Oh my god, I just bought a house!

After some quick rounds of negotiation, seller-to-realtor-to-realtor-to-buyer and back again, we agreed on a selling price and a closing date. As of March 21, I will be a homeowner!!! I was a homeowner once before, but it was only a condo. Same financial responsibility of a mortgage, but it was basically a glorified apartment. This, my friends, is a HOUSE. Holy cow. On one level, it seems like a natural evolution, and there's unabated excitement. On another level, there's awe: lil' ol' me will own a whole big house with a front yard, backyard, driveway, and garage. I can, like, plant trees and flowers and build a deck and shop at--gasp--Home Depot. Wow. I'm trying to ascertain if there's any anxiety or trepidation yet...so far, so good. Bring it on!

Now, to begin the packing.

Home buying update

I have purposely not updated my blog for a while now because the details of the ongoing homebuying saga would, no doubt, bore even the most intrepid reader. Anyone who's bought a home knows the tale: the fun of looking at your options, the thrill of finding something you love, the anxiety negotiation, and either the joy of finalizing the sale, or the disappointment of it falling through. If I had blogged while it was all going on, the entries would have sounded urgent and stressed, when, really, it's not life and death for crying out loud. It is a big decision, but recent events in the lives of people I know have helped me put it in perspective. So, here's the nutshell version, which is all it's worthy of receiving.

I made an offer on the end unit townhouse in Morrisville. The seller was basically unwilling to budge on the sale price, and even asked for a 60-day close, which complicates things needlessly. So I walked away. The seller came running after me, with the offer of a 30-day close. I took one more look at the place, and after much hand-wringing, ended up deciding I could do better.

Yesterday I knew I made the right decision, because I saw a house in North Raleigh and fell in love with it.


The curb appeal is sharp. When you walk in the front door, you instantly feel cheered by the brightness and the rich colors.


This place has everything I could want--hardwoods in the foyer, living, and dining rooms; 42" maple cabinets and dark gray countertops in the kitchen; smooth ceilings; decent-sized, fenced backyard (ideal for the dog I've been contemplating); two-car garage; and little touches like arched doorways, an attractive wallpaper border in the kitchen and breakfast area, and cabinets in the laundry room. There is nothing I would change, except eventually doing some landscaping in the backyard, which is currently just grass. The location is about 15 minutes from work, so that's a huge plus. The more I think about this place, the more excited I am about living there! I just made an offer, so I'm hoping to hear back from my realtor today. Keep your fingers crossed!

Narrowing down the search

Yesterday was a marathon of househunting. My realtor took me around to many neighborhoods in Apex, Cary, and Morrisville. Almost everything we saw was nice. Of course, some were nicer than others, but none of them were stinkers, which makes picking one that much harder. About 90% of what we looked at were townhouses, because even though I would prefer a single-family home, with my tastes and budget, a townhouse is my best bet. The same amount of money can buy you either a 14-year-old 1500 sq. ft. house with formica countertops, dated cabinets, and seen-better-days carpet, or a 2-year-old 1900 sq. ft. townhome with hardwood floors, solid surface counters, and 42" cabinets. This is basically what the market here has to offer in my price range. So of course I'd choose the townhouse in a heartbeat. As much as I may think I want a house, if I'm not willing to compromise on the "extras" to get in one, I must not want it that badly!

Today my realtor took me to look at a couple more townhouses in Cary, one of which was particularly nice, with a huge kitchen, very tasteful paint colors, and some hardwoods. Despite her hearty endorsement and the pressure of "This won't stay on the market more than a day," I didn't feel compelled to call off the search quite yet. We also saw a couple units in North Raleigh, which is closer to work. One is in a "planned unit development" called Bedford, which means the subdivision has a mixture of condos, townhomes, and houses ranging from below $200k all the way up to 7 and $800k. The unit was attractive enough, with nice upgrades, but it was kind of dark. There is an end unit in that complex with a lot more windows that I would have liked to see but we didn't have an appointment. The last townhouse was literally right up against Umstead State Park, which of course means a nice view. But it lacked a fireplace and had zero walk-in closets, which are two huge oversights if you ask me.

So I've narrowed the search down to two townhouses, one in Apex, about a mile from where I currently live, and one in Morrisville, which is about 20 minutes north. Both have nice views in the back--trees and water--and both have gas fireplaces and a neighborhood pool. Here's how they compare otherwise:


I'm leaning towards the Morrisville unit (referred to as "the drummer boy place" because we had to stand outside for about five minutes waiting for the owner's son to stop pounding his drums long enough to hear us ringing the doorbell). But I'm concerned about the commute conditions, so I'm going to get up early tomorrow morning and drive up to the townhouse, leave it when I would normally leave for work, and time it. I really hope I'm pleasantly surprised!

Superbowl and househunting

So yeah, that post-Superbowl post never made it to the blog. The commercials were underwhelming this year. The only ones that stick out in my mind are the GM one with the robot that dreams of what his life would be like if he lost his job on the assembly line, and the one with the lions talking about carne asada. Although, I have to admit that while looking over the list of all the ads at You Tube, I'm reminded of a couple more that were enjoyable, such as the Bud Light one with the gorillas, and the Bud Light one with the couple who picks up an ax murderer. The one for Emerald nuts with Robert Goulet was so random it made me laugh. But the jungle-themed CareerBuilder ads paled in comparison to the older chimp ones. One thing that was kinda cool: one of the Doritos commercials was created by a Cary resident, and it was filmed in one of the local shopping centers.

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So I've begun the househunting in earnest. I've seen two properties so far, one that was disappointing, and one that was spectacular. What's odd is that they were priced exactly the same! The disappointing one was a single-family home in North Raleigh, in a neighborhood with narrow streets, which bug me. I like things to feel a little more open. The photos online of the house's interior had me excited, but apparently they were taken with a wide-angle lens that made everything appear twice as big as it actually was. Now, I don't need oodles of space, but I also don't like things to feel cramped. Even though this wasn't the house for me, it helped me to hone my list of requirements. Monday I saw a gorgeous and humongous three-level townhouse in Holly Springs. At 2400 square feet, it is way more than I could ever need, but man, did it feel spacious. And it is brand new construction so everything was immaculate. There were upgrades throughout: hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances, Corian countertops, maple cabinets, a deck on every level, backing up to a hill with trees.


Just everything I could ever want. Except for the following: a) it's a townhouse instead of a house, which means a high HOA fee and shared walls; b) it's at the tippy top of my budget (and non-negotiable since it's new construction) which means I'd be living to pay my mortgage; c) although it's barely a couple miles from where I currently live in Apex, the address is technically Holly Springs, which is a less desirable town (important for resale value); and d) the street is called Butterbiggins Lane. Call me shallow if you want, but I want to live on a street that doesn't sound quite so silly. So, the search continues. Tomorrow I'm looking at a bunch more townhouses, because that seems to be all that's on the market currently in my price range. All the good houses are selling super quick right now!

Oh, and you may have noticed I finally moved over to the "new" Blogger. I waited as long as I could, but they finally forced me. Everything seems to be fine--hopefully they have straightened out the glitches that early converters reported.

Mixed bag

Bunch of random things today.

My counter has disappeared. I spent half an hour trying to get it to reappear. The best answer I can find from the on-line "knowledge base" is that there is some other java script on the page that is basically cancelling out the counter's code. So I removed everything in the sidebar. Still no counter. It's still keeping track of my visits (I'm currently at 5134) but you can't see the number over there. Times like this I have to remember that book, "Don't sweat the small stuff."

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I went with my parents to look at some of the houses in the North Carolina Parade of Homes today. We started out at the top: $989,000 in Cary. I think the cheapest one was $312,000. I think our favorite was "Rex's Request," weighing in at $414,000 and 3000 square feet.


A lot of the homes had neat ceilings:




These doors were popular:


One home featured bamboo flooring, which is my favorite, although I prefer a wider reed:


There were a lot of mud rooms and wainscoting:


And of course all the houses had immaculate, though not lush, landscaping:


I had hoped we'd make it to some of the homes in Raleigh that are actually in my price range, but since it only goes from 12-5, we didn't have time. Oh, well, it's not like I'm buying right now anyway.

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It's been about three weeks or so since most of the new shows started for the fall season. I started watching many, but only a select few remain on my must-see list.

Jericho - It's still kind a creepy, but it's keeping my interest. There's the realism aspect of how do these people survive, but there's also a bit of mystery as to why one resident of the town seems to have known the bombs were coming.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip - You've gotta love how running an SNL-type show gets the same gravitas as running the country got in West Wing.

Brothers and Sisters - Kind of a bizarre mix of problems, some relatively unique (war vet son who's lost his way, tension between liberal mother and conservative daughter, pension fraud at the family company, dead patriarch's decades-long affair revealed) and some tried-and-true (married couple feels strain of mother's workaholic tendencies, career woman forced to choose between dream job and potential husband). The writing and casting are excellent.

Men in Trees - Lighthearted fluff perfect for a Friday night. Anne Heche is always highly watchable and her antics up in Alaska are entertaining. Good supporting characters too. I love the young innocent couple.

The shows I started watching but have dropped:

Heroes - Did not grab me after two episodes. Kind of comic-booky which is not my thing.

Ugly Betty - Too cartoony. The performances are over the top. I like the underlying premise (unattractive girl makes good in the big city) but it is kind of annoying to watch, and ricidulously predictable. But, it's on before Grey's Anatomy so I usually catch the last 15 minutes or so.

Six Degrees - I gave this one a fair shake...three episodes...but it just wasn't intriguing enough. These characters are supposed to be linked somehow but beyond one dropping a coin and another picking it up hours later, the writers didn't give me enough to pique my interest.

As for returners from last year:

Lost - It feels like it's moving very slooooow because we've been through two weeks of the new season and we still don't have an update on what's going on in the hatch. One of the reasons Lost was so good before was because the developments happend fast and furious. I hope things pick up quickly. I have enjoyed the flashbacks, though. I also feel like every little line is like a clue for something, but not in a good way. It's like the writers know people eat this stuff up, and so they throw in random things as if they're doing you a favor by dropping a crumb, but all it does is add to the confusion. But I still maintain that it's a well-crafted show.

Grey's Anatomy - Oh my word, this is a good show. I can't believe I started out not liking it when it started a while ago. It wasn't until the Superbowl episode (with the bomb) that I fell for it. I love all the characters, and I also love reading the writers' blog on Fridays to hear what they have to say about the previous night's episode. It always adds some insight.

Desperate Housewives - I look forward to it because it's entertaining and I like the characters, but it does have me in its grip like Grey's Anatomy does.

I also watch Amazing Race 10, but wish they'd get the heck out of Asia already. Of all the continents on the planet, that's the one I'd least like to visit. I watched What About Brian last year (it was only on for like 5 episodes) and I taped the permiere last week but haven't seen it yet. I wanted to watch The Nine, but it's on against Project Runway. PR will soon be over (I'll be happy if Uli or Laura wins, and furious if Jeffrey wins) so maybe then I'll catch up with The Nine on abc.com, then start watching it. I've heard good things about it.

Dude, I watch too much TV.

Apartment-hunting in Cary, house-hunting in the boonies

So let me tell you about the drama involved in Cary apartment hunting. People warned me about Cary, and I figured they were exaggerating or they had atypical experiences that turned them off to the town. I read about the incredibly tight restrictions and ordinances and the Stepford-like uniformity. But coming from Santa Clarita, I thought it would not be a problem for me. My rude awakening occurred the morning of our first full day in Cary. I went to the Woodway at Silverton apartments to look at the complex. I’d done some research online and this one had seemed ideal: they allowed pets, they provided a washer and dryer in the unit, the location was central, and the rent was reasonable. When I arrived, I was impressed by the grounds and the main office/clubhouse. I met Melanie, whom I’d chatted with on the phone a couple of times. She was familiar with my story: relocating from California, just arrived in town the previous day, looking for an apartment. She sat down with me to fill out an information card. When she asked who my employer was, I said I didn’t have one yet. She got up to make a phone call. She returned and said she’d spoken with her manager and due to the fact that I was unemployed, they were not going to be able to rent to me. I was immediately offended, because I consider myself an ideal tenant. I asked if they would accept cash in advance for the rent, and she said no. By now I was just appalled. How dare they judge me for not having a job yet; I’d just moved here and I’d chosen their town, their apartment complex, to give my perfectly good money to, and they had the nerve to turn me away. My father, being the ireful man he is, was ten times as irritated, or at least ten times more vocal about his irritation. He threatened a lawsuit for discrimination (typical Californian thing to do)...and the more I think about it, the more it does seem like discrimination. I mean, what if I were 65 and retired? Would they turn me away? That could definitely qualify as age discrimination. So what if I were 29 and retired? Or what if I just wanted to take a year off and live off savings? I understand policies, but every policy should be flexible, and things like this should be evaluated on a case by case basis. No, you don’t want a complex full of unemployed oafs who can’t make rent, but if the person can prove they have enough money to make rent, and even offers to pay cash in advance, there should not be a problem. Anyway, my response was, “Well fine then, I’ll just take my business elsewhere.” The lady tried to be nice. She said she had been in the same position four months prior when she had moved to the area. She said basically every complex in Cary would give me the same answer. She gave me the name of the complex she lived in at first, where apparently they don’t have a problem accepting unemployed tenants. But it's in Raleigh and I want (wanted?) to live in Cary.

Later that day I called around, and explained my situation. Every place I talked to was willing to work with me. They all said as long as I can show a bank statement proving I have enough money in the bank to pay the rent, they will let me sign a lease. One place (Brook Arbor) said I had to have three times the rent for three years (i.e., $87,000) in the bank, which I think is a tad on the extreme side. But I did find one complex (Avalon Peaks) with a more reasonable standard. Another issue I encountered at Woodway was they were going to want to see immunization records for Comet, which I do not have. He has not had shots since I adopted him six years ago. And yet another issue I was wringing my hands over was not having my Social Security card, which is packed in the POD--Brook Arbor required a copy of it with the rental application. I was told the way around this was to go to the Social Security office and apply for a replacement card; the office will give me a letter confirming I applied, and the management company would accept that letter in lieu of the card itself. What a hassle. Avalon Peaks said they could just verify my social through the credit check. The apartments at this third complex are HUGE (950 square feet) and have screened porches. The only snags are: the price, which is about $100 more a month than I wanted to spend; the gym, which is not as nice as the second apartment which had personal LCD TV’s at each piece of cardio equipment; and the rent does not include a washer and dryer in the unit. There are hookups, but I do not want to buy these appliances only to have to move them in six months. The second apartment is smaller, but it’s also cheaper, has a cooler gym, and comes with a washer and dryer. In terms of location, they’re pretty much equidistant from central Cary. Not that I should measure everything by Cary, of course. But I do not know where I will get a job, and that’s the most important measure. I’m torn between the second and third complexes; and then of course picking what floor to be on is also a difficult decision. First floor is easiest to move into and out of, but I will be hiring Home Depot guys again, so does that really matter? Second floor is more secure (I can leave my windows open and not worry) but winter is coming, so does that matter?

The other thing that's different here than in California is the security deposit issue. Here, you pay a pretty low security deposit, anywhere from $200 to $500 (compared to $1300 in my last apartment) but you have to pay really steep "application fees" and "administrative fees," totaling about $200 more (not refundable), and then there's the nonrefundable pet fee ($200) and the refundable pet deposit ($200). Some places also charge pet rent, usually $10 a month extra. Plus the premium if you sign a lease shorter than 12 months, which ranges from $100 to $40. And if the apartment does not include a washer and dryer, you can rent one for an extra $35/month. So your $599/month apartment can actually end up costing you $754/month and $1100 up front. Sheesh.

Yesterday and today I spent with my parents and their realtor, Kim Sands, going around to houses. Some of them are absolutely gorgeous! I wish I could upload pix using my laptop and my AOL dialup, because these places are awesome. Maybe tomorrow I can borrow my mom’s high speed connection. Anyway, they have narrowed it down, I think, to three houses, one in Wake Forest, one in Zebulon, and one in Pittsboro. All of them are pretty “far out,” but to get the acreage they want, they can’t be close to town. The Pittsboro house is not even finished yet, so they would get to pick things like countertops and light fixtures, etc. But it would not be ready until right before Thanksgiving, whereas the other two would be ready for move-in in 2-3 weeks, depending on how quickly the current occupants can get out. Buying a house is much quicker here in NC, especially since my parents are paying cash. Today at the unfinished house in Pittsboro, the builders had a fish fry and invited what appeared to be every crew member and resident in the area. They were all eating in what could become our future front yard and garage, and they were all parked in what could become our future driveway. It was kind of neat. And the food was yummy! After an exhausting day of driving all over God’s creation looking at houses, we had dinner at a place called Sushi-Thai, which serves both Japanese and Thai cuisine. I had my favorites, satay and spring rolls. Tasty.

Finding my way around Cary has been somewhat of a challenge. I have a pretty good map that the hotel gave me, and I also bought a spiral bound city map (kind of like the Thomas Guide, but it’s a Rand). But it’s hard to look things up on a map while you’re driving. The realtor has one of those navigation systems in her car, like the Hertz Neverlost that I had in the rental car when I first came to NC. It’s SO convenient. It got a little confused this afternoon, but otherwise was very helpful. I might have to look again into get one of those. A while ago I saw some on eBay for like $600.

Well, I think you’re finally up to date on everything. We don’t know what we’re doing this weekend. I know I have to shop for a bed, but we also might go to the state fair. They have duck racing and pig racing and deep fried snickers and stilt walkers and 100 rides and livestock shows and prize winning veggies and craft booths and it promises to be quite a fun event. We may put it off until next week though since Saturday and Sunday are of course going to be more crowded.

Oh, one final note about the weather. It was overcast and drizzly our first three days here but the sun finally broke through today and it was beautiful! Everything is so much greener in the sun!

Why I'm moving to NC

Can't guarantee how long these links will work...these houses will probably get snapped up pretty quick.

• Curb appeal to the nth degree! (overlook the photographer's lack of skill)
• Come on, you can't get much cuter than this (not counting the hideous wallpaper)
• What a single girl does with 1700 square feet, I don't know. But I can probably come up with something!