THE house update that's a year in the making
We sold our last house, the Stanley 90's Reno, last fall/winter because of an opportunity to buy a large, historic home a block from my parents, for sale by owner (FSBO), a neighbor my parents knew. I shared more about that here, and about our frustration with our options here. However, it didn't work out anywhere near the timeline we were hoping and we ended up living with my parents for 4 months, then moving to a 1-bedroom apartment also right nearby but very small, for another 4 months. The seller just wasn't ready and decided to put the house on the market after doing some repairs, rather than selling to us.
We house-hunted. We almost won as the backup offer on a small ranch house close to the neighborhood we want, but the listing agent was sketchy and we lost out. We have looked at LOTS of houses since, ranging hugely in price and features, as we considered our options. We decided that location was most important--the neighborhood we want is small and close to downtown, and not a lot of homes come up for sale but when they do they are popular. But we decided to hold out for something right around here, close to my parents and this area we love.
Then, on the day we brought Otto home from the hospital, we got a text from the seller of the FSBO house. Were we still interested, or had we found a house? They wanted to accept our previous offer if the former, and wanted to sell in June.
CUE ALL THE SURPRISE EMOJIS.
We were very overwhelmed with having a brand new baby at home and going into Jason's PT school finals week, and it had felt good to not be moving and house-shopping much, AND the interest rates have gone up a lot since our offer last fall so the house would be more expensive each month... but eventually we processed everything and decided we have to go for it and try to buy this house.
Cue realization--now we have to actually do it!!
We met with the seller several more times to walk through the house again and talk over the contract, and had a couple hiccups like an issue with the oil tank he's decommissioning, but things are worked out now. Well, except the inspection. If anything really big comes up in the inspection (besides the roof, which we know about, have quotes for, and are getting a credit for from the seller), we might not be able to cover it. But fingers crossed that all the issues are minor enough.
We will have years of projects ahead of us but this house could be really amazing. I can't wait to do a full video before tour like I did on our last house, and take before photos, and get started with painting and simple updates!!!!! Until then, here are some photos.
Turret breakfast nook!
With built-ins.
Large formal dining room with original light fixture.
Oh, I have so much to share, and do, and plan... later! Oh, btw--this home is a 1936 Tudor revival style home, and it's going to be the Stanley Tudor Revived project! And #StanleyTudorrevived on Instagram.
Cannot wait!!
Hope you'll follow along with real-time updates on my Instagram and bigger news here. And, I'll be sharing more on the Your Home Story podcast each week on my updates.
If you know of any great resources for historic home inspiration, or follow any others with older homes (or homes with a LOT of yard work to clean up!), comment below, I'd love to see!
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