Ok, let's see...I will start with our arrival on Friday night.
Good God, no one should ever stay at the Holiday Inn in "Hudson". It isn't actually in Hudson, OH, it is in Boston Heights and let me tell you...it is a dump! We were supposed to stay there for 4 nights, but right after we checked in it became very clear that that would NOT be happening. (and we are not picky...used to sleeping anywhere cheap in Europe) There was no breakfast, the internet didn't work, no elevator (glad I'm not super huge!), and it smelled like a mixture of about 5 different scented air fresheners in the lobby and all halls. Brian could barely get online to his company site to cancel the reservation and move us somewhere else. We had to stay one night because we'd already checked in, but now we are MUCH happier at a Hampton Inn in Stow....beautiful rooms, free breakfast, and great internet (wired and wireless) and even cookies in the lobby after 3:00 pm!
Now to the house hunt business.... After arriving it became VERY clear that renting a house basically isn't an option. The only houses that are available were built long ago and are geared a lot more toward college kids in the Kent area than for families. In addition, no one finds short-term with kitties appealing. So, that was scratched pretty quickly. Apartments also are tough to come by. Yes, there are plenty of apartments, but none that are big enough, do short-term leases, and allow cats. Our curent "carriage house" apartment is big by apartment standards and we BARELY fit. And that is only because it has an "eat-in" kitchen allowing us to use the dining room as office space. So, apartments are out unless we want to rent an additional storage space.
On Saturday we looked at a lot of condos and townhouse style places with a few "cluster homes" thrown in also. After about 15 properties, there was only 1 that was very appealing. It was in a great area and the price seemed great......
Pat, Leslie, Scott and Mary drove down to meet us for dinner (I was
starving....no lunch break, even for the pregnant lady...thank goodness I had some snack bars in my purse!) At dinner, Brian got a call from our realtor and the one house that we really liked was under contract....awesome. However, we noticed that the house next door was "for sale by owner", so we went back by and Brian knocked on the door to see if we could take a look. They asked for 10 minutes to get their 2 kids in the basement watching a movie and to pick up a little bit, but then we saw it...it is great! They are asking more money than the one right next door, but it has 4 bedrooms instead of 3 and a completely finished basement...and has a great deck, with a patio adjacent that has great lake views. The decor is great and there are built-ins that flank the fireplace in the family room. The family is super nice and weren't scared off by our sooner-than-normal timeline. They are just planning to move into a neighboring community. Anyway, our spirits were lifted!
Sunday, we drove around on our own and went by a few new listings that our realtor was planning on taking us to today. They were all either "cluster homes" (smaller lots with a montly fee to cover trash and snow removal) or homes. Some looked appealing, but it is tough without going inside. Brian's good friend Matt, and his wife Ann had us over for dinner last night so we were treated to a wonderful meal and great company. Thank goodness they were also willing to lend us a jacket and sweatshirt....we did not look at the weather prior to our trip and it is chilly.....now I know....ALWAYS bring a jacket to Ohio...I don't care if it is May!
That brings us to today. We messed around with getting pre-approved for a loan before our realtor picked us up at noon for another afternoon of "hunting". Brian's computer was also invaded by little bugs...literally graphic little bugs were crawling on his business computer screen and he got messages that there were severe problems...awesome. Thank goodness his company has great tech support and can take over the computer to get it fixed. (It is still being "immunized" right now.)
We are back from the final hunt and although the very last property we looked at was very nice, Brian and I both still feel that the for-sale-by-owner home is the best for us. We are going back over there tonight to take another look and talk to them more. So, fingers crossed that everything will all work out. It is so hard to figure out what to offer in a market like this. We don't want to insult them, but we also want a good deal ourselves. Since our realtor didn't show us the property, there are no realtors involved. Hopefully this will help with our bargaining position to let that factor help both of us out. We should know more after our second time going through tonight.....fingers crossed.
So, that is all I have to report. Probably more than you care to know, but we are hopeful to be in a very nice place in June. It will be great for us, the baby, and even guests! We will likely stay there for at least a year unless Brian's commute becomes too ridiculous (depending on where he ends up) or if they really pull a fast one and move us to a different state (that is not likely...thank goodness). We are extremely thankful that Brian's company pays for his car and his gas and I am thankful for a husband that is willing to spend a lot of time in the car so we can feel more settled and finally put down a few roots....at least for a while.
All for now. Love and hugs.....
I don't think anyone could deny that one thing Brian and I are good at is moving. Not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. When I say that, the last handful have been assisted by professionals, so we are not claiming to be awesome at it completely by ourselves, but there is definitely a method to moving madness and organization is key...and I personally believe that lots of plastic Rubbermaid/Sterilite totes help too. It never ceases to amaze me that as hard as we try to tell moving companies that we have more stuff that it appears to the naked eye, all of the time estimates are always too low. It took the packers 2 hours longer than they thought, and it took the loaders 4 hours longer. What can I say, we have giant man's furniture...and lots of stuff. (It was the same way in Germany, too.)
My mom came to Virginia on Saturday and helped get things further organized and really prevented me from trying to do too much. Brian was still going to meetings and had to go into hospitals through yesterday so the extra set of eyes was very helpful.
After my long Dr. appt., the loaders were still at the house, but only had about another hour to go. We'd already loaded up our cars and after a brief photo shoot in an empty apartment, we got the kitties loaded into my car and mom and I headed south around 5:00 pm. We arrived at my parent's house at 3:05 am, safe and sound. I had a hard time leaving Brian, knowing he is going to be all by himself in a hotel for a while. He'll head this way for wedding festivities next week, and then we'll drive up to Ohio with our entire little family.
Ours was on the far left...bottom section only.