll be some who'll want to low ball ya.

Last, I couldn't imagine selling by owner. Working with a realtor - as much of a pain as she could sometimes be - made the entire process easy. And even though we'll lose money on the deal because I have to pay her commission, the realtor walked us through everything step by step.

54 days. Less than two months. I knew I could set the curve.

pondering

The buyers hit us with an offer.

Our listing price meant we weren't even breaking even. But I could pretend to be happy.

Dad2Amara and I dropped our original price $10,000 Thursday. So now we're in the hole.

The buyers hit us with an offer $7,000 less than the current price.

So we countered.

They've come back with another offer.

And now Dad2Amara is crunching numbers. I'm just hoping we won't lose too much on this house.

Damn.

we have an offer

I don't know what it is yet.

But Dad2Amara is on the phone. And it sounds better than the last couple's bid.

((Fingers crossed!))

the waiting game

I look like a homeless person in need of shelter.

I got a call three hours ago, asking if the couple from Saturday could see our house a second time.

Sure. No problem. Let me just drop everything, leave work, and get right on that.

So I make it home with an hour to spare.

I vacuum. I dust. I put away laundry. I run the dishwasher.

With 15 minutes left, I decide I could scrub the hardwoods. That was, until the doorbell rang.

The seller's agent was early. And she wanted in. Now.

Okey dokey then.

So I pack up all the baked goods I had leftover from the Memorial Day weekend and toss it in a box. I grab the mail. Then I leash the dog.

And we are all now parked at a local beachfront park. Waiting.

I'm sure anyone looking at me in the mom-mobile thinks all my worldly possessions are crammed in the backseat.

I could take Dog2Amara for a walk while we're here. But I'm rather enjoying the chocolate chip cookies I've brought along.

I hope these people make an offer soon.

basement walls

receiving multiple offers

Who knew we'd ever get to this point.

After impatiently watching the Yellow House sit on the market for 51 days, we have received numerous offers.

Two offers.

We kinda expected the first offer. It hasn't come through yet because they're still shopping around for a mortgage. But their realtor assures us we'll have one soon.

I was so surprised though when after Sunday's showing we were told the potential buyers wanted to put in a bid.

I should be excited an offer was put in.

But the offer was so low, it was insulting. Dad2Amara and I didn't even dignify their bid with a counter offer.

So we're now hoping the first time home buyers from Saturday's showing will be approved for a mortgage.

Or hoping that the people from Sunday realize that I'm not desperate to sell the house...yet.

I hate that our future lies in some stranger's hands.

they like us, they really do

Dad2Amara may have disagreed at first to reduce our listing price.

But I think he may be singing a different tune now.

We dropped the price Thursday.

We got two requests for showings Friday - one Saturday, the other Sunday.

The realtor called this morning.

The first couple wants to make an offer.

I knew the Yellow House was pretty. I knew someone would like it.

dropping our house price

Ouch.

Housing sales in April dropped 18-percent compared to the same month last year.

Couple that with the fact the Yellow House has been on the market for what feels like ages -- Dad2Amara and I agreed to drop our house price $10,000.

Dad2Amara fought me on it. He wanted to wait to drop the price. He also only wanted to drop the price $5,000.

But I disagreed.

There were many things I considered before reducing our original listing price.

1. Where we listed too high? There's no doubt it's a buyer's market right now. So what's the competition look like? When I looked at the active history of other listings in my neighborhood, I did the math. And I saw that the Yellow House had the highest per-square-foot price. Not good.
2. How long have we been on the market? For us, it's been 50 days with only three showings. It was time to make a move.
3. What price would make a buyer love our house? The Yellow House is located in a neighborhood that's just right for the first time home buyer. So was our original listing price too high for our target buyer?

With so many houses up for sale near us, I didn't want to chance yet one more house selling and it not being ours.

At the right price, every house can sell. I'm just hoping we won't have to drop much lower to get to that point.

foundation of a family home

Not only did the good home builders keep their word on our dig date.




But they also wasted no time in filling the foundation.




When we built the Yellow House, let's say it wasn't the smoothest ride with our builder. We were given promises that took several weeks longer to fulfill.

So with this new builder, Dad2Amara and I can be nothing but happy.

Hopefully this means only good things to come.

can you dig it?

It's a big day for Amara's family.

See the excavator?

It can only mean one thing: we're breaking ground on the new house!

choosy moms choose cabinets

Our family spends a lot of time in the kitchen. It's the hub of our household. So I have a pretty good idea as to what kind of kitchen I want in our new house.

When the cabinet folks told Dad2Amara that our appointment would take two hours, I laughed.

Dad2Amara and I knew what type of cabinets we wanted. We even had the color down pat. All we'd have to consider was the cabinetry for the bathrooms. And even then, I knew what I wanted.

Our appointment went three hours. Oops.

The Yellow House has stainless steel appliances. I love the look of stainless. And it's fairly simple to keep the stainless steel looking great. (Think cleaning wipes.) So we knew we wanted to keep with stainless steel for the new house.

Next, we had to decide on if we should go with cherry or maple or even painted cabinets.

Our builder's standard cabinetry is from Cardell. The Yellow House was built with Cardell. And while they look pretty, I think they could be better.

The Cardell cabinets we have now are made of maple and stained in a cherry color. The wood tends to have a greasy gloss to it after cleaning. And at times, I feel they are more like a laminate than a true wood cabinet.

So Dad2Amara and I opted to go with painted just for something different.

Out of all of the colors to choose from, what would look best with stainless steel? Not to mention what will look best with the countertops and walls?

We searched thru all of Cardell's inventory and did not find one thing we liked. I'd like a certain door but it wouldn't be available in an off white paint. Or I'd find an off white cabinet but hate the look of the drawer.

Anthony, our cabinet expert, suggested we upgrade to KraftMaid...a suggestion Dad2Amara loved.

The quality of KraftMaid is superior. And because KraftMaid's headquarters is a hop, skip, and a jump from where we live, if we needed a part or wanted to add something at a later date, it would be fairly easy to do so.

Then we found it - a cabinet paint color called "vanilla bean glaze" along with a door in a very Shaker style.

The end result will look similar to this (excuse the bad lighting):



What I think is so fantastic about the color is the glaze creates an accent color along its lines. It's almost a goldenrod that gives the illusion the wood is aged. I love it. I don't think this picture does it justice but you get the idea. (So no, that's not dirt, that the glaze.)



To dress the cabinetry up a bit, we added molding to the top.

I think I'm going to love my kitchen. We plan to stay in the new house for years. And I don't think I'm going to want to change the kitchen any time soon.

So my tips for choosing cabinetry?

1. Keep an eye on your upgrades. It's easy to get carried away with beadboard for the island. Or slide out shelves for a cabinet or two. You can blow your budget with just a few details here and there.
2. Bring your paint swatch to the cabinet warehouse. It's amazing how different a wall color looks against an actual stain or cabinet paint. I had a color in mind for my walls but quickly changed my mind because I had the swatch in hand.
3. Bang on the doors. Make sure the quality of the doors is what you want. I have a soon-to-be-kindergartner. She slams doors a lot. And I want cabinets that can take a beating. Durability is key.

I'll tell you about our bathroom cabinets another time.

Next up - countertops.

a house sold...just not mine

Dad2Amara called with some disappointing news.

A house on our street sold.

And it wasn't the Yellow House.

We realized that the Yellow House has now been on the market for 40 days.

A lot can happen in 40 days.

It rained on Noah.

Josh Hartnett abstained from sex.

And the Yellow House sat on the market.

Why don't people like our house? I'm starting to take it personally.

Is my house just designed with too many upgrades? So many that it turns off a buyer that would "typically" look in this neighborhood?

Do buyers want carpet in the living room, no hardwoods?

What is wrong with the Yellow House?

And how the heck am I going to get it sold?

I'm getting tense.

speaking of cabinetry

What do you think about cabinets and flooring this color for our new kitchen?

cleaning up our act: bathroom fixtures

Seriously. The last thing I thought I would be stressing about during the entire home building process is what faucet should go with what sink.

But I am.

We decided to stay with what's standard for Amara's bathroom. It's from Moen's Eva collection.

But I feel funny choosing something that's standard.

Say "standard," and many clients may think that the features are made of the cheapest materials and have only basic design.

But many builders today believe in upgrading many of their "standards," including some fabulous options in their home packages.

No longer are we the home builders paying extra to get a quality home.

But that doesn't mean I didn't want to upgrade a few things.

The master bath is still up in the air. I'm deciding if I want something like this or this.

And I chose Moen's Kingsley for the pedastal sink in the powder room.

There's still so much up in the air.

But what's the next big appointment for Dad2Amara and me? Choosing cabinetry...

breaking ground

We may have not sold the Yellow House yet.

But we have a dig date.

11 days from now we will begin our journey towards completing the Grey House.

But before that, we must make more decisions about cabinetry, floors, and paint.

Nothing like moving at lightning speed.

why selling a house is a pain

I thought I'd always be happy to hear that someone wants to see the Yellow House.

But last night, I received a phone call from Centralized Showing, the company that takes care of scheduling our house appointments. It was 8:45. I ran but got to the phone too late. It went into voicemail.

I immediately called them back.

And you know what? No answer.

What?!?!

Apparently they close at 8 p.m. but they had the audacity to call after hours.

How frustrating for a home seller.

I was more than willing to have the prospective buyer check out my house this morning. But because some idiot at Centralized Showing decided to call after they had closed for the day, I miss out on showing off the Yellow House.

Hey Centralized Showing, maybe you want to instruct your employees not to call after hours unless they're prepared to take my call as well.