We'll Be Moving!

This will come as quite a shock to most of you, even those who have seen us recently. This is because it is a shock to us as well! Therefore we haven't been talking about it because we only saw that the house (condo, townhome, etc.) was on the market when we were looking on www.utahrealestate.com last Friday (8/1/08).

We look online and day-dream a lot and think of having a place where our home office (for both of us and two businesses) won't be in our bedroom. We wouldn't have even considered it unless we saw that there was an open house the next day (Saturday) and that it started just before Stephen had to leave for a wedding at the Mt. Timp Temple.

If it wasn't for the open house, we wouldn't have seen it because we were not actively seeking a home, and we wouldn't have made our buddy (one of Stephen's best friends) Rob Johnston (who is a real estate agent) take time out of his schedule to come up to Rose Park and show it to us. We would have just looked it over online, talked about the pro's and con's from what is listed, and dreamed some more.

But once we had been there and looked it over, the idea of getting it for real was an infectious seed that sprouted and began to grow in our minds until it took over (which took about 30 minutes).

Rob came home from a family reunion on Sunday, and Monday morning we were at the condo looking it over again and looking at comparables in the community (Like I said, he is a great friend and put us before getting caught up from vacation).

That afternoon we got pre-approved for a loan, got a HELOC for the down payment, and made an offer before the night was up. The counter-offer came in on Tuesday night with some minor changes and we approved it. So we are now under contract, and this is the story:

- Barring any major issue, the closing date dealine (can happen before that) is Sept 5th.
- Our HELOC is contingent upon the appraisal (because for once the county is undervaluing the property [our current condo] a great deal from what the market has it as, so it needs to be proven that we have that much equity.
- We have rented a storage space close by for 3 months and we are putting everything in it that is visable (clutter), that we don't need for two months, and that weighs less than 40 lbs. That way the appraisal (on Monday) will go better.
- We need to have the seller's disclosures, the home inspected, and some other tidying up to do.
- We've applied for two loans, the option we'll probably take is a nice private company. They are being much more responsive than the credit union, and they are as competitive. Plus they are in Rob's office and he trusts them.
- Once we have the new place, we'll move to it and then put our current condo on the market.
- We want to do some small sweat-equity rennovations to this place, and we need to be out for them (we are so crowded in here).

So I imagine you want to see the place?

First off, it is NEW. Built in 2005, from what we gather it has been lovingly cared for by a senior couple for the past 3 years. It is so move-in ready! Here is the front room:

The kitchen is in excellent shape. Again, it feels new. We lose a couple upper cabinets, but gain over all (especially in counter space, but we do gain over-all in cabinets as well.

Nice photo of a table. It is meant to show you that there is a dining space between the front room and the kitchen:


Bedroom that is currently used as an office, and will be one in the future as well:


Master Bedroom. The master is one floor. It includes a 3/4 bath, walk-in closet, and a storgage room the size of a walk-in.


Some additional specs from the listing:

Interior Features Include:

• Closet-Walk-In, Dishwasher, Disposal, Master Bath, Range Oven Free Std.
• Window Cov: Blinds, Draperies, Full
• Air Cond: Central Air Electric
• Heating: Forced Air, Gas Central
• Basement: (0% Finished) Slab

Exterior Features Include:

• Exterior: Patio
• Lot: Fenced Full, Sidewalks, Sprinkler, Auto-Full, Terrain,Flat
• Landscape: Full Landscaping
• Roof: Asphalt Shingle
• Exterior: Stucco
• Garage/Parking: None

Other Features Include:

• Inclusions: Dryer, Microwave, Range, Washer, Window Covers
• Amenities: Clubhouse, Swimming Pool
• Water: Culinary
• Sewer: Connected

Rooms Include:

• 3 Total Bedrooms:
  • Flr 2: 2
  • Flr 3: 1
• 3.00 Total Bathrooms:
  • Flr 1: 1 Half
  • Flr 2: 1 Full
  • Flr 3: 1 ThreeQrts
• Other Rooms:
  • Flr 1 Family Room / Den, Flr 1 Kitchen Dining

Square feet on each floor:

• Flr 1: 495 sq. ft.
• Flr 2: 495 sq. ft.
• Flr 3: 435 sq. ft.
• Total: 1425 sq. ft.

We are very excited and in shock. We'll keep the blog posted as more news comes down the pike.

Oh, I almost forgot, the number one rule in real estate: Location³

We'll be only a mile down Redwood. Of course that means a different stake all-together, but it is a nice healthy walk to visit our friends up here.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments, I am sure I left a lot out.