I hope you don’t mind if I interrupt all the inspiration going on for a little update on our house hunting adventure. You might be surprised to know that we actually put a bid in on a HUD {Housing and Urban Development} foreclosure a few weeks ago. We hadn’t planned on putting in a bid so early on, but this house was too good to be true. Too good to be true was right.
It was a 3 bedroom, 2. 5 bath home only 4 years old…the same age as our current home. It was a little over 1,800 square feet but it had that great open floor plan that we’re drawn to. And vaulted ceilings. All of which made it feel larger than it really was. It was definitely a builder boring house. Much like our current spec home when we initially purchased it. We didn’t love the finishes or the fixtures but we knew they were things we could change or update along the way as we lived there. The carpet was the only thing that would have needed to be replaced straight away…it had old {and fresh!} pet stains on it.
{That’s my lovely cousin, Amie, who also happens to be our lovely and very patient realtor.} The kitchen was at the front of the home and opened up into a dining area with a family room beyond that. We totally would have painted the cabinets, replaced the countertops and ripped out the island for something more ‘us.’ What I did love was the bright bay window in the kitchen where I envisioned a window seat with cushions.
The dining area had a strange plant ledge surrounding it. I guess it was probably meant to suggest a dining room but it wasn’t structural, so Handy Hubby and I talked of tearing it out the moment we saw it. There was also a nice window high up on the wall letting in tons of natural light but avoided showcasing the neighbor’s siding.
The family room was just off the dining area and had patio sliders that led to the backyard.
That’s the view from the family room looking back towards the front of the house. You can see more clearly that unnecessary plant ledge I mentioned. You can also see the front door and staircase leading upstairs on the left. Once again, the kitchen, dining and family areas were under vaulted ceilings. Nice and open. Ahhhhhh.
{Notice the carpet stains.}
The master suite was on the first floor with an attached full blah bath.
{That’s insulation on the floor, not doo-doo.}
A loft, two bedrooms and a full bath were on the second floor {which was only over half of the house…remember the other half had vaulted ceilings}. We very much liked the idea of the boys having their own separate space to sleep and play up and away from the main living space. I had also pictured using the loft area as a nice spot for paying bills, blogging and future design office.
There was an attached 2-car garage with a bump out where Handy Hubby said he’d set up shop.
And the price was unbeatable! Well below our price point – even with having to replace the carpet. {Heck, I’d already picked out the new hardwoods I wanted to replace it with!} We loved the idea of being able to move in right away and working on it as we pleased. It was livable. It had only been on the market for 10 days when we saw it and had already gotten a lot of traffic – at least the guest list portrayed that during our tour. We put a bid in the same day we saw it. For the asking price {which was well, well, well below the appraised value of the home} plus said we’d pay closing costs. Now, you may be wondering why we offered up such a good bid on a foreclosure. Well, at this point, we had seen and researched many, many, many foreclosures. This one stood out heads above the rest for several reasons: 1) it was a newer home in excellent condition 2) it was livable 3) it was very close to our current neighborhood 4) it was in a neighborhood very similar to our current neighborhood 5) any work we did to the home would be purely cosmetic 6) it was priced to sell.
We waited 4 days after putting in our bid {foreclosures typically take a long time to get a response back from because you’re either working with the bank or, in our case, a government agency as opposed to a private seller} to hear if our bid had been accepted or not. Sadly, it had not. The HUD agency told our realtor that an offer was accepted but it wasn’t ours. Which meant someone else had: 1) offered the same bid but in cash 2) offered the same bid but before we had placed our bid 3) offered a higher bid, yep, higher than the listing price + closing costs. So, it was too good to be true. We didn’t get it.
I’m a firm believer in the whole ‘everything happens for a reason’ thing. We weren’t meant to get that house. The problem is I keep trying to figure out why we weren’t meant to get that house. Maybe it’s a sign that it wasn’t a big enough challenge for us – home improvement or design wise? Maybe we’re meant to find something older this time around? Maybe it wasn’t the right location and we’re supposed to end up closer to Handy Hubby’s work, further from our current neighborhood which would require us to go outside of our familiar surroundings and try something new? Maybe that house gets demolished in a house fire or during a tornado in the near future? {God forbid.} As you can see, I’ve exhausted way too much time and effort in trying to figure out why we didn’t get that ‘easy’ house. Maybe we’re not supposed to know? Maybe I’m just supposed to move on.
images: all Dana Miller for House*Tweaking
DIY, inspiration