Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Famous last words (in real estate)

There's nothing quite like putting yourself on record about something and then promptly changing your mind. Take these little slices of humble pie, for instance - so good they made it onto trivia napkins at our wedding:



As you well know, my relocated-from-Dallas, in-love self has been house-shopping with her pink-shirted, very relationship-material husband for some time now. It's been pretty painful. But it's also been full of funny moments, in a trying-to-maintain-a-good-sense-of-humor-about-things way:


I mean, finding the perfect house, but then realizing the basement ceiling is only 6 feet tall is funny, right? Who does that happen to besides us? So we moved on and bid on another house... and then were beat out on said house. And then we looked at another house, and it was teeny tiny and too expensive anyway, and then we drove a block over and sat in front of the short basement house a while. And then it hit us:

We don't need the basement for that house to be the perfect house.

And so we flashed back to how we felt in that house before we walked downstairs. We felt good. The house was built in 1906, and creaks in all the right places. It's a ten-minute walk from our Metro stop of choice, and the same walk to some of our favorite shops and restaurants. It's an end rowhouse, so it has a side yard in addition to tons of light inside. There are details begging for a renovation, but nothing dramatic needs to be done, and it's absolutely ready for move-in. It has my favorite kitchen of any kitchen we bid on - big, bright, room to eat and play and hang out, needing updates but not desperately so, not until it was time. It has three bedrooms upstairs, rendering the basement just an extra-large storage and laundry area, not an area we have to use if we expand. Maybe one day, we thought, we can figure out how to dig out the basement economically, or maybe we'll discover that the quote we got was astronomical, or maybe we can dig it out incrementally.

And so we jumped, and we put it an offer, famous last words and all.

And guess what? We got it. 

We embarked on the fastest close we or anyone we know has ever heard of... ten days. And guess what? The ten-day close ended yesterday.

We're homeowners!

For real.


This is going to be fun.

54 comments:

  1. LOVE IT! And are so happy for you!!!! I'm just smiling at your decision and the outcome - congratulations!

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  2. Congratulations! I've been following along through your blog + twitter & I'm so happy you found the one!

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  3. Congratulations! What fun and exciting news. I'm so happy for you.

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  4. Congratulations! I'm so excited for yall.

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  5. I am so dang happy for you and T!!! Congrats love!!

    xoxo

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  6. Eeek! Beautiful! Congratulations:).

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  7. Congratulations! Sounds awesome! I hope you post pics of the inside as well!

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  8. Yay! Congratulations! Can't wait to see the photos of the rest of the house.

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  9. FASTEST CLOSING EVER! That is wonderful!! I need more pics and description- feel free to email me at your leisure.

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  10. Hooray! So thrilled for you and T. You deserve it!

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  11. congrats! i'm so excited for you!! and an end-of-the-row house? perfect! it is so cute. can't wait to hear details.

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  12. it's gorgeous! congratulations!

    oh dear...now i'm worried after reading your napkins.... we're about to move from seattle to dallas. pam

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  13. WOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

    And it's adorable!

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  14. Hooray!! I knew you would find it!! Now show me some of that kitchen!! Congratulations!!!

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  15. Congratulations!! So exciting :)

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  16. Congrats! Hope to see pictures of the inside!

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  17. That is wondeful Maggie!!! Congratulations to you and your hubby! It's absolutely charming on the outside and your description of the inside makes me want to move right in. I can't wait to see more pictures. Enjoy your beautiful new home!

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  18. Hooray Maggie!!! I was playing with houses in DC on Redfin last night and thought about you - and am so relieved you found a great place!

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  19. Congrats! I live in the DC area and I know what you went through! So exciting!

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  20. woohooo!! How exciting! That looks absolutely delightful and I can't wait to follow along with your new journey!

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  21. Congratulations! So exciing. We just bought a house last month and I think the day you close is the best feeling EVER!

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  22. Its precious! I love it! Basement or not, that house is super cute and I'm so excited for you!

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  23. Congratulations! Your new house looks adorable.

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  24. Woo hoo!!! Congratulations you two!!!

    Excellent curb appeal :)

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  25. CONGRATS! Such a big life moment!

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  26. Congratulations! The house looks lovely.

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  27. yippee! (and yes, as a recovering real estate lawyer, that may just be the fasting closing ever!) can't wait for the freckled citizen tour! big congrats to you both. :)

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  28. How exciting!! Congratulations! Can't wait to see what y'all do with the space.

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  29. So happy that you landed your favorite kitchen (and that your real estate hell is over)!!

    And as a sidenote: those cocktail napkins are the most adorable thing ever. I LOVE personal touches like that at weddings.

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  30. Hooray for not being homeless!

    If I were you, I'd refuse to be referred to as anything but "Maggie Adams, Homeowner." Think about it.

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  31. Yay for you guys! And yes, that is the fastest closing I have ever heard of! It looks perfect - I look forward to hearing all about it!

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  32. Creaks are the absolute best! Congratulations! Love, love, love it. The yard looks perfect.

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  33. Hooray! Congratulations and happy thoughts for an easy-as-possible move..you've certainly earned it :)

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  34. Happy news for you guys! That's great! Congrats!

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  35. Yay! So so happy for you. Congratulations! It's gorgeous!!!

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  36. Wow! So cute! Congrats! (And I love your wedding napkins. :) )

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  37. OMG! Congrats congrats! How very exciting, can't wait to see what you do with the place:)

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  38. oh Maggie that is awesome!!! I'm going to need more details and pictures stat! I'm obsessed with living in the city so I'll be living vicariously through you mmkay?!

    Seriously. So happy for y'all.

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  39. Congrats! The house is lovely and you will love living on the Hill. I certainly enjoyed my time living there, stuffing my face with crabcakes from the market, walking to the fireworks, and using the local library a few doors from my apartment.

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  40. felicidades!!
    se lo dificil que puede resultar buscar la casa adecuada.
    Estoy impaciente por ver como la decorais!!
    un saludo
    Angela

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  41. Congratulations! It is beautiful. You were sooo patient and simply deserve it. To exciting times to come!

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  42. Yay! Congratulations! You guys have been through a lot to get this house, and I can't wait to see how you make it your own. Enjoy every minute!

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  43. eeeeekkk!!! this is just so flippin' exciting. huge congrats!!

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  44. It took me a really long time to figure out how to make a smilie face on this Italian computer... but I.m grinning BIGTIME over here ;)

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  45. Congratulations!! So happy for you that the search is over! My parents undertook a basement dig to expand our house in MA and it was 70k over 25 yrs ago :( Don't go down that road unless you absolutely have to, which it sounds like you don't. Let the decorating fun begin!!!

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  46. Congratulations! We are just starting to look at houses and I will definitely be open minded about the process. Enjoy your new place!

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  47. Oh my gosh Maggie!!! This is the best news. I'm so excited for you, it's been obvious how badly you've wanted this for so long. The house is darling. Have fun!

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  48. It has my favorite kitchen of any kitchen we bid on - big, bright, room to eat and play and hang out, needing updates but not desperately so, not until it was time.Kensington Greece

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