This week's Atticus-isms

Presented with minimal context:

"How much does it cost to change your name?" (he wants to be called Frodo James Bennett)

"Let's go to McDonalds. It has crap food."

"Mom! My butt looks like the eye of Sauron!"

They accepted our offer!!

Ours was actually the second offer they received, the first being from an investor with a low bid. I'm glad we moved as quickly as we did, and I wonder whether meeting the owner tipped the scales in our favor.

Clearly nothing's final, but they want to close by October 23rd. Unless we get someone eager to take over our jobs as managers here, we probably won't move until the end of November so we can take our time painting and moving stuff, deciding what to take and what to sell.

I couldn't sleep last night, so I sketched out a furniture arrangement for the living room. Of course it requires selling our current couches, so we'll see if James buys into my ideas. We could move in with what we have, though, and that's a nice feeling.

But first we have to inspect the house and actually get a loan. One step at a time, Heidi. :)

House Update 2

Long story short: we made an offer on a house. It feels a little sudden, but we and our realtor (Tim) feel good about it.

Long story long: I walked through the "cute but small and overpriced" house with Tim yesterday. (The previous contract fell through.) I promised James I'd go with a critical eye, and I did. It's small. It's old. The wallpaper is bubbling, and the bathroom is cramped and inconveniently located. I'm still in love with the dining room, but seeing the current residents' stuff crammed into every closet made me rethink the lack of storage space. Then last night we talked about our desire to stay in the ward. We have good friends here who seem like they'll be around for a while, but there is so much turnover here that it's a big risk to stay for people who very likely could leave in the next 10 years. 

After dinner we decided to drive by a house I've been looking at in Rose Park. It's been recently remodeled, but when Tim tried to make an appointment he found out that a break in the sprinkler line had flooded the basement, so the house is off the market until that gets fixed. A little further south on the same street was another house for sale, so James got out to get a flier. The man in the yard next door came over and told him that he had just put his house (this white one) on the market Thursday, and he asked us to consider it. Atticus was asleep in the car, so we didn't go inside, but I got the MLS # and called Tim. Standing on that street at dusk felt very comfortable, compared to how I felt on the other street with sketchy houses and big dogs. It could be nice to have actual neighbors.

This morning we all walked through the cute but small house so James could see it, then drove over to see this house. What a contrast! It's not huge, but it's a nice layout, and the basement is fully finished. It's listed as a 4 bedroom, but there are really only three that I'd consider bedrooms. The real clincher is the second bathroom downstairs and the price. The house we picked up a flier for has two bedrooms and 3/4 of a bath (shower, no tub) and a shelf basement for the same price. It has a newer roof and kitchen, but for our needs that doesn't compensate for the smaller house.

The back yard has three mature trees, one that looks great for climbing, and a nice-sized garden space. You can't tell very well in the photos, but the neighbors have an AMAZING garden. I wonder if they'd be willing to mentor us??

Tim was a little concerned that this was only the second house we'd looked at, but I've been watching real estate online for a couple years, so I know what houses generally cost and how much work a lower-cost house usually would need, even just cosmetically. But with this house, we wouldn't need to do anything before moving in. We'd want to repaint the pink bedroom, but that's really it. Everything else is lovely. I'd like to have a bigger dining space, but we will fit in the kitchen.

Anyway, we will know tomorrow night or Monday morning whether they accept our offer, and if all goes well we'll close by the end of October. It makes me giddy to think how low our mortgage will be compared to what we were willing to spend. And how we'll still have a good chunk of savings left over when we're done with all initial costs.

I keep reminding myself that they still have to accept our offer, and that this all may fall through pending inspection etc. I'm ok with that. There are other houses. And the next one might have a dining room. We're in no hurry, but this was too good to pass up. I'll keep you posted.

House update

So the house is under contract with another buyer. I wasn't overly confident we'd get it, but it was such a tantalizing option. The funny thing, though, is that I really really wanted it when it was available, but now that it's not, I'm not that upset about it.

We got preapproved from our lenders for $50K above our budget, so we do have some wiggle room if we can't find something we love in our price range. But there are plenty of homes in our price range, so I'm not concerned.

We're still not sure this is the time to buy, but we do have enough saved for a down payment. I guess we're in the more actively-looking phase.

Atticus quotes of the day

We had stake conference today at the Assembly Hall on Temple Square. We normally sit on the main level, but this time our friends were in the front row of the balcony, so we went up there. Atticus had never been up there and was enthralled. He saw the organ pipes up front and said, "Mom! It's like the kingdom of God!"

A few minutes later he leaned over and said, "Mom, Daddy has a superpower. Know what it is? The priesthood. The priesthood is a superpower. And when I'm older I'll have the EXACT SAME superpower." He was pretty excited.

Time to start manifesting?

So this house I've had my eye on is on the market. I used to visit teach the 80-year-old widow who raised 4 children in this house. When she died her granddaughter Patricia moved in, then Patricia's brother, and now they're ready to liquidate the estate. 

We've been saving toward a house, with plans to move next summer. We love our ward and feel settled here, but this neighborhood is overpriced for the size of the houses and lots. We've been looking at a certain section of Rose Park dubbed "Sugarhood" because it's the same age as Sugarhouse but it's on the wrong side of the freeway, so the houses cost $100K less.

Now this house shows up. And it's just within the high end of our price range. We might have enough for a down payment, but it will take all of our savings. I'd been planning to keep a $5,000 buffer in savings for emergencies, and that will take a long time to reaccumulate if we buy now.

The house needs some work, but it's move-in ready. According to Patricia, the floor under the tub needs to be reinforced, and the loft bedroom isn't heated. The plumbing is industrial grade and shouldn't be a problem. I don't know about electrical or the roof. We're going to make a low offer and see what they say.

PROS

It's in our ward, and we like it here

We like the school

It's cute

The back yard is big for this neighborhood

It has an established garden, and Patricia had chickens

It's fully fenced

CONS

It's small. Our sofa and love seat won't both fit in that living room.

It has only one bathroom in an awkward location--off the kitchen in the back of the house

It's on an alley street between an apartment parking lot and a condemned house

Atticus may be the only deacon in our ward

SO... all you veteran home buyers, I'd like your input. We can find a cute house with a good back yard and garden in Rose Park for $40,000 cheaper than they're asking for this house. Maybe even with 2 bathrooms and a finished basement. I know it's financially more prudent to wait until we've saved more money and are better prepared to buy. Sugarhood isn't a bad place to live. Cute streets with brick houses and sidewalks and trees and families.

But it's new. We'd have to reestablish ourselves there, make new friends, find our niche. There are more kids, but is that always a good thing? There were plenty of kids in American Fork, but that didn't guarantee a good experience for anyone.

I guess the trade off comes down to this: live where we like at the edge of our means or live where we *might* like below our means.

Do I start manifesting that they'll accept our offer?

First Days of School

Atticus and I couldn't decide which picture was our favorite, so I used both.

Atticus's first day of kindergarten was cowboy day. I think he looked mighty spiffy, and so did he. He was a little nervous on the way over, asking, "Is anyone else going to be in a cowboy costume?" I'll admit I had my doubts. But no worries, there were other hats and boots. He held tight to my hand until we got inside the classroom, but then I was no longer needed. I had to pry his attention away from the legos to get him to kiss me goodbye. 

His class is half day, but then he goes to a second class called Enrichment, where they have a theme for the week and more hands-on activities. When I came to pick him up, he begged to go to aftercare, like some other kids in his class do. No, sweetie, you have to come home with me. Sorry.

In our morning prayers we pray for Atticus to have a good day at school. The other day he told me I didn't need to pray for him anymore--he always has a great time at school.

I love picking him up and seeing his eyes light up as he tells me about his day. I think this school thing is going to work out for us.