Keep your fingers crossed for us!
Hubby and I have just crossed a huge hurdle- we have put in an offer on OUR FIRST HOUSE!!!! HOORAY!!! I'm really excited- it's a lovely victorian home built in 1885, in a beautiful rivertown south of the twin cities metro area. The town has everything we could want- small town charm, with all the MODERN convieniences (including the all important Target and grocery store!) The house itself need some TLC- we'll need to fix the floors, there's no garage, the kitchen needs cabinets, and there's no bathtub.... But for the price, we knew we'd be getting a fixer-upper. Anyways- I just wanted everyone to cross their fingers for us- here's hoping the accept our offer! One step closer to bringing the OES home!!!!! Karen  |
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| It sounds lovely, Karen! I'll definitely be keeping my fingers and toes crossed for you!
Good Luck!!  |
How fabulous! My friend live in Shoreview Minn and she took me driving along the river the last time I went to visit - can't remember the name of the town we stopped in but it had really beautiful old buildings, cute shops and great fudge  All fingers and paws crossed for your new home! |
| that's so awesome!! You already know I am thrilled for you guys!!! WHAT A WONDERFUL FEELing. I hope you take some pics and show us/me if things go well. I'm sure things will work out for the best. I'll keep you in my thoughts. Yuki is having trouble crossing her paws, but she's trying too! |
| Good luck! |
Yea  First home jitters...hope you get it. I LOVE the looks of old victorian homes I am so jealous.
So when do you find out? |
| I am so jealous. I have always wanted a Victorian...
I hope they accept the offer. If you have any questions about the process I am a Real Estate Agent and would be happy to offer you advice. Good Luck!!! Elissa |
| Congradulations!!!! Im jealous that you have a real historic home!!! Ours is considered a historic home (1944) but we're in phoenix and it doesnt get too much older than that....My mom thought it was kind of a slap in her face, She was born in 1943 Oh well, I hope you find some really cool memento's from the past...If you need help with the kitchen or bath, I can help with that....Im a kitchen and bath designer....yeah for you!!!! |
| It's sounds wonderful! All paws are crossed |
| Way to go, Karen! Keeping all this crossable crossed for you and Mike! Looking forward to hearing the good news soon.
Chris |
| Hi,
It sounds beautiful!! Best of luck with it! I've always wanted to live in a Victorian home..perhaps my wish will come true some day. The way you've described yours it sounds just perfect for you. Keep us updated! Marianne and the boys |
| Good luck! It sounds wonderful! |
| Good Luck!!!
Hopefully you'll hear good news soon!!! |
| Fingers and hooves crossed! No bathtub--no problem as long as you have a shower. You could always build a garage. The big question--is there a fenced in yard for the sheepies????? Let us know as soon as you hear anything. |
| Thanks guys! Your support means a lot! We're really nervous right now, as we wait to hear from our agent as to whether they'll accept our offer. We hope to hear sometime this week.
There's no fence in the yard yet- but that is easily remedied- I'm thinking a pretty cast iron fence would be just the thing! Unfortunately, a lot of the exterior victorian elements have been stripped off of the home, so it doesn't much look like a victorian from the outside right now. Here's a pic of the outside 
Luckily, our town has a historical preservation ummm... thingy (great desciption huh) where they help home owners restore their houses. So we're hoping to be a part of that, and restore the outside to look like a victorian home again! We'll redo the porch, put casings around the windows, maybe put up some running trim, etc. Anyone have any brilliant ideas for cheap kitchen cabinets and countertops? There are almost NO cabinets in the kitchen, and I need them really badly- I use my kitchen all of the time! Our budget is really tight, but any ideas/help would be great! Anyhow- thanks for all of the support everybody! I'll keep you updated once we hear anything. (Soon, soon, soon! I can't wait!!!) Karen |
| Great news Karen , I hope everything works out for you guys Just watch the TLC channel for all those home renovations shows and I'm sure you'll get a few ideas. Can't wait to see some pics .
Uncle Pete |
| Looks like they just approved your picture because it's in the photo album now. I LOVE it!!!! Keep us updated. I think it's kind of romantic to have something like "renovating" a house to do together with your husband. At least that's something we had thought about doing. |
| Karen,
Don't let your agent be lazy! Call your agent to find out what's going on. If you are really interested in this house, you will need to push your agent. Some are so lazy and sit with contracts for days and days and some do this to see if other offers come in. Ask your agent to call the listing agent and find out what is the status of the offer. You should have a response in 24 hrs whether or not they accept or give you a counter offer. Good Luck! I know when I bought this house I had to use a local agent, so I referred myself to a very good agent. I still had to get on her case to get things done. When we were in the negotiation stage I was on the phone with her every couple of hours to see what was going on. I guess I was a bit of a pain in the ass, but being an agent myself I know how some on them can be. Here I sit one year later in my Money Pit!! lol The only house we made an offer on. My house is nowhere near done, but we do like it a lot!! Elissa |
| How exciting!!! And it looks just lovey. GOOD LUCK!!! |
| Karen, How cheap do you want to go? I have a few questions:
1. Is this a long time investment? 2. Is there a specific look you want? If this is a 2 yr flip, put in cheaper cabinets, but if this is at least a 5 yr investment, put better quality cabinets in....You will get to enjoy the better quality and it will still sell the house if you do the kitchen well!! To remodel a kitchen is about the price of a car...yugo to mercedes....depending on the size...an average kitchen remodel is about $20,000.00 that includes cabinets, counters, labor, but does not neccesarily include plumbing or electrical.... Oak cabinets are the least expensive, but are not to popular in individual homes, they seem to be more prevelant in subs....Maple is next in line, followed by cherry...painted white cab's are up there too, due to the fact that they are doing several processes to them(not just painting). One last bit of info...according to the kitchen and bath ass. the retail value of the cabinets should be between 7% to 10% of the retail value of your home...If you want to email me dimensions, Id be more than happy to get you a floor plan that you can take to different cabinet dealers..I'll give you a list of exact parts and pieces, so if you get three bids, they wil all be apples to apples.... |
Well- We just received a counteroffer. They're willing to pay our closing costs, but they want the amount added on to our purchase price. Which is fine with us- it's basically like financing the closing costs in the loan, which is what we had wanted to do from the beginning. (We're getting a 100% financed loan- so we can use the money we've saved up to start the renovations) We're countering with a later closing date though- if we can push it back 1 month, we'll only have to pay overlap for house payment and rent for October- which would be a huge help to our budget. Our agent's been great, very prompt. We just feel sooo lucky to have found this home in this area! The price is just about unheard of in the area- 50K less than the average!  It was just waiting for us!!!
Happy dance! Karen |
| Yay Karen! Great news! Good luck on your counter. I'm sure they'll got for the later closing date if you're giving them the price they want. |
Thanks for the info Darcy! You must have been posting at the same time I did! 20K though... that's way way way out of our price range, by like 10 times  . I have to be realistic- We're keeping this house, I'm looking long term. But I also have to be utilitarian. Right now the prioirty is to actually get cabinets in- I can always get big gorgeous cherry cabinets with crown moulding and spice racks (those are my dream cabinets!) later- but right now I just need SOMETHING, as there are none, with the exception of the kitchen sink cabinet in there  I can afford maybe 2,000 right now. You can see why it is an issue! We have to tear up the floor and put new sub floors in, then we're gonna lay laminate on top of that- that'll be about 600$ if I can find laminate on sale- the kitchen is 13'X13' square. We also need a dishwasher, and a new lighting fixture. Not to mention all of the other things that need help in the house!
Like I said its a little gem of a house- but right now it is DEFINITELY a diamond in the rough! Right now, I have a feeling I'm gonna be scrounging at salvage yards or spending hours putting together "ready to assemble" cabinets! Does anyone wanna share their "first time house" stories? Karen |
| Karen, the cheapest cabinets around are home depots: Mills Pride...you have to put them together yourself..but thats why you save the $$...Just remember your goal....If you want cherry cabinets and granite tops...do the cabinets first, then save for the counters...once granite goes on, its really hard to pop it off...start from the bottom up...I am excited for you...like I said our house is "historic" ha (1944)...We bought it and the kitchen looked good...........BUT.....after we moved in and started using the kitchen we found that the previous owner had puttied termite damage and repainted the cabinets...they are falling down around us...typical plumber with the leaky faucet ordeal...I have the kitchen all planned out, then Brian puts his 2cents in....he wants to have an old coke metal thing as a hood...yuck....I want a nice old fashion kitchen with shelves above the stove...We have too much of Brians collectables...3 juteboxes, budweiser lamp, slot machine, old radios(12) etc....Its really too much to decorate around all of that...SO, none of that is going in my new kitchen when it gets done!!!The foot is down!! |
| Thanks for the tip! I'll go check those out! Luckily there is a H.D. close to us! I'm thinking I might be able to put in a granite tile countertop- by purchsing the tiles and stain resistant grout and putting it in myself... I'll have those cabinets yet!
Now if they'll just accept our offer... Karen |
| Fingers are crossed for you!! |
| Good Luck! I'm so excited for you! |
| Think happy thoughts!! Keep us posted.
Chris |
| Hope it works out. What a cute house! |
| Between Darcy for kitchen advice and the home repair forum here, you can do everything yourselves and save a bundle o' cash. This forum is a wealth of info. Have you heard anything yet? |
| YEAH!!!! We had a call when we got home from a movie last night! They have ACCEPTED OUR OFFER!!! Hooray!!! I feel like kermit the frog- throwing my hands up in the air with glee!! We're just so excited! We sign the paperwork this morning, and we close in August! Looks like it is time to break out the packing boxes!!! Thanks for all your well wishes guys- it's meant so much to have your support
Karen |
| Woo Hoo!!!
See you on the repair forum!! 
jil |
| Congratulations !!
Best Wishes, Enjoy your new home !!! ( Sheepies just love to pack and unpack!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) |
| YIPPPPPEEEE
That's great news, Karen!! What a cute house and a fun project, too. Now, can we start the countdown until the sheepie arrives? |
Congratulations! How exciting! Your first home!  How much fun you'll have remodeling! Please post lots of before/after pics so we can enjoy the project with you!
Chris |
| Yeah Karen!!!!!!!!!! Have fun with it and dont let it overwhelm you.....Dont forget to have him carry you over the threshhold!!! |
| Woo hoo!!! Congrats! |
| Congratulations on your new home |
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Karen, I am so happy for you! Congrats!!! Elissa |
| This is exciting...I am sending all my hugs and popping the champange cork in celebration.
One step at a time with reno's, we are finally getting the laminante in the living room, but since Madelyn wrecked her bedroom carpet (master bedroom nonetheless)...we decided to add to the job. It's costing us $4000 to do...and my Bro inlaw is installing it for free. The sq ft is not alot, i just picked top quality stuff...we are looking long term, and selling feature. Darcy: Question about counter tops. We have a green laminated countertop...it still in great shape overall, and we don't need to replace it yet. But our kitchen could use space to have the kids sit at the counter to eat, but our counter has no over hang. We haven't bought any stools either. I can't find the same print to make an exact match (we are 3rd owners to this house, 9 yrs old). 1. Should I find as close as possible? 2. Should we make an extension that comes below the counter top with shelving bracket supports...wrought iron scroll. 3. Or make pretty glass blocks sit on the counter top, with the eating counter higher...does this make sense? We either have to go higher or lower, with a different pattern. If it isn't to expensive we "might" be able to relaminate the entire counter. That would be my preference, but can't see it happening. I also want to put french doors from the kitchen to the deck, instead of the storm door we have. Then tile the floor. |
| Daisie, I would not try to match the existing ct's .. I would go for something that is complimentry, but not the same...it will look like you added and couldnt match...I dont know what color green you have, but if you find one in a matrix pattern or a granite style that blends with your solid? green that should work great....I also would put the ct lower, especially if you are planning to redo in the future...it will be easier..Id only go for the glass block look if you have a contemporary look..lower will be nice because it will be table height, and maybe you can get away w/o buying new stools, just use chairs...some colors that may work are:
1. Formica Ubatuba granite 7733-58 2. Formica Jasper Envision 7499-58 3. Formica Forrest Terra 7219-58 Of course it depends on the color green that you have and if it is a solid color...Do opposite of what you have...Solid color kitchen decks, do pattern on bar....pattern on kitchen decks, so a solid on the bar...I hope this helps...laminate cts run about $26.00 to $45.00 per linear foot installed..... |
| I want to look those up...who is the manufacture, is their a website I can see. That's been my problem is finding a nice match, I can't take my counter to match so I've been bringing samples home. I suppose I could peel off a piece by the stove and reglue it, it would save me alot of time.
I have a pale cream counter tops in the bathrooms with the same cabinets. The green is a med green with flecks in it, but overall a solid color green. I suppose I'd call it pale leaf green. It is not in the moss green colors, nor a dark emerald green. We have bleeched cabinets. I've been adding black acessories, and want a black granite look for the countertop, with a neutral beige tile on the floor. I want it more modern, with a clasic enough look you could add old things in it. Since I can still add to this post: I found some samples, I also found one that is similar ins tyle and perhaps color to ours. http://www.royalhomes.com/options/count ... 60-58.html See picture: FogDust 1816-58 Forest Terra looks like a darker version of our counter. Since the dogs get the kitchen it would be handy to have stools to keep the kids out of their zone. And it would help tremendously for company, since our dining table shares the space. Suprisingly it has what I want to change it to the Butterrum Granite, looks perfect with our cabinets. I also liked the Jamocha Granite, but when I imagine the entire counter with it, it's pretty dark for the small space, where the Butterrum, feels like a nice fit. I always bring home at least 4 little samples and then lay them out in a bigger square. |
| I think fogdust is pretty grey...is that what you want? Dont pull off a piece from your existing tops!!! they make small samples and they are free...grab as many as you think may work...when you get home, you may disregard several right away, but some may stand out, then ask to see larger samples, they should have them....go from there!! |
| The butterrum granite is beautiful ...it looks very realistic!!! they now have it in etchings finish, where it has pits, just like real granite...that stuff runs about $50.00 per linear foot installed.... |
| It's so hard to tell which one we currently have, it is 9 yrs old, and they probably don't make it anymore. I was going by the pictures, I thought it was green, our counters are definitely not grey.
I am getting the Butterum when we redo the kitchen. I think it's perfect with cabinets, and when I put the brushed nickel knobs on the doors...or black I haven't decided yet...I will have it looking really cool. Plus the butterrum goes nicely with the bathroom counters as well. The laminate we picked is a high quality Armstrong Product, called Black Walnut...I might put that in the kitchen so the same flooring is carried throughout...so it might change the counter tops choice later on...seeing how similar the top and the floor look to each other. Our house is a bi-level, less than 1000sq ft...937 sq ft rings a bell/floor. |
| Im sure it will look wonderful!!! I like the brushed nickel, and that butter rum should look great with dark floors....truely a timeless look!! |
| Thanks, that is what I am going for. I spent suchj a long time looking for alaminate to match our woodwork, and basically this was it. So we'll see, fortunately it is durable enough to be in a kitchen, and with the house being so small, I am worried about to many types of flooring.
So we prioritized, the floors get done first, we've ruined the carpets, and the kitchen will be done later...and I hope that we can do quality. So for now, I'd like a temp piece to make a bar for the kids to sit in the kitchen...then recover it all in a couple years. I also want to change the knobs right away too. We've been adding black, to the cutain rods, the fan, and our chairs we replaced to black iron. I added black stain to the wood table to compliment the chairs. It turned out really nice. The dogs made a mess of the wood chairs through teething. That's why I wasn't sure which type of knob to use...I even took a door with me to look at knobs...it didn't help. Our appliances are white. Eventually I am chainging light fixtures from the typical brass to brushed nickel...so far just the 2 bathrooms got done. Our house was outfitted in the basic cheapest stuff on the market., arghhh. |
| Thats why I would go with the brushed nickel...works with black, white or stainless...remember not to do too much of one thing...thats something I have a hard time with...Im addicted to red...brushed nickel will accent nicely with all of the black that you have going on...too much black, well, is too much black... |
| Good point, I never thought of that. I was trying to anchor the room, so I started with 1 rod, then came the fan, then the chairs, then .... I will get the brushed nickel...I suppose I should do the bathroom knobs at the same time.
I wanted a red kitchen, sunset colors...red/orange/yellows, but hubby was scared, so I settled to yellow. |
| Men!!! My husband is soooooo afraid of color!!!! I have WHITE walls yuck...I want a nice taupey gold yellowish color...he's still afraid...I will get my way sooner or later!!! |
| I don't know what they are so scared of, it is just paint. I did the downstairs in taupes, and the fireplace is on a corner...I painted the mantal/surround in white and the wall above the fireplace (gas) in chocolate brown...now he LOVES it. It has become a nice feature wall.
Our tiny bathroom is a washed/layering of 3 brown's...left overs from the other rooms...he really likes that now too, but almost died when I told him what I was doing. He put his foot down on the kitchen tho, but I think he's learning to trust my choices. |
| The funny thing with me though, is that I have my degree in design, and my husband still doesnt trust me...I think it is a control issue...I mean, really, I dont tell him how to put out fires.... I think I have good taste. Personally, I like preppy and traditional...white trim and crown, dark wood floors and mix-match florals,plaids and solids..... |
| The great thing is my bro in law is a carpenter, so often times I bounce ideas of of him, and when he agrees hubby goes along more willingly. Like now for example, I said we have to remove the baseboards to put the new floor down, so why not replace all the baseboards to a wider style. He right away said NO WAY. Then Broinlaw, phoned him yesterday to say the baseboards are not going to work with the new floor, we will need wider ones to cover over the wall gaps???Anyways, I now get my wider baseboards at least in the upper level.
I was gonna say he should be very blessed you have a degree, think of the money he's saving by doing it right the first time. Perhaps he sees enough color at work he likes the white to relax in. Fire HOT and bright, White... NOT FIRE. |
| Hey this is great news!! So when are you going to invite us down for the housewarming party???
Marianne and the boys |
| Ohh- I'm thinking, I've got this great big yard now, maybe I should have a MN sheepie get together next summer! We can all go walking down by the river! Road trip anyone? Don't be surpirsed if you get conned into helping with the house though
Karen |
| Hey Karen, Uncle Pete just posted 4 dogs in Rescuing a Sheepdog, and one of them is a 7 month old deaf sheepie girl in Minneapolis. Anywhere near you???
Chris |
| Chris!!! Minneapolis is about oh- 15 minutes from my work. But we won't have anywhere to put her till the end of August... and even then we'll mostly be living in the apartment through the end of september I'll look into it though. I wonder if it is Nancy doing the fostering.... Maybe she'df be willing to hold onto her for me for a few months. |
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