It has been a crazy whirlwind of a week and weekend, I can tell you that much. I'll start with last weekend:
We began searching for a house to buy. This has only come into play so quickly because we realized we're running out of time to take advantage of the 1st time homebuyers credit, so we're running head-first into the home search. We looked at 4 different places on Saturday the 6th, and decided none of them were for us (for various reasons). It was a little stressful because we were trying to figure out exactly what we wanted, what we could compromise on, and what price range ultimately was realistic for us. We narrowed most of that down by the end of the day after looking at the different places-- so we were ready to see more. On Sunday, we went to see a house that had literally JUST listed on the market. Well, we really liked it. So, we went home Sunday night, just to sleep on it, and had an appointment for the next day already set up to go write an offer. I get a phone call the next morning, and it turns out that the sellers accepted an offer that evening. Dang! We had become really frustrated by that point, because of the few houses we'd been seriously interested in, most or all were getting accepted offers SO fast. We responded by immediately scheduling a bunch of showings, just so that we could get what we wanted before someone else yanked it from us.
Enter Preston's sleeping. Or lack thereof... He decided at the beginning of the week that he would only sleep for no more than 2 hours at a time all day-- and night. So we began the week tired, and I was getting sick. Skip was tired because he had to work his shift 3 days of the week, too. So we basically started the week on fumes.
Along comes Wednesday. We went after work to see 3 places. Ugh. Skip liked one, I liked another, neither of us liked the 3rd. So none of those were a go. We came home tired, and knew we would still be so because we were worried about Preston's sleeping issues. Anyways, while perusing the Shorewest website that night, I came across one house that I had seen a couple times, but wasn't sure about. So I emailed our realtor the next day, and we were scheduled to see it. It turns out, we really liked it:
The neighborhood is great: just a street away from the neighborhood “Story Hill,” which is Miller Park neighborhood. If you look on a map, we’re about ¼ mile from the ballpark, and could easily walk to games. We’re also close to some bars that fans like to go to, so it’s going to be busy on game days. But it’s a diverse enough neighborhood, and quiet otherwise. Plus, Skip gets a significant stipend from Aurora (the hospital system he works for) for buying a home within Milwaukee city limits. We could use that $$!
The yard is fenced in already, and quite deep for a city lot, so it will be perfect for the Scotchmaster.
The house itself needs some desperate cosmetic work on the 2nd floor (pink wallpaper, ugly brown shag carpeting on the WALLS of the staircase, flimsy doors, a couple other things). However, it already has a full bathroom up there, plus the one downstairs. And overall, the structural makeup of the house is great, and we can live in the 1st floor (where there are 2 bedrooms) while we’re working on the 2nd floor. The back bedroom of the house will be ours temporarily, and there is a sliding door from it out to an enclosed porch. We’re looking forward to enjoying that in the summer/fall! Eventually we will make that room an office/guest room, so that we’re not having to traipse through our bedroom to get to the porch. We’ll update the kitchen, too, maybe before we move in. The basement is good-sized, and Skip and I are both happy because I can have my rec room and storage, and he (and his band) can build their recording studio… That will be interesting…
We really lucked out on the price of the place, more than anything. It’s an estate, so the people were ready to get rid of it. I guess it had been listed with another realty company for quite some time, with no bites. The older couple who own it (I’m guessing brother/sister of the previous owners) apparently cried when we offered—they were so thrilled to have interest in it. With what we’re saving on purchase price, we’ll be able to put into updates.
The yard is fenced in already, and quite deep for a city lot, so it will be perfect for the Scotchmaster.
The house itself needs some desperate cosmetic work on the 2nd floor (pink wallpaper, ugly brown shag carpeting on the WALLS of the staircase, flimsy doors, a couple other things). However, it already has a full bathroom up there, plus the one downstairs. And overall, the structural makeup of the house is great, and we can live in the 1st floor (where there are 2 bedrooms) while we’re working on the 2nd floor. The back bedroom of the house will be ours temporarily, and there is a sliding door from it out to an enclosed porch. We’re looking forward to enjoying that in the summer/fall! Eventually we will make that room an office/guest room, so that we’re not having to traipse through our bedroom to get to the porch. We’ll update the kitchen, too, maybe before we move in. The basement is good-sized, and Skip and I are both happy because I can have my rec room and storage, and he (and his band) can build their recording studio… That will be interesting…
We really lucked out on the price of the place, more than anything. It’s an estate, so the people were ready to get rid of it. I guess it had been listed with another realty company for quite some time, with no bites. The older couple who own it (I’m guessing brother/sister of the previous owners) apparently cried when we offered—they were so thrilled to have interest in it. With what we’re saving on purchase price, we’ll be able to put into updates.
So, we close on April 19th, then we move! Our lives will be hectic until then (and for some time after), but we're excited to be able to have a place of our own!
In the meantime, however, we need to get our little boy figured out :(. He has not slept for more than 2 hours at a time for at least 5 nights. That is taking it's toll on all of us! We were worried he had an ear infection, so we took him to urgent care yesterday. Turns out he's totally fine... except for his weight. He's lost 5 ounces since his doctor's appointment on the 4th. And his appetite hasn't changed; in fact, we started cereal so he's actually gotten MORE to eat lately. Aside from the weight loss, Preston is a perfectly healthy little guy, and doing all of the things an almost-5-month-old should be doing. So he has an appointment again with his doc tomorrow, and hopefully we'll get some things straightened out. I'll post again when we get an update on what's up with this tiny little man!
