It's been a while since I've posted to my blog; just busy I guess. We finally took possession of the house last week. Getting through closing was a really pain in the neck but it finally got done. Now we (and by we I mean Gordon) are spending a lot of time doing work to make it move in ready. Last week, he got a lot of electrical work done so now the house won't be a fire hazard. He also got some new drywall in the laundry room. And now he's focusing on doing some ceiling insulation. That'll take a couple of weeks and then we'll have it painted and have the floors repaired and refinished. In between that, we'll make the pool ready for swimming.
All of this while we pack and move and get our Hercules house ready to rent!
I am thrilled with the house, but I hadn't been there for several weeks until we got the keys last Thursday. There's been some rain in between those two times and the weeds in the very large garden are about five feet tall! That's a lower priority than the house interior, obviously, but it is a mess. We spent the night there Thursday sleeping on the floor. It was so quiet! On Friday the refrigerator and other appliances arrived.
So it's a work in progress. But it's exciting.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
A new house!
So after several days of looking at homes in Sacramento, the offer we place on the first one we bid on was accepted yesterday! Woo-hoo! We have to get it inspected but assuming that it doesn't have some major strucutural issues, we'll close on the house in the beginning of May.
The house is in Fair Oaks, which is a suburb of Sacramento. It's about 15 miles from my office, so a bit of a commute, but the Fair Oaks location is great. It's only a mile from the American River and numerous trails for hiking and biking. It's also very close to Fair Oaks village, a cutesy little village with shops, restaurants etc. Because of the proximity to Fair Oaks village we're actually in walking distance to a pub! The house is on a half acre, so the yard is very big and includes a pool, two decks, and lots of trees. I honestly think there are camp sites out there! The garden does need work, but that doesn't have to be done before we move in. The house itself is very nice, four bedrooms and great living space. It sort of looks like a cabin. Also, even though it's close by stuff, the location feels pretty remote, so that adds to the cabin like feeling.
Once we close, Gordon is going to do a little internal work - mostly painting and new floors. Then we'll move in, do some cleanup on the house in Hercules and rent it. Once we're in, Gordon plans to work on the external stuff, making the garden a beautiful oasis and adding more sheds and workshops for himself.
We're really looking forward to it. It's a great house and garden and in a fabulous location!
The house is in Fair Oaks, which is a suburb of Sacramento. It's about 15 miles from my office, so a bit of a commute, but the Fair Oaks location is great. It's only a mile from the American River and numerous trails for hiking and biking. It's also very close to Fair Oaks village, a cutesy little village with shops, restaurants etc. Because of the proximity to Fair Oaks village we're actually in walking distance to a pub! The house is on a half acre, so the yard is very big and includes a pool, two decks, and lots of trees. I honestly think there are camp sites out there! The garden does need work, but that doesn't have to be done before we move in. The house itself is very nice, four bedrooms and great living space. It sort of looks like a cabin. Also, even though it's close by stuff, the location feels pretty remote, so that adds to the cabin like feeling.
Once we close, Gordon is going to do a little internal work - mostly painting and new floors. Then we'll move in, do some cleanup on the house in Hercules and rent it. Once we're in, Gordon plans to work on the external stuff, making the garden a beautiful oasis and adding more sheds and workshops for himself.
We're really looking forward to it. It's a great house and garden and in a fabulous location!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
House-hunting in Sacramento
So I am really getting settled in Sacramento and into a routine. I drive up Monday and back on Friday, go to the gym pretty much every day, and have taken some time to get to know the area. I almost know my way around! Sometimes I mess up my routine by going out of town to Southern California, or on vacation to Ireland, but mostly, I'm in a routine. However, being away from Gordon and Aisling during the week is getting old, so I'm looking forward to them moving up here. So it's time to get serious about buying a house. It should be easy, right? There are lots of houses for sale, and we have very stringent requirements - must have a pool, and must be within certain school boundaries. Not so easy!
So since we're serious about buying a house, a couple of weeks ago, Gordon and Aisling came up to Sacramento to spend the weekend. We went out looking at houses on Saturday with our real estate guy, Charles. We looked at lots of homes. A couple of interesting points. First, some houses were just trashed by the people who got foreclosed on. We saw some that had been covered in graffiti, on the inside, in every room! We saw others that had paint poured on the carpets in every single room. We've also seen every glass surface and toilet in the house just smashed up with a hammer.
But we did see a house that we loved, and we put a bid in on it. That was two weeks ago. The other thing we learned is that when there's a bank involved, it doesn't move too fast. One would think that the banks would be anxious to move the properties, but they don't seem to be too worried about responding fast. Oh well. So we went and looked at more homes this weekend. We might have to make two or three offers before we get a home! Stay tuned.
So since we're serious about buying a house, a couple of weeks ago, Gordon and Aisling came up to Sacramento to spend the weekend. We went out looking at houses on Saturday with our real estate guy, Charles. We looked at lots of homes. A couple of interesting points. First, some houses were just trashed by the people who got foreclosed on. We saw some that had been covered in graffiti, on the inside, in every room! We saw others that had paint poured on the carpets in every single room. We've also seen every glass surface and toilet in the house just smashed up with a hammer.
But we did see a house that we loved, and we put a bid in on it. That was two weeks ago. The other thing we learned is that when there's a bank involved, it doesn't move too fast. One would think that the banks would be anxious to move the properties, but they don't seem to be too worried about responding fast. Oh well. So we went and looked at more homes this weekend. We might have to make two or three offers before we get a home! Stay tuned.
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Gordon & Helen in Crete
