This Room is Speaking to Me...

LOVE IT! In the Kimball house (the stucco one) there is a bonus room shaped like this upstairs. But it's carpeted like the upstairs of most of the homes we've seen (except for the crazy bada$$ foreclosure). I think this room is so cute! And it reminds me of my sister, Devon - probably the chaise and 'teacher bag' hehe. Love the big window and recessed lighting, and of course the matching organization storage to the right. You could do so much with this room! In my head my dream house has hardwoods throughout both levels - all hardwoods (except I like tile in the kitchen and bath)... to me furniture just looks so much better when it's on hardwoods. Probably all of the 'store images' have ruined it for me. Sigh.

0 for 2.... but a New Plan...

At 4:30 today we get the email from Amanda: the house is now under contract - they accepted someone else's offer. Sigh. We're now 0 for 2. Around 5:45 I stop working and started thinking.... I make a decision... let's place offers on the other two houses! Let's place a 'final offer' on the first house that turned us down and a 'first offer' on the house that we're still waiting to get the stucco report back on. Let's just throw them out there and see what happens so we'll KNOW if they should even be in our consideration set.

Austin comes home. He resists my plan.... then he's like eff it - let's do it. So we crunch our numbers, double-check the comparables and email Amanda the offers for both houses.... now i'm wondering.... will both accept? Will neither accept? Will one accept - if so, which one? Oh my... i'm going to have to let Nyquil put me to sleep tonight!

For a quick refresher: this is the first house (back story: we saw it, liked it, but worried that the stucco was installed poorly leading to moisture in the windows. We walked away. But Amanda stayed on it and the owner is like no, it's great stucco blah blah lots of info blah blah and offers to have a treatment done on the windows to remove the moisture - says it not caused by stucco - and offers to pay for a stuco inspector... so far the windows were treated today, and the inspector is scheduled for Wednesday.... this will be our FIRST offer so we'll see - and of course if the inspection comes back and there's issues it's out).

Here is the second house (back story: we put an offer on it, the guy dropped his price some, but not enough. We put another offer on it and the guy said no... this time we're offering signifcantly more and just seeing what happens. It's our FINAL offer so he can take it or leave it).

Wish us luck!! We're coming up on a pretty weekend in Atlanta... if we don't hear from them they could get buyers this weekend - boo!

So We're Putting an Offer on a House

It's a foreclosure... it's awesome...

Things We Like:

• It has great potential.
• It's a 4 bedroom 3.5 bath.
• The master is on the main; the pool table fits on the main; the downstairs office is connected to the master; the laundry room is awesome, etc. Great structure.
• 4-sided brick. Need I say more?
• Great neighborhood, great driveway, etc.
• Great up-and-coming location in Alpharetta.
• Amazing crown molding.
• Hardwoods and tile throughout - only carpet is on stairs and this random landing.

Things We Need to Change:

• Carpet on the stairs and this random landing on the second floor needs to be redone.
• Wallpaper, wallpaper, wallpaper... need I say more?
• Needs to be repainted (not awful... but it's not in the best shape... the colors ARE there).
• Kitchen needs upgrading, as do bathrooms (all maple, maple, maple) - I actually don't hate it and would love to find a way to love it with new hardware.... and countertops... and a backsplash.
  

Things that kinda suck:

• Power bill is going to be high
• HOA is $825/year
• Taxes are high... like $4,700/year
• It's not crazy close to the highway
  

That's it for now - I don't want to invest anymore time in it because we likely won't get it. We have a feeling it's going to get multiple offers and we'll be priced out. But again - at least we're going for it. We're getting the paperwork tonight and we're signing it (at work/faxing) first thing to put it in. It's a foreclosure, so who knows how long the bank will sit on it. K - i'm out - let's see what happens...

Entryway Thoughts

I've been thinking more and more about entryways - mostly because the majority of houses we've looked at require one. I think this one is super cute - but of course would change lots to make it more me.

Things I like: the console shape, the baskets underneat (could be my basket and Austin's basket for our crap), the large mirror (would probably hang mine instead of leaning it just in case... I worry), the lamp (would do one not two)...

Things I dislike: it's a little too symmetrical for me and of course I don't want flowers or little candles. I'd rather have a cool odd shaped platter or bowl for keys - like a little catch all. Here is where it would go if we got Kimball Pointe.... hmm... I definitely don't need anything deep... and there's a closet on the right for coats (under the stairs).... hmmm.

I Think I love This Lamp

So during lunch today I decided to forgo working out (funny thing with my back- like an uncomfortable twinge). Anyway, I went to Target and looked around and i'm pretty sure I found the sheets/bed skirts for the two guest rooms - yay! I didn't purchase but am going to go later this week with my pillows in hand to confirm that it's right. I also saw that they sold record frames for $10/pop. Not bad. Afterwards I headed to Wal-Mart for a little cost comparison and found out that Wal-Mart isn't much cheaper but seems much less low quality and nothing matched... so Target for sheets/bed skirt it is! When I left Wal-Mart I swung by World Market - Stacy had mentioned they have orange stuff. That's where I stumbled upon this cutie cute lamp - on sale for $27.99 (from $35)... then I went to retailmenot and printed out a 10% off coupon! So it will be about $25 before tax - woot! But again - do we like it? haha I'm thinking in the orange room of course - my favorite room to decorate. :) Here it is in the inspiration board... crazy that the background color matches! hehe FYI - the lamp is 27" tall.

Nevermind, Just Kidding

The other option (which personally I LOVED) is out... there are stucco problems which are leading to moisture in the windows and rotting wood. Basically, the windows would all need to be replaced ($$$) but more than likely, it's the front wall (the stucco wall) that needs to be fixed. Very unfortunate... so now we have one option and it's the one we put an offer on and the guy won't work with us because he's not motivated and would rather it be vacant. Awesome. I'm so very disapointed. I feel like we've worked and worked and researched and put in the time and energy and everything for nothing. I'm just very sad and am starting to get worried that we won't find something before the lesae is up.

We Found Another Option

After a grueling 5-hour venture into 13 homes - one rose to the top and would work for us... eek!
Things to keep in mind:

It is off of Haynes Bridge exit 9 on 400, behind the apartments Austin lived at when he first moved here.
It has 5 bedrooms upstairs – the master, a bonus room, and three equally sized rooms. We’re thinking we would use the bonus as a room for Austin (a small den with his xBox), have two guest rooms and an arts/craft/scrapbook room. It’s a lot of space with at least 1-2 more rooms that we expected, all a great size, great paint, small closets, etc.
It has 2 full baths upstairs, and one half bath downstairs. The bathrooms are very 90’s – all white with brass hardware.
It is freshly painted in neutral colors throughout the entire house, but the dining room, a small hallway and the half bath are red and would need to be painted the tan color like the rest of the house. We can get the paint color from them, and found the paint in the pantry.
The carpet upstairs looks great – but from the bonus room/hallway there is some bumpiness. Could just need to be repaired/stretched… or it could need to be replaced.
Downstairs we would need to put hardwoods in the den to the right and the dining room to the left, and in the kitchen/den area in the back – there are two different hardwoods down. We would need to have that fixed.
The front 4 windows on the main had moisture in them. Amanda believes the seals are broken and thinks they will need to replace the windows.
The two ‘trees’ by the front door would need to be cut down some as they could invite pests (ew).
One wall is stucco – however, they said it is hardcoat stucco and has been inspected and bonded so we’ll need to see that documentation (and of course our inspector would check this out too).
It is fenced in – just not a privacy fence. The yard, front and back, look great and you can tell they put a good bit of money into landscaping.
The kitchen is great (would later want to replace the countertops, hardware and change out the fridge since it looks pretty old…) but the island is not permanent (the home is staged) but the kitchen definitely calls for an island and is just odd without one so we would need to purchase one.
The neighborhood is great – lovely homes- this is probably one of the cheaper ones in the area. It is across from the swim/tennis/playground which would probably do well on resale. It has sidewalks on both sides and is very picturesque.
There is an HOA - $425 annually. We’re waiting on the documentation to see what it covers, what it includes, etc.

The ceilings are not white - they're painted the brown color

Things that concerned us:

The cost of fixing the hardwoods on the main. If only the kitchen/den area hardwoods matched, we would wait on the front family room and dining room. However, it’s like if we’re having someone come out to fix the kitchen/den area so the pool table can go in – we may as well have them do the other two rooms. This could likely be a lot of upfront money. Then again, the house is listed at $300,000 and we feel we can get it for a lot less based on the comparables (link is above) and the fact that it’s vacant (don’t know if they’re motivated yet).
The stucco wall
The windows (is this a sign of bad stucco? Will they replace them?)
The carpet upstairs (the potential costs)
The location (it’s at the tippy top of homes that we’ve seen)

Next Steps

At this point we’re waiting to hear from Amanda as she’s trying to get in touch with the seller’s agent to see what the story is. We have the disclosure as well, and plan to go over it at length but so far we don’t see any major red flags and are requesting a copy of the stucco bond as well as the HOA documentation so we’ll know what that pays for and what it holds us to.

An Organized Laundry ROOM. Sigh.

Don't get me wrong - i'm not a fan of blue and clearly my red LGs would clash like no other in this rooom... but I LOVE the organization going on! I would want MUCH more hanging space as well as permanent drying racks, perhaps mounted to the wall. Also - I don't need all of those little boxes on the top shelf. I think I need:

• Our LGs with drawers below them (which makes them too high to set things on)
• A surface for folding.
• Hanging space 2-3' long
• A shelf, or many shelfs (like 4-8 Ikea cubes) that I can store items in (i.e. detergent, dryer sheets, stain remover, etc.).
• Drying Racks (preferably mounted)

Ikea has a 'laundry series' with some pretty neat stuff. I realize this is NOT a priority - but it's super fun, no?

Store Recommendations, Please!

So, not to dwell to much on the orange guest room, but here is what I have left to buy – please share advice on where to buy these things (on the cheap of course, but high quality – you know, the best of both worlds).

• Full size bed skirt – Bed, Bath & Beyond?
• Full size mocha sheets – Marshall’s? TJ?
• 2 Brown Cubes for end of bed – Target
• Round mirror for over dresser – Ikea?
• Lamp for dresser – Ikea? Or Maybe Pier 1?
• Something to put in birch sleeves – I have no idea!! I love the sleeves but need help!
• Hardware/items for refinishing dresser – Lowe’s or Home Depot
• Rust colored fabric (printed) for frames – Fabric Store
• Container for tall curly willow– Pier 1? Ikea?
• “Orange” Accessories – Target?

That’s it! And clearly #3, #7 and #8 are easy…. Any help with others is most appreciated!!

Cute Idea + Updated Orange Guest Room Board

So at the first Pottery Barn class me and Devie went to we walked around afterward and I took pictures of things I liked. One was this - I think it's SO super clever to add color to your walls by framing fabric (i.e. straight up fabric or a placemat or napkin, etc.).

So, the next visit to Pottery Barn yielded three of these huge brown, laquer frames ($40 each - on sale for $8 people - thanks for finding, Dev!). So, $24 later, I was the proud owner of three frames. They could go anywhere together in a home, clearly.


sorry the pic is so bad!

However, I got to thinking about the guest room (orange). I was originally interested in painting the wall behind the bed orange to add color to the room. But now, I want to frame orange fabric and hang these three over the new headboard!!! Thoughts?! Here is the updated inspiration board - it's really coming together what with the lamp I bought yesterday and the bamboo side table, etc.!! Yes, you'll notice the brown cube is back in. I just love them and am going to buy them for something so for now they're on this board. Depending on how large the room is i'll use them! AND I have a Target giftcard burning a hole in my pocket so there you go!

Click to make it larger!

And Then There were Two.... Plus 1!

So I FINALLY have two matching lamps for mine and Austin's matching bedside tables that we don't own yet. I'm getting there people. So after driving to MARIETTA (after Buckhead had only one in good shape and then Roswell Road had none...) during lunch today I found the lamp 'in the back' so it's in great shape and she put it together for me and even loaded it up into the PT. While she was putting it together I found another one - yay! It was originally $98 on sale for $50 as well so I got it, too, for the orange guest room. To me it's way cuter in person - the drum shade is like textured, very cool. I'm going to drop it in my board later!

One of These (the white background does it no favors so here is one taken with my iPhone so you can see the checkered detail better)

And Two of These (love them because of their shade and oh so cute adjustable arm)

So I Woke Up Motivated to Do "House Stuff"

Found a blog i'm in love, Bower Power, and it gave me SO many ideas. One is this... what do you do? Basically - you go buy 4 cheap beveled mirrors (ugly if it makes them cheaper, preferably smooth surfaces). You take them home and cover the mirror with newspaper/tape. You spray paint them your desired color (I would likely do black). Then you remove the paper and hang them in a cluser - voila - you have a "large" mirror on the CHEAP. I like it because you could easily increase the number for a larger space (do 6 or do 9), or turn them horizontal, or even do a cluster of different sized mirrors. Very cool, easy and cheap!

Note: This could be done in any room, but she did it in her dining room and I liked it. I could see it in a guest room... :)

A Design Quiz: What's Your Style?

So I took this quiz to see what kind of style I have! Here is what I got:

Modern Elegance

Variety is the spice of life! And nowhere is this truer than in the design of your home. You may love contemporary, but wish it wasn't quite so cold and austere, or perhaps you're drawn to traditional rooms but you'd like to create a less cluttered and busy space. Transitional Style is here to marry those apparent contradicting designs.

And guess what? It's the contradictions that make the mix of contemporary and traditional so successful. The result is an elegant room that appeals to young and old alike. A sofa with modern lines blends seamlessly with a pair of traditional chairs. New fabrics work so well on antique pieces. It turns out that modern art looks even more exciting above a collection of traditional pieces. The room feels simple and sophisticated, elegant and hip.

I think it rings true! I HAVE been drawn to contemporary pieces, but only few and far between. I like them woven into traditional stuff - traditional with a twist really. Here's some pics it showed me related to my style!

A Few Updates

• Back and forth and back and forth.... we lost the house. The guy just won't budge off of $305,000 and refuses to pay closing costs (which are $8,000). Basically, he doesn't want to sell and he's stupid and we're walking away. Where we're going? I don't know - but we're walking!
• I'm not going to buy the nightstands. Austin's mom has a friend that works there that always offersto give her a discount so Michelle is going to take her up on it! Therefore, i'm going to wait until we're in the house to buy anything... and by then I may have a laundry list for her friend once I know, for sure, what I need!
• I'm kinda freaking out.... I mean we have to move soon. Have to. And we haven't found anything.... EEK. I don't want to go back out this weekend, but i'm nervous because - no joke- we've got to move and we've got to move soon....

K - that's it for now.

To Buy or Not to Buy???

So i'm in love with these nighstands. They're Pottery Barn. They're on sale for $300 (from $400). I want two - one for each side of our master bed. AND I have this coupon.

Yes, friends. This means each stand will be $239.40 before tax. AND - I have a $100 gift card from Austin's mom - making the grand total around $412 for TWO Pottery Barn nightstands. Which leads me to one question: Should I get them?

Reasons to get them: GREAT deal, like wow amazing deal and great price to me.

Reasons not to: I have to get them by the 15th so I have to move them; if I get them I can't afford the dresser that 'matches' them - it's PRICY; Lastly, I should probably be saving for the house - but again $412 for TWO.... sigh. I need help.

What do you think?!

Quick Update

Where We're At

• We went house hunting again Saturday - saw 7. Loved 1.
• We got the disclosure and it looked great. We wanted to see it again so we scheduled a Sunday appointment at 4 p.m. and brought amazing family members along to see it and the one with the basement/beam issue.
• Sunday we checked out both houses and everyone liked one WAY more than another for LOTS of reasons, so we went back to the favorite and took notes, photos, etc.
• Sunday night we made detailed lists of our issues with the disclosure, questions we had, and a list of reasons why we're not interested in paying what they're asking. We also got everything ready for our lender.... what we want him to estimate, etc.
• Today Austin has a conference call with Amanda (realtor) and the lawyer about the brokerage statement. They're making most of the changes Austin requested so we can sign the agreement (comfortably) and move forward with Amanda as our realtor (officially- signed in blood). Austin also reached out to the broker (for lending) who is working on pulling numbers for us so we'll know what our monthly mortgage payment will be at different price points.

Next Steps:

• We should heard back from Scott (broker/lender) with numbers tonight or early tomorrow. We can't make an offer until we have these numbers.
• We will meet with Amanda tomorrow (Tuesday) at 6 p.m. with (hopefully) numbers from Scott in hand. We will sign the brokerage agreement and hopefully draft up an offer on the home with Amanda. We will make an offer on a home - WOW!
• From there, we'll take Wednesday and really get together our list of inspectors (Austin's mom/family had a recommendation as did Melissa).
• Hopefully, in a perfect world, they'll counter, we'll counter, etc., and we'll get in where we want to get in. Also NEW NEWS: We thought we wouldn't have all of the money together for 3 weeks - but Austin found out today it will be 5 days (new direct deposit policy) so we can move in before March 31!! However, we're not going to tell the seller because we figure in one of our counters we could say okay.... we'll offer this BUT we'll take occupancy even sooner. Very, very cool - yay! We'll see.
• MORE NEW NEWS: Austin went over today to double-check and, like we thought, his car got in and out of the driveway just fine - yay! While he was there he met a neighbor and found out the following: the guy owns another house in Roswell but is looking to sell both to move to Florida to be with the grandkids (wife is pushing it), his BROTHER not father has been renting the house for the last two years while he had one built, they've taken great care of it, the neighborhood is great, etc. The guy said he'd seen paint vans out there for a while and that it was just painted a few weeks ago. He also referenced "the big ass tree" in the back yard. hehe Anyway - the guy only had positive things to say about the neighborhood, and he had information on the foreclosure house: apparently it's a big mess - the bank that foreclosed on it went under so now another bank bought the house and basically the house isn't on sale because it's tied up in paperwork. So that's good news. Also - the owner of the house BUILT the house, that's why we've been having such a hard time figuring out what he paid.

K- that's it for now. I'm exhausted and potentially getting sick. Boo. I'm going straight home and am going to rest and cook and do 1 load of laundry - that's it! I'm passing out by 9:30 or 10 at the latest. Can't wait.

Hmmm

She sent us houses today and I wasn't impressed... like there were some we knew about that she didn't send. She said she didn't send them because she didn't think they'd fit a pool table. I would like to at least see the listing though. Sigh. I don't know. I'm getting frustrated.... This is the only listing she sent that we mildly liked. It's in the same neighborhood as the other... What do you think?

All 3 in Victory Ridge - the new one we're looking at is the third one

Back on Track

I reached out to Amanda today and we had a good chat about mine and Austin's decision to part ways with the home. I just explained that we can't stomach paying $14,000 out-of-pocket to make the house fit a pool table. That's just CRAZY and something we're willing to do or interested in doing -not going to happen. She understood and offered some potential solutions (seeing if the homeowner would take off the price to account for it, etc.) but already we were asking so much off for other things (the bathrooms, the garage, etc.) that it was just not going to work for us. So we have a new plan:

1. She's going to send us more listings (with or without basements)
2. We'll send her back a list of the ones we like based on paper (the 8-10 photos it includes) and location.
3. She'll call the listing agents and see which ones have a 14'x18' room AND a comparable room of that size (i.e. a family room and living room; a family room and large dining room; a bonus room and living room, etc.).
4. We'll go on Saturday to see the ones who can accommodate a pool table.

Keep your fingers crossed that there's many that can!! :)

It's a No Go

So... the house is officially off for us. Before I say the precise catalyst, I will say we were worried. Primarily after we made the list I posted yesterday. That's a lot of stuff... and it's not cheap (primarily the basement renovation stuff and the hardwoods...). However, we found out today how NOT CHEAP it was when we got a quote for over $14,000. Yes. So at first we're like that's crazy. We call Austin's mom who doesn't flinch.... she suggests we call his uncle Terry since he's had so much work done on his house in Alpharetta, his lake house and his new house in Macon. He doesn't flinch either. They're like yeah... that stuff isn't cheap. Um, why did no one tell this it would be upwards of 10 g's? We've been reading everywhere that it wouldn't cost that much, that materials are crazy cheap right now, that contractors are desperate for work, etc.

So we were like hmmm, should we even reach out to another contractor? Do we want to go through this again? And honestly - it was like an empiphany and ALL of the work we had to do flashed through our heads, we remembered the tiny yard situation, we discussed the upstairs bathrooms needing new floors/vanities, the kitchen being small, the stucco, the sink being small, etc. And it's not for us. There should be a house with a normal basement that doesn't require demolition... and moving a power box... and recarpeting an entire floor so it will match... and pulling up carpet for hardwood, etc. It's just not for us and we're onward and outward to go find one that is move in ready FOR REAL - as in NO DEMO.

In the meantime, Terry thinks it's absolutely rediculous to only be looking at houses with basements - that there's surely a house with two dens or a large dining room, etc. And honestly you guys - we wanted the pool table on the main. When you put it in a basement you've got people downstairs and up... we'd rather everyone be in one place - on one level. So Terry is going to reach out to some peeps (he's in the area; he knows people; etc.).

So keep your fingers crossed. In other news - Megan and Clint just closed on a house in Enterprise. They move in 3 weeks and she's so, so excited. I'm very happy for her!

I'm in Love with This Vanity... and Home Update

I mean seriously?! Love it. Althogh I wouldn't go for the extra drawers/cabinets on top (sure it's functional but not my fave). I just love that sink bowl! And the fixture... and of course the vanity and the hardware. Not a fan of anything else but that's okay, right?

So tonight me and Austin made our final, final list of all of our questions/concerns with the disclosure and sent it over. We also made a list of all of the things we HAVE to do BEFORE we move in:

Basement wall must be removed.
Basement carpet must be replaced to make it all consistent (including stairs, bedroom, etc.)
Master bedroom needs carpet pulled up; hardwoods laid down that match the rest of the hardwoods.
Paint the laundry room.
Buy a refrigerator. (measure space it goes in)

EEK! So laundry room is cheap, we could do a fridge at a place where you don't have to pay until later but the other stuff is going to be pricy i'm sure... we'll find out about the basement tomorrow, and need to get a quote on the hardwoods, too. Perhaps there are hardwoods under the carpet? Hmmm.

House Update

• We're still waiting on the quote (he's waiting on some #s to make the quote) so it's looking like tomorrow.
• We got the disclosure statement and have a few questions so we're making a list tonight to send to our realtor. None are HUGE. Here are a few of my questions/concerns:

1. They didn't answer the question: What year was the main residential dwelling constructed?
2. The roof is 9 years old - is that bad?
3. There were repairs made for water/dampness problems. They said it was due to faulty work repaird in 2004. What work? Where in the house?
4. They didn't answer the question: is the main dwelling served by sewage pump or jift system?
5. They didn't answer the question: do you know of any past or present leaks, backups or other similar problems relating to any of the plumbing, water and/or sewage/related items?
6. They didn't answer the question: Is there any polybutylene plumbing, other than primary service line on the property?** (apparently this is HUGE as this piping is know for being shoddy and can cost thousands to replace)
7. They didn't answer the question: Are any of the plumbing fixtures in the property not low water flow fixtures?
8. They said they were leaving behind the air conditioning window unit. What is that? Where is it?
9. They indicated they weren't leaving the chandelier - which one?
10. They indicated they weren't leaving the following: light bulb fixtures, septic pump, shelving unit/free standing, shower head/sprayer, sump pump, surface unit cook top, switch plate covers and window treatments. This is odd... we want to know how they define window treatments (we want the blinds), we want the covers, we want the shower heads, we want the freestanding shelving unit in the garage, etc. So this needs to be confirmed here.

So - we're getting together our list tonight to email Amanda to get it squared away... Wish us luck!

Do We Like this Night Stand?

I'm thinking two of these for mine and Austin's bedside tables. I know I like the price - on sale for $214!