First major change: we all have new email addresses. Check the email for our new addresses. If you need to get the new address, email the address at the bottom left for more info!
We have a house! We just spent the weekend here in Dayton, OH, looking for a new house to buy and move into in Dec. We have been staying with my Uncle Zdzis and Aunt Maryann. They have been wonderful! We get to eat their food, even after they have cooked it for us, and have watched the kids while we view 30 homes in 18 hours. Balen and Abigail have taken to Aunt Maryann very well. Balen is still a little unsure of Uncle Zdzis for some reason. I guess he finds him very intimidating. Maybe it's his height...
So the house is in Miami Township, but officially is in Dayton. It was one of 3 homes that were at the top of the list. One home (Blossom Park) was very large (2600+ sq ft), but older, and in need of new windows. However, the one thing that made that house unusable was the Master bath was the size of most powder rooms. There was a sink, a toilet, and a shower stall, but only enough room to get from one to the next. Certainly nothing worthy of being called a master bath. The other house we were considering was in generally good shape, but the layout just wasn't as good as the house we are buying, and the master bedroom was kind of small with a very small closet.
The house we're buying was the newest on the list (1984) and was recently completely renovated throughout - completely. The owners got a divorce, the husband was left in control of the house and was trying to sell it. The house had been on the market over a year, and didn't sell. It was listed as a 3 bedroom house, but one bedroom was a windowless room in the finished basement, which is the reason we believe it hadn't sold. The realtor convinced the owner to do a complete renovation in effort to sell it. He was even living in the unfinished laundry room in the basement to leave the house as untouched as possible. You'll see this in the pictures.
So we're limited to $155,000 because of single income and the other mortgage we have for the NJ house, which we have rented out, but are still not making up the entire payment. In Ohio, this can buy a lot of house, it seems. This home is 2242 sq ft, is at the end of a cul-de-sac, has a nice view of the valley to the north. It has two floors and a basement, but with the finished appearance of the basement, it's really a 3 floor house. The only real shortcoming is there is a loft upstairs instead of a 3rd bedroom. We'll overcome this by converting the loft into a bedroom by putting in walls and reversing one of the closets that open into the bedroom next door. We plan on allowing some opening windows or panels of some sort into the living room below, so that it can still be advertised as a "loft", but counting as a full bedroom if/when we try to sell in the future, which will significantly increase the saleability of the home. The home was listed at $159,900, so we had to make an offer to get him to our price range. We made the offer last night, and got the counteroffer (exactly what we expected and planned on) this morning. We accepted, signed the paperwork, and will accompany the inspector tomorrow afternoon before we drive home.
The neighbors we talked with said the area is extremely quiet, no crime problems, and is very lightly traveled since it's on an incline. Unfortunately there don't appear to be very many children immediately nearby, and the sloped road (one of our main considerations) could make bicycle riding a bit difficult, but the home and location are worth it. It will definitely be nice to be around some family again! It will be even nicer to have WATER PRESSURE!
Consider this, we bought our NJ home at $369,900, with about 0.25 acres and is about 2000 sq ft. In ohio (of course with a depressed housing market) we are getting 2242 sq ft, and roughly .35 acres for $155,000. Not bad, indeed.
The basic layout is entry with stairs immediately going upstairs. Upstairs from left to right is loft, bedroom, bathroom, and master bed/bath. Ground floor is living room, dining room (which will be converted into a study), kitchen, eating area (tiled floor in front of doors to deck), and the family room with fireplace, and a half-bath (which will be converted into a library). The basement has a small room (my computer room) just behind the TV wall in the open large area of the basement, a wet bar, a half-bath, laundry room, and door to the outside. Outside has a deck from the kitchen/eating area, with stairs to the ground. In the space under the deck is a shed-like storage area. The yard is quite large, with a large mostly even slope with several trees. Abigail wanted me to make sure I reported the good sledding possibilities of the yard. The home faces to the southwest, and the southern side along the garage looks like it will fit our boat for free boat-parking!
The house should be taking delivery of us on Dec 15th!
Here are the pictures, on the left side of the page will be the various parts (basement, kitchen, exterior, etc) of the home for viewing independently so you don't get lost. Use the links under the grey bar to change viewing setup, including slideshow.
In Other News...
Michel got a bunionectomy (they shaved off the bunion and also severed her large toe bone in her foot, realigned it, and put it back together with screws), more pics on that when we get home and post them. She is mostly recovered, but is still walking around on a funny shoe. She was completely couch-ridden for nearly 3 weeks, meaning I had to do everything, and take care of her.
Abigail has taken up tennis (pics later). She has been doing VERY well this year with her schoolwork. After her hyper activity and severe motor-tics at the Lewantowicz 50th Celebration, Marilynn suggested an appointment with a doctor. We agreed, did so, and discovered she has borderline ADHD. We have gotten her a book to read about it, and have started a team effort to help her deal with the specific challenges that presents to her life. She is now 4'3" and 52lbs. She is maturing emotionally and mentally quite quickly, so we are making moves to help her feel more like an adult and more responsible. She still loves horses, we'll be updating her wish-list shortly.
Balen did a kinda-sorta toddler gymnastics class. Pics later. He is making significant progress towards potty-training and his verbal skills are increasing at a substantial rate now. His imagination is also showing itself; along with his will. He is occasionally attempting covert and/or overt defiance. He is still as sweet as ever. He can now operate my laptop with sufficient skill to browse the pictures on Amazon.com when started with his Cars movie toys. He still loves Thomas the Train and Cars.
For the next who knows how long...
