The silver lining may actually be Northern Way....

Remember I said... "what a whirlwind" and "this is craziness" and "OMG, could this be any harder?".... (well, maybe I did not say the last thing out loud but I was saying it in my head... )

So, new day.... new story.....
Lance went to the inspection on Silver Place today and found out that because of expansive soil (called Bentonite) in this area, the house had basically "heaved" over the years and caused quite a lot of structural damage; to the brick on the front, to the driveway, garage and patio. While this is is quite common in this area, it is not something we are prepared to deal with and we feel it would significantly impair the resale value for us down the line. Yes, they likely would have fixed the problem and yes, it would have been on their dime but it was more than we were willing to deal with. So we rescinded our offer this evening. We had a 2nd house which we debated about on Thursday but it was more expensive. It also is move in ready (with the exception on my part of some painting which will happen before we move in)... it requires far less changes on our part and is also a great house. Truthfully, it was my #1 on Thursday but Lance was much more gung-ho on Silver Place. We went back to the house this afternoon and decided to put an offer on it. So, we have the same close date.... we have a slightly bigger mortgage payment.... we don't have to build a deck but we have a really lovely stone patio on the front and on the back... the year has better landscaping and does not require a fence... we still may finish the basement... we still have a great guest suite... the kids are still delighted and are still on track to start school as soon as we can.. but it will be at Superior ES until 5th grade then Eldorado K-8. I know this is a lot to digest but so be it... it's about par for the course for us and maybe 963 Northern Way is our silver lining... :)

I don't have any other pictures... If you look on realtor.com there are a bunch more but I did not take any today. I hope to go over there in the morning to see it and take some of my own photos. We're on a plane tomorrow at noon... back to VA by 5pm, I think...

More soon... keep your fingers crossed on this one!!

Photos of our Silver Lining...

(EDITED POST -- SEE ABOVE ABOUT INSPECTION AND NEW HOUSE ON NORTHERN WAY)

They say every cloud has a silver lining and while we've been through some serious craziness during these last seven months (to the day... Lance quit his job on February 4th) we still consider ourselves incredibly blessed...

Today, we signed the final contract to buy a house in Superior, CO. We came to terms very quickly with the current (and original) owners...both motivated buyers, as my agent says. The house is a lovely 4 bedroom/4 bath built in 1998 in a great planned community. We are delighted with everything about it -- it is absolutely move in ready but there are certainly things we will do to personalize. The kids got a tour of their new school today and they loved it. It is a K-8 so they'll both be there for a number of years. I was impressed and touched by the warmth and openness we were greeted with at the school. We happened to meet the PTO president who was very excited to meet me... (maybe I should not have mentioned the PTA president gig I just finished up...hahaha) We were so happy to see all the school-aged kids in the neighborhood and have even met the 4th grade girl next door. We have a playground just behind our house which is owned and maintained by the HOA therefore much nicer and bigger than anything we'd ever put in. I did promise the kids a trampoline so that may also add to the neighborhood fun!

We got a tour of Lance's new office the other day and it was unreal -- again, it seems like a great group of people. Kind, welcoming and warm... I know Lance is going to love to go to work there everyday and he still only has a "one-song" commute...

Needless to say, we are all delighted with the house, the school, the neighborhood and the town. Assuming I can survive my first winter, I think it's safe to say we have found a place to call home... (finally!)

Our Silver Lining....(hopefully)

We put in a contract on a house -- hopefully they'll sign it and we'll be on our way to Colorado. We asked to close on 10/2/09. We needed a couple of days from our closing on Hill Street, which is 9/29/09. We'll know more by 2pm tomorrow. I don't want to jinx anything by posting picture or the address but I'll be sure to show everyone as soon as it's final.
Suffice to say, the four of us are delighted and really hopeful that we'll get this house. It's perfect for us!

We woke up at 3:20am today...

and we survived!!

Arrive in Denver at 7:50am. Arrived in Louisville at 9:00 am. We had a great breakfast at the Huckleberry Cafe in downtown Louisville. We went to the Louisville park and enjoyed the great playground for almost an hour and then.... we went house-hunting for what seemed like hours!

We saw a few of the houses we already had seen and a few new ones. No slam-dunks but we're still hopeful. We need more houses to come on the market! The kids did absolutely great. Emily wanted every house with a girl-ish room, especially the one where she would have her own bathroom! Henry just wanted the good yard so we can get a trampoline!!

We're at the hotel now... and we're bushed... Later today, we'll focus on trying to figure out our next step. :)

Ahhh... progress!!!!

So, we have a ratified, signed contract... YEAH!!! Close date is September 29, 2009!

We leave on Wednesday for Colorado. We will stay through Sunday hoping to a find a great house. If we put in a contract on a house there, we'll aim to close soon after the 29th. Then we can go "house to house" and not have to move more than once. BUT, we will probably go ahead and get out there so the kids can get in school. We plan to make a learning experience and adventure of the drive west. Since we'll have Sadie with us, we won't fly. So we're going to hit some great National Parks, state capitols and more!! It's about 27 hours of drive time which we will likely split into 6 or 7 days!

Wow, this is really starting to get organized... FINALLY!!!

Update #2...

Contract #3 is not coming -- never was... the agent was too busy (or whatever) to call our agent back but we finally heard that they are not interested. They put in a contract on a townhouse somewhere... Oh well...

More contracts and more confusing...

Contract #1 done.... gone, the buyers don't want to buy the house after all.

Contract #2 still in the works, waiting to hear back on our counter to them.

Contract #3 this is a new one... people came yesterday, they need a house asap, they are ready to go, they were going back to their realtor's office to draw up the paperwork at 2pm yesterday and now, 1pm Sunday -- we have not heard back from them yet.

We were supposed to go to Colorado this week. We still hope to go. We will not finalize any plans or airline tickets until everything is certain.

As Tom Petty says.... the waiting is the hardest part!