adventures in real estate

Buying a house basically feels like scraping up every penny you’ve ever earned and giving it to a stranger. In return a bank tells you a bunch of crazy things you’re supposed to understand, make you sign things, you hear some more crazy things, you wait and stress, you cry a lot because there’s random hidden fees you’re afraid you won’t be able to find the money for, and then finally you have a house. Then, everything in the house breaks, but you’ve already given away all your pennies so it’s handwashing your unmentionables from here on out. It’s nothing like those HGTV shows where they walk around and then bam! let’s get this one! ok rad! Not one bit.

But, despite all the crazy stress of getting here, I adore our new house. It was built in 1836 and it’s ghosty and good. We closed today and it’s pretty unbelievable that 7 months ago moving to Vermont was a random whim triggered by a particularly annoying work day. Things fell into place pretty rapidly & fairly magically to get us here, but in the 5 months since we’d been here it’s been touch and go at every turn. I hope this turns a corner for us & the Green Mountains start serving up some extra magic.

& now, off to order this address stamp from Linea Carta. I just got an email with a 15% off code (iloveyou) and figure it’s fortuitous.

(Let the renovations begin!)

 

33 Comments

  1. so awesome! i’m sure it will be worth it, plus you will make it so lovely & your home.

    i really want an address stamp, too–but have no ‘permanent’ feeling home yet. lucky!

  2. Oh, congratulation! The home-buying processes was the dumbest thing I’ve ever done and it wasn’t nearly as ridiculous as yours. But then it’s all over and, hey!, house! Your home looks perfectly amazing and magical. I’m totally jealous of the ghosts.

  3. hooray! congrats to you + sean! i dream big dreams of house ownership one day. i know its a lot of work, but its YOURS, and not just funneling rent money to pay someone elses mortgage forever and ever.

    i really love the little wrought iron edging around that top window. still there?

  4. Wonderful! Wonderful!

    P.S. After spending every last cent we had on our house we got a Home Depot credit card. I hate credit cards with a passion but 0% on any purchase over $200 was a life saver. It meant we were able to give ourselves some comforts we would have had to put off for a long time. (Although your house has at least semi working toilets and heat to start your ownership tenure so you probably do not need that…)

  5. congrats that is so awesome! i hope you share some of your remodeling adventures. It looks like the kind of place I would imagine you in too. So exciting!

  6. Love love love love!!!!!
    I am so happy for you!!
    I love when the Universe just decides that it is the right time for some particular awesome thing RIGHT NOW and it all happens like sliding down a luge at terrifying speeds.

    That’s much like our house-buying experience too. “OH BY THE WAY YOU HAVE TO GET RID OF 5 CATS RIGHT NOW OR GET KICKED OUT AND NOBODY WANTS YOU TO RENT FROM THEM WITH ALL 7 CATS SO YOU HAVE TO BUY A HOUSE GET READY” and then a bunch of madness for six months and now somebody will rip up our floors for a week and then we move. Wait, a WEEK? A week and a half. Zomg.

    I am so excited you have the perfect house and the perfect job in the perfect state! You wanted this stuff for so long!!!

    1. I want 7 cats. Yay house for you too! Where is it?

      It’s great here, but realistically, nothing’s perfect! The house needs work, the job is a long commute and very hectic, the state is sans good food and very lonely and also cold. But summer will come soon and my family is close and the mountains are beautiful. We’re glad we moved!

  7. Magic! Oh – it is. Sometimes we can’t see the magic until we’re looking backwards. But it’s there. Because you have a house! In your HOME. Congratulations and SO MUCH JOY for you both.

  8. YES! YES! YES!
    Oh my stars, I’m so happy for you guys!
    This is good. This is very, very good!

    I know what you mean, for real – in so many ways.
    Man oh man, do I ever…

    But! I think we might have a new spot, a new house,
    and something that makes more sense, really soon!

    I knew I held out on ordering those address stamps for a reason…!
    besos + mazel tov to you dearies.
    lovelovelove.
    A.

  9. How lucky you are to have these amazing pictures of your home! I love the little balcony up there. Do you have radiator heat? We live in an old house (1905) and the biggest adjustment was getting used to the radiators and slathering myself in moisturizer morning, noon, and night.

    I can’t wait to hear more about the move and the renovations.

  10. This is super wonderful news! Old houses are worth all of the love and care they need, and really are mostly an exceptional and complicated freedom. I’m so happy for you both!

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