Movin' on Down...

Well, it's semi-official: We put in an offer on a house, got a counter-offer, and accepted that. We're going for a long closing (60 days) and a lot can happen during that time, but it looks like we'll be moving early this summer. We're going to have some overlap because our lease doesn't run out until the end of July, and we also want to move slowly and only have to do the truck thing with furniture.

Here's a picture of the trees in the front yard on the very overcast day we saw the house. Beautiful, right?

So, here's the lowdown for those of you who are interested: The house is still in Austin, but further south. It is within a mile of a lot of stuff, but I'm not familiar with anything that's not already a chain in the vicinity. Getting to know it will be fun! There is a Chick-fil-A nearby... not as near as here, but with the added bonus of actually having a dining room and playground, which is important when you have a little kid and live somewhere it's often too hot to play outside.

However, speaking of that... the house is about 1100 feet from Dittmar Park and Recreation Center.

I think our son liked it! Our daughter didn't come with us to see the house this time, because we've been looking at houses for a while and she's kind of over it. Now, of course... well, I'll have her go with me Monday for the end of the inspection.

The location is great, if the commute is a bit further for my husband, but let me tell you something about him and about us to kind of introduce this domicile in all of its glory:

First of all, we are paying for the house 67% of the pre-approval amount we received from the VA. I love this about my husband, and think he loves it about me. We don't want to spend as much as some lender thinks we can afford. We want something reasonable and comfortable. There were several houses we'd see online that James would say, "This one is too hoity-toity for us." And he was always right.

Yesterday, my 13-year-old daughter Daphne asked me, "Are we going to decorate it all the same?" I asked what she meant. She said, "You know. Some places have decorations that match. Are we going to do that, or is it going to be like it is" (gesturing about the Nuthaus) "around here?" I laughed and told her we're not that kind of people, so probably a lot like here. Only not, because we'll have closets and places to put a lot of what looks like clutter but is really just our stuff behind closed doors.

So many doors.

Which leads us to the big thing: This house is weird. It makes no sense. It was built in 1984 as a three-bedroom house. The two non-master bedrooms are so small that Daphne is going to end up with two rooms: a literal bed room and a library/study. Also, the guest bathroom is in that area of the house, and I've promised her that she won't have to deal with a potty-training kid or a young boy in her restroom, so she'll basically have a wing of the house to herself. I'm pretty excited for her.

The house has been added on to in ways that boggle the mind. It looks like they enclosed the back porch to make the "fourth bedroom." You can access this bedroom from the master, or from the back of the house. Direct entry to our room makes this the shoo-in for Mal's room, even though it's probably the biggest bedroom in the house, because being that close to parents is not appealing to the teen, and because baby gear is huge. I'm sure it's much safer than the smaller versions we all survived, though, right?

The living area is in the middle of the house, kind of like a courtyard... except enclosed. It's literally a den. But I have some ideas about how to brighten it up.

There's a galley kitchen, boasting a "custom butcher block" that is a bunch of glued-down pieces of striped wood with a really pretty trim, that matches nothing else in the kitchen. Also, there is one row of tile in the middle of the rest of the counter, and why it's there, who can tell?

There's a "study kiosk" that has a bunch of cable outlets. There is a built-in desk there, but it's so oddly placed, also in the middle of the house, that there is no light, the room is the width of the desk and only has room for a chair, that unless you're a hermit who requires no distractions, working in there would be a little depressing. Fortunately, we have the perfect use for that room! James likes to brew his own beer, and it can ferment in the dark and climate-control in here perfectly!

Speaking of built-ins: They're everywhere. There are inexplicably "two" closets in Daphne's library/study (one closet, really, with two doors and shelving in the middle so you can't walk through) as well as two coat hook things. In the master bedroom, there is a chest of drawers built into the wall under a space built in for an old-fashioned TV and VCR. In the closet beside that, there is another built-in chest of drawers with a mirror over it. Oh, and the closet doors are mirrored. There are built-in bookshelves in the toilet room of the master bathroom. There is a big walk-in closet with built-in drawers and cabinets and even a shoe rack in the master bathroom. There are tons of shelves in Mal's room, that I believe used to be windows (more on that later), and deep shelves in a corner about which I have no idea. There is a "cedar closet" in that room with a bunch of pegs in addition to the hanging racks.

In the back of the house, there are two sun rooms. They both have lockable doors. One of them will be James' office... and there are hanging racks (like in a closet) there, too... but no closet. Cuckoo. I think those are the last add-ons because the house is almost at the drainage ditch (which Mal will know as "The Creek" after it rains) in the back yard.

The Realtor wrote this in the comments about the house after she showed it to us: "Very awkward property. Several different tiles, flooring, and countertops in every room in the house. No natural lighting in living area which is the center of the house. The additions look like recycled materials were used as well as several materials throughout."

Yeah. She pretty much hated it. She didn't even mention (because it's illegal) that the house across the street is a pit. But the owners latticed off the porch for that reason.

Suffice it to say that this is a very "unique" property, and I think that our unique family is the perfect fit for its oddity, and we will love it!

Now for the "fun" process of qualifying fully for a loan. Ugh. Wish us luck and patience and endurance and all of that!

Looks pretty normal from the street, right?!