cshell

It's Official

There are two ways this can be taken. One is that I'm really and truly and no going back... a grownup. Either that, or I'm entirely insane. Possibly both at the same time. What brings on this self-revelation? The fact that I'm now buying a home. My second home. More in the extended...

It's so cool. It's in Mountain View, it's a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1600 square feet. It's in a nice neighborhood. (near Shoreline and Middlefield)/ It has a gorgeous new kitchen, and a fireplace, and a cute fountain in the backyard.

I'm both really excited and really scared. Excited because of all the possibilities of the house. Scared because I'm not sure I can really afford it. (I did the math. I know I can. It's really just fear in general.) Scared because I can afford it. Scared to try, scared not to. But for all that I say I'm scared, this is really the least stressed I've ever been at a major turning point in my life. Although everything went really fast (more on that in a minute), it all felt like it was just supposed to happen that way.

I'd been considering buying a new house (and having my mom take over the payments on my old house) for only a week or two. I had gone looking at open houses for the last 3 weekends or so. Last weekend I saw a house in the MLS listings and went to the open house. On Monday I talked to my mortgage broker to get the pre-approvals started for my house. Tuesday I met the realtor (that had been referred by the mortgage broker, who is also a friend). Wednesday night we went after work to look at the house again. The realtor was going out of town on Thursday. I thought about waiting to have the realtor contact the seller's agent until after he returned after the weekend. Then I rethought it and asked him to call her for status that night (Wed.). He called me back to say that there were 3 offers on the house, and if I wanted it, I'd have to make an offer that night. He came by my house, and we wrote up the offer. He asked in the offer for an answer by close of business on Thursday.

I got the call on Thursday afternoon (between meetings). My offer was approved. Apparently one of the other offers was close to mine, but that because my credit was stellar, that's why he thinks I got the place. So now I have to get the inspections done, and then escrow should close by May 20. After that I'll get some minor work done to the house (the interior paint jobs are hideous, it needs to be tented for termites and the chimney will need to be rebuilt), so I will probably move in some time in early June. (yay!) No, no one will be on the hook for that, I'll be hiring movers.