So, it seems that I launched the blog when we were in the middle of some already-made progress, so I want to backtrack a couple of steps--and tell our story.
Ben and I moved back to Portland after a couple years in New York, where we got our Master's degrees in Non-Profit Management at the New School (Ben), and Library and Information Science at Pratt (me). While we loved New York, we did want to come back to the Northwest, because it's home after all--our family and many friends are here and we thought it would make so much more sense to 'settle down' here. Not to mention the fact that our dream to buy a home would not easily be (financially) realized over in New York City!
We moved back to Portland about the time we got married (last summer), and set about finding jobs and saving for a down payment on a house.
Ben and I have been renters throughout our adult life, and there's an easy comfort to that--if the faucet is busted, or some other little thing happens, you go to the phone, not the hardware store. There's a freedom in the knowledge that you could legally pack up and move pretty much any time (especially in a month-to-month lease). It's nice to feel like you've just got a roof over your head and not worry about an investment....
Well, that's been working great for many years, however, Ben's always had the 'dream of home ownership', and I admit, I've come around to it in a big way. The idea that the rent I pay every month is something I'll never see again, is a bit irksome (of course mortgage payments no longer have the guarantee that I'll see my money returned, but you get the idea)--the investment end of it starts to make more sense. Also, the current real estate market is very seductive to new home buyers nowadays.
So, we went to the Portland Housing Center for an all day new home buyer class on Saturday back in March (or was it April?), and tried to educate ourselves as best we could about what it takes to get a mortgage, the pitfalls and other things to be aware of--like wrapping our mind around what escrow is, and so on. Ben's line of work (housing developer for a local non-profit affordable housing organization) lends him some background on real estate generally, but this is really new territory for us both. We were reading articles and books--anything we could get our hands on about current interest rates and the tax incentives, etc.
We contacted Gary Slac, who became our realtor. Gary was great, he patiently took us around to many many houses, and answered all our questions. On our first day out, we found a house we were really excited about--and we put down an offer! We thought the stars were in line on that one, but it turned out not to be. But, as they say, things seem to work out for a reason, and while I was pretty attached to this house at first look, I haven't looked back.
Our next offer was on a house down in the Sellwood neighborhood. Sellwood, for non-Portlander readers, is a very nice area--great schools, cutesy antique shops and quaint cafes and some gorgeous homes. The problem is, it's quite far to the south side of Portland, and both Ben and my commutes would have gotten quiet a bit longer. Now, they're planning to put in a lightrail in a couple of years, which will make the neighborhood far more accessible, so we were willing to roll with it, and just get over the extra commute time, but we knew most of our friends would rarely make the trek out (everyone's so used to living in about a 15 block radius, we would have been labeled outcasts and shunned).
This was a charming house, 110 years old, but thoroughly updated throughout. The neighborhood was great, but we were right next to a closed down garage (which we weren't sure what would be replacing it), and a busy street. The pros has yet outweighed the cons though, and we put in an offer, which was accepted!! The next step was to find a good inspector, and get the all clear. Wayne was our inspector, and he was fabulous! He was so thorough, and great to work with. He also took it in good stride when practically our entire family showed up to watch the inspection! Ben's Step Dad, Kim, a city code inspector, helped with the inspection as well, and promised to be less forgiving than anyone (objectivity is fine for other people, but we want to know if we should actually buy this house!). About 4 hours into it (yes, it was a long one!), I just felt my stomach sinking deeper and deeper, and the walls felt like they were closing in on me. It was just one thing after another--but it was structural problems--something that sounded very scary and expensive to fix. It was a darling home, but with this new information, it started to look less and less like home.We retracted our offer, and I know we'd done the right thing, when I felt like a weight had been lifted.
Gary mentioned a price reduction in a house we'd seen already. We'd looked at the house originally about 2 weeks before. I'd written it off, because it was toward the top of our price range, and my god, it needed a lot of work. The neighborhood was perfect, in the Alberta area, right by great restaurants, cafes, galleries, and about 3 blocks from the Kennedy School--a beloved old elementary school-turned beer brewery. Ben's commute would be about a 10 minute bike ride, and I would only have to take one bus to get downtown to work. The problem was--I was terrified of the knob and tube wiring, the huge gas tank in the basement, and the furnace! Wow, the furnace looked like something Freddy Kruger sleeps in. It's a giant octopus cast-iron monster called Hercules, with asbestos-covered ducting everywhere--and should basically be its own character in a 1950's Sci-Fi movie. The wood paneling and low ceilings made it feel dark on the main floor, and the utilities were are funny, you had to walk around the fridge to get out the door and skirt by the washing machine to get to the back porch enclosed area. It was downright old, quirky, and weird--I'd written it off as being too much of a project for the price. Now that the price was reduced, though...
We went and had another look. This time, after our experience with the previous place, we felt a little wiser. We decided that we wanted a house with 'good bones' (unlike the last one), and that if the interiors needed some redoing, that was something we could do. A bit of paint here, moving the fridge, taking down that awful paneling, and viola! We'll be much happier with the look of it, and the important thing was the feel of it.
This house had been in the same family for more than 50 years. The owners, who'd gotten old and recently passed away, raised 5 children there. It's got a good family vibe to it--it's not something that was dolled up to flip for a profit. The grown children had genuine remorse in parting with the place, and were very reasonable and helpful during the sale. They agreed to do some pretty significant repairs, including a new sewer main, some plumbing updates, and a new circuit box (still connected to some knob and tube, but we'll get to that!).
The inspection went pretty well this time. Wayne, thorough as every, with the family on his heels, gave it a good going through. We didn't have any illusions that it would be a clean bill of health--it's a hundred years old, after all--but this time we had a better idea of what we were willing to put up with, and we were going to fight for this house. As Wayne listed off issue after issue, I just smiled and said, 'okay, sure, we'll fix that', and felt fine about it.
What followed was the long process of waiting for approval of the loan, and the business of closing. Our mortgage company went through our financial lives with a fine tooth comb. Due to an IRS glitch, the mortgage insurance company couldn't access some of my old tax filings (they'd changed my filing name retroactively to my married name before I was married...?) and that held up closing for about 3 or 4 more days. After such a long, excruciating process, I declare that I don't want to buy another house again for a very long time. Our team was great though--Jan from Eagle Home Mortgage was fabulous--answered all our questions, and Gary was patient and wonderful to be around. So,even though it was a long road, we were so lucky to have good people with us along the way.
Ben picked me up from work on a Monday night, and drove me to the house on the first night we got the keys. We got a pizza from Hot Lips, and ate out in the back yard with a bottle of champagne. I must say, it was a wonderful experience to be in the house--just the two of us! And while we saw lots of projects to be done, it felt like home, and there was a lot of giggling and 'I can't believe we have a house!' moments. The yard is paradise too, so it's a nice place to eat and relax (especially when plaster dust is filling the air inside!).
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