The Big Reveal

I loved your comments! They were more fun than the post!

So many of you loved House #3, and so did we. We loved it even more when the price was dropped 25% from the original asking price! We thought for sure God was hooking us up with this house. But it was not to be. After some detective work on the part of our realtor, we found out why we never heard back on our offer. Someone definitely got hooked up, and it was definitely not us. The price was definitely dropped for a specific client. How could the house be placed on the market by the bank, without a lock box, and three days later have an accepted offer, when no one had seen the house? I am going to be nice and not answer the question directly. But Hubs and I agreed that if this was not the house for us, God must have something else for us. I really did not like the proximity to the stop sign, even if Hubs did like those trikes in the neighbor's yard.

House #2 seemed like a good fit for our family, but we just couldn't buy at the top of our price range in this economy.

Just when less houses were left on the market, and it seemed there was no house for the Farmers, House #1 hit the market. We were so sure it was the home for us. Sight unseen by either of us, we asked our realtors to draw up a contract for this bank owned home. But even before our offer was written, the house was suddenly in escrow. On a hope and a prayer that the house just might fall out of escrow, we pursued this house. Our realtors thought we were a bit nutty. We bugged our realtors like crazy, and like cray, they bugged the bank. And you know what? The other couple with the contract made the bank a wee bit mad. That was all we needed. The bank knew we wanted this home enough not to fuss. But the bank chose not to relist the home after the previous offer fell through, and dealt directly with us. We have had many people drive by, knock on our door, and peek in our windows. Had this house sold? After all, it was never relisted. Nope. It's ours.

Now, you can ask me any questions you want, and I will answer. No price questions, though. Our parents don't even ask questions like that!

House Hunters

I am just starting to get it. You miss me. You wonder what has happened to us. You don't care whether I finish blogging about Hawaii. Well I am gonna do it. You just wait and see. You are going to read the last of our adventures. HOWEVER, since you continue to be so good to me, I am going to interrupt the Farmers Say Aloha to Hawaii story and entertain you with some "House Hunters." The number one request these days is for pictures of our new home. Well, I am not gonna give them up until we play a little HGTV game.

You have seen the show, haven't you? Here are the top three homes that we considered, and we DID buy one. I am sitting inside one of these very homes right now. Now, if you are family or know which house I bought (which I don't think anyone besides family knows, but my memory may be clouded by moving boxes right now), DO NOT SQUASH THE FUN AND TELL PEOPLE WHICH HOME WE BOUGHT. Didn't I tell you I have a competitive spirit when it comes to fun and games? Now I am not going to add any doorbell sounds to this post and I am going to skip the whole Susan Whang hostess deal, because really people, I have boxes calling me before the kids wake up.

You must know that I never went inside any of these actual homes before we wrote a purchase contract. We had seen many similar to these when we were in California in June and July. We were not ready to buy until late in 2008, after we sold our home in Hawaii. Hubs made a few trips to California without me, and took a gazillion photos of each home, and emailed them to me. My mom said I was brave to have him buy a home without me standing in it. She was in Hawaii with me when Hubs was in California. My dad went with Hubs to look at some of these. My mom cracked me up because she said she could not let my dad choose a house without her. But this is not the first time Hubs and I have bought a home where he wrote a contract without me. I had faith he could do it again!

All three of these homes were bank owned foreclosures. All needed minor work.

Home #1

This home is located in a culdesac. It has only one neighbor to the right, and a very large lot size. A pool was started in the back yard. It has a tandem three car garage, and two full bathrooms and bedrooms downstairs. The previous owners did not finish the work to the home, and a lot of stone is stacked in crates in the back yard. The floor plan is very open, with many windows. This home was already in escrow when we looked at it. Many, many people wanted this house because it was priced really well for the lot size and number of square feet.

Home #2

This home has a very open and beautifully flowing floor plan. The back yard is large, and perfectly flat, and perfectly ready for a pool. My favorite feature of this home is a side courtyard from the interior of the home. One thing I told Hubs was that if we were moving to California I wanted a home with a courtyard. The home is well priced, but it is at the very top of our price range.

Home #3

This home is priced the best value for the dollar, square feet, and lot size. It has tropical landscaping, and views to the mountains. It sits on a wide and quiet street. It is upgraded throughout, and located in an area with no Mella Roos, unlike the other homes. Mella roos is a special tax in California. It is paid above and beyond property tax, and assessed for 20 years on new homes to build community parks, schools, and infrastructures. This is a very big deal in California! It is the second house from a stop sign, which could mean through traffic. A gorgeous stone wall surrounds the home on all sides, with custom lighting on the perimeter. There are trikes at the house next door. Maybe nice children live next door.

So you choose! Which house do you think the Farmers purchased?

Lost and Found

I found an old SD card to my camera. This was just before we left VA for HI. Do you know the girl in the glasses?