I am so partied out! I can't even begin to tell you how many celebrations my husband, children, and I have attended, or will be attending over the course of two weeks. Don't get me wrong. I'm having the best time! Just tiring~especially with a one-year old. Up a bunch at night because we're off schedule.
Today, I'm actually going to do some whining--or, at least what I consider to be whining. You see, I'll be talking about something of very little importance in relation to many things in this world (God, family, health, life, world hunger, peace), but it's been bugging me nevertheless.
OK, here it is: My husband and I are in a conundrum. We need a bit more room in the house. Although we have, what I consider, an ample amount of square footage (over 2600), we don't have enough bedrooms (just four--three of which are very large). We need a minimum of five bedrooms and an office. (I know, "Oh, poor thing!")
So for the past several months, we've been getting estimates on a variety of scenarios:
1) Convert our gigantic attached garage to a bedroom, office, and family room (over 800 square feet for $37,000 not including permits, paint, or flooring), or
2) Convert the one-car garage to a bedroom and office (almost 300 square feet for $17,500), or
3) Convert the back part of the garage to an office with no direct access to the house (120 square feet for $7,000) or
4) A combination of #2 AND enclose our covered patio with mostly glass to take advantage of our killer view (over 500 square feet for $43,500) or
5) Enclose our patio into a sun room (with "pop and sizzle," as the sales rep claims) for $38,000 (just a total rip-off no matter how many sf are involved--240 to be exact), or, and this is the least desirable,
6) Do nothing. Reorganize with the space that we have now. Or just move out of the Master Bedroom, so the baby can have it all to herself.
Unfortunately, my husband is leaning heavily toward #6. I think it's the most prudent because we shouldn't do anything until we have all the money saved to do it, but--can I whine a bit more here--I need to move the baby out of my room! She's a light sleeper, so any movement or light awakens her. When she pulls herself up and sees me, she goes quite crazy and has a hard time self soothing. Meanwhile, I lay there with the covers pulled over my head, pretending that she doesn't see me (there you go, I really am an ostrich!), even in the dark. If my husband so much as breathes, I bop him on the arm. No reading before I fall asleep. No talking in the room. No flushing the toilet. No lights on after she's down. I have a new respect for people who don't have their sight because walking through my room and bathroom in the pitch black is like trying to get around without my glasses.
Am I whining enough here, or would you like to hear some more?
Anyway, we've been going around about this for at least six months. Then, yesterday, I saw this and the clouds parted and the angels started singing:
Price $549,900 (Look at this price!!!)Year Built: 2006
House size: 4,580 sq. feet (That's FOUR THOUSAND, FIVE HUNDRED EIGHTY whopping sq. ft.)Lot size: 190,357 sq. feet (Tons of room--OK, so most of it is dirt, but there's lots of it!)
Status: Active
Bedrooms: 6 (Would you look at that?! That's the equivalent of the number of bedrooms we need!)
Bathrooms: 3.00 (Yikes! This may not work. We're squeezed into 3.5 now--whine, whine, whine.)
Pool: N
Spa: N
View: Y
Type: Single Family Residence / detached
Property Description (See, it's literally shouting out to me to go see it.)
THIS 4580 SQ FOOT CUSTOM HOME IS BANK OWNED (that's a plus) AND NOT A SHORT SALE. THIS ONE IS READY FOR A NEW FAMILY NOW. 4.37 ACRES OF LAND FOR HORSES AND FUN (I like fun--remember all the parties we've been going to?). THIS 6BD / 3BA HAS A LARGE GOURMET KITCHEN (perfect for entertaining) AND FAMILY ROOM (perfect for people with, well, a family) WITH CUSTOM WOOD FLOORS THROUGHOUT AND WITH GREAT VIEWS OF THE MOUNTAINS AND VALLEY THIS IS A WINNER. THE BANK WANTS THIS ONE GONE NOW SO SUBMIT ALL OFFERS (that's all I need to hear--SOLD!).
Features
• Custom Built
• Ceiling Fan (Uh, just one?)
• Driveway (Yes, but it doesn't appear to be paved.)
• French Door (Can you have one French door--really?)
• Great Room
• Horse Property Improved
• Lot over 40,000 sq ft
• Main Floor Bedroom
• Main Floor Master Bedroom
• Recreational Vehicle Access/Parking
• Desert View (What desert--it's got my same zip code)
• Panoramic View
• Valley View
You notice that I didn't give you the MLS or parcel numbers. That's because this house is all MINE. It's MINE, I tell you. MINE, MINE, MINE! (Fade to maniacal laughter and wringing of hands.)
There's also one more teensy-weensy, little detail--I can't find it on any map. Well, my Thomas' Guide is out-dated. And you know as well as I that Mapquest can't find everything. OK, so maybe it's in the boonies off of miles of bumpy, washboard dirt roads. Listen, with over 4,500 square feet on over four acres, will I need to ever go anywhere else? I can grow my own food or just go to Costco once a year and store everything in the giant house (remember, it has a "LARGE gourmet kitchen"). The kids can go out and play for days on end and, as long as the mountain lions don't have them for dinner, they'll have space to endlessly explore.
The best part is that, with the price so low (and I bet I can get it for closer to $500K), we can keep the house we live in now and rent it out--even with the inevitable rise of our interest rate this summer. Heck, we can even sell ours in this rotten market and still be ahead (although I'd be a deadhead to do that).
I have to run. I need to go, um, feed the kids--another breakfast because they're darn hungry kids. Do you, by chance, remember the name of the post where I list my agent's number?
