To the tune of Katy Perry’s “Hot N’ Cold”… WE’VE BOUGHT AND WE’VE SOLD!
Well not really, but we’re headed in that direction. As of 5:57 pm yesterday evening we got word that the the last of our negotiations with some potential buyers of our house have gone through, so the contract on our home is officially “pending.”
Which means that the contract that we’ve got in on our sweet new house (yes, we fiiiinally found one) should move right along as well (since it was contingent on selling ours first). In fact if all goes well, in a little over a month we’ll be moving from our current house directly into our new casa. Holy bananas. We’re geeking out over here (high fives, jazz hands, the charleston, my own spin on the Elaine-from-Seinfeld dance, the whole nine).
You’ll have to excuse us for not sharing anything sooner. We just wanted to be sure this new found casa could really be ours before getting all excited-slash-attached and making a big ol’ blog-nouncement about it (it would’ve been such a buzz kill if things fell through). But now that both contracts are well underway (inspections have even been completed) and are only dependent on the lending process going smoothly – which should be fine, fingers crossed – we’re ready to shout the good news from the rooftops internet.
We’ll fill you in with all the how-we-priced-&-marketed-&-sold-our-house-by-owner details soon, but first let’s chat about our new house. We’re on the brink of obsessed. Picture us doodling our new address with hearts all over our notebook. It’s a total throwback to how can’t-sleep-excited we were about our current house back in 2006. And we’re so grateful to have that feeling again – especially because we were beginning to doubt that we’d find anything that gave us butterflies. But the moment the front door swung open and we found ourselves standing in our future entryway (complete with some amazing built-ins) we just knew. Which means I broke out my creepy permasmile and probably scared the realtor. So much for a poker face.
Speaking of the realtor, we ended up using a buyer’s agent after calling her to see one of her listings and, well, one thing lead to another and she ended up showing us this other home that she felt would be a better fit. We were skeptical at first because it was one we had already nixed during a late night realtor.com hunt. Why did it get nixed? Get this. It had a carport.
I stupidly decided that we strongly prefer an enclosed garage (for storage reasons, bug control reasons, and so-people-don’t-know-when-we’re-gone reasons). So I ruled out all homes with carports. Little did I know that odd parameter was keeping us from finding The One. So we begrudgingly agreed to see the house anyway, and the rest as they say is history. Even more amazingly, the sellers of the house were offering a credit to cover the entire cost of enclosing the carport to create a garage. Is that proof that it was meant to be or what? So the lesson here is to widen those parameters because your perfect house might be right under your nose (and hiding behind a carport).
But enough jibber jabber, let’s meet the future Casa Petersik. Admittedly, it’s not a Jeff Lewis exterior (yet) but we probably wouldn’t buy it if it was already there. And yes, it’s more than a little reminiscent of our current home at first glance, but the inside is larger, more flexible, and it runneth over with potential.
THE STATS:
- Age: 1960’s
- House size: around 2,500 square feet
- Lot size: .75 acres (almost exactly the same size as our current lot, but it’s more square and less long & narrow)
- Bedrooms: 4
- Bathrooms: 3
THE PROS:
- Gave us that “this is IT” feeling the moment we walked inside
- Open & flexible floor plan that will accommodate a growing family and a home-based business
- Three modestly sized bedrooms just like the ones we have now PLUS a large master bedroom with an ensuite bathroom & a walk-in closet
- Great blank slate with tons of potential (we love all the projects that we see when we look around)
- Large centrally located kitchen- which makes it perfect for family gatherings (we can’t wait to knock out some walls)
- Amazing neighborhood near our family with great schools (it’s actually very close to where we live now)
- It’s a ranch, just like our first love house (we were open to all house types, but 50 yr old ranches never fail to steal our hearts)
THE CONS:
- A bit larger than we expected we’d like (but still very much within our budget)
- The landscaping will be more of a challenge than our current home’s (but we do love a challenge)
- There’s a carport (but oh happy day, we get a credit to transform it into a garage)
- The lot is less private than our current lot (but we have plans to change that)
- We can’t think of anything else (we’re blinded by love I tell you)
Oh, and I guess we can meet this one minus the artistic photoshop filter. Ooh. Ahh. So crisp and non-blurry.
We’re so glad that we found our perfectly imperfect house. The potential is so thick you can cut it with a knife. So cross your fingers that all continues to go well for everyone’s loans and that we end up closing in mid December without any hiccups. Until then you’ll find us gushing about our future home, playing around with paint swatches, brainstorming all sorts of layout ideas, virtually shopping for every room, charging the batteries in John’s drill, organizing and paring things down, packing, and just generally being freakishly excited. We can’t wait to share the next chapter of our lives with you guys.
HL says
Congratulations!! Where is the second post for today? I want to see more details! :)
Brittnee says
What happened to the quote A young couple falling in love with their first house? I loved that quote.. :( I thought of my husband and I with our house in a similar way sans the blog :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Brittnee,
We figured since we were now moving on to our second house it was time to retool the little sentence on our header (we’ll have to change the pic when we move too!).
xo,
s
Sparrow says
Like others have said, I’m illogically happy for you guys. I cannot wait to see the new house! I’m sure you guys have already got some fantastic ideas cookin’.
Big Boops says
I love reading you guys but I never comment. I just had to tell you that I’m literally so excited for you! Its hilarious! I think I’m going to get ice cream after work to celebrate, or a margarita. As I kept reading and the momentum kept building I just about got up and did a dance. WooHoo!!!!!!!! Hugs, kisses and high fives for everyone!!!!!!!!
Sandra says
Congratulations!!! Can’t wait to see what you do with it! If only all of your fans could come help you move, it would be chaos but it would be fast and easier! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Holy cow that would be hysterical. We could make one big assembly line and pass boxes to each other.
xo,
s
Natalie says
YEAH!!! I log on EVERYDAY, awaiting this news!! Yippy! It’s gorgeous!! And by the way, you WILL love a sectional… I bought one just after my birthday, I went with a custom ordered Flexsteel that I was able to order just the dimensions and upholstery of our choice, and it has a 20 year warranty – which I LOVE.. am currently in the midst of my own living room makeover.. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your inspiration!! (I re-did my kitchen cabinets through you tutorial, last year).
So excited for the future adventures you will take us on!!!
Cheers to the new CASA PETERSIK!!!
With Joy,
Natalie in Oklahoma :)
Kim S says
So excited for you guys! Our house has a carport and we have discussed closing it in, so I am definitely excited to see how you guys tackle that!
Rebecca says
Congrats! Hope everything proceeds smoothly.
How fun would it be to “house crash” your (soon to be) old house in about a year to see what they have kept and changed!?!? I always wonder about those things but it’s probably not possible.
YoungHouseLove says
It would definitely be fun! Of course there’s no pressure on the buyers, but if they ever invited us over with our camera we wouldn’t say no!
xo,
s
Johanna says
Herzlichen Glückwunsch!!! Again, so excited for you guys. I cannot wait to virtually embark on this new adventure with you – especially as I have practically started my own adventure of fixing up our apartment for real after discovering your blog just a few months ago. Oh, this is so cool!
Lonely Wife Project says
I’m way too excited to see all your projects!!! Congrats on your new “baby”!
Sarah Krebsbach says
This makes me really happy for you guys! Congrats, if you come up with any good packing tips let us know.(packing is such a pain for us )
jbhat says
Hooray! I am as pleased as punch for you. And I love the new subtitle. Couldn’t be cuter, or more apt.
Now hurry up and make it official so we can see the inside of the new place!
jbhat
YoungHouseLove says
I know! Is it December yet?!?!
xo,
s
Katie @ Katie Beth Interiors says
Wow that is so exciting, I can’t wait to see all the fun projects to come!
laurajane says
Yay- congrats on selling your current home, as well as the fabulous soon-to-be home! I’m excited to see the transformation! :)
Brianna says
Congrats! Now send some of that selling mojo our way!
sarah says
I’m so happy you guys finally have an en-suite bathroom and master closet!! I couldn’t imagine not having one… or, worse, having to share your “master” bath with guests! Eek, awkward!!
jbhat says
I just wanted to say also that I know what you mean about the no carport thing. When we were trying to figure out a name for our first born son, I had eliminated names starting with a whole bunch of alphabet letters, for reasons that seemed logical to me, but made no sense to anyone else. No A names! No C names. No K names. P names would maybe be okay, but no B, D or S names…crazy like that. But a week before he was born, at a name agreement impasse with my husband, we sat down with a giant book of baby names, started with A, and BAM–there it was. The best, most perfect name ever, and I would have never realized it if I had remained closed to the idea of an A name. So good for you for being open to the carport. Look what it’s brought you.
xo
jbhat
Jenn L @ Peas and Crayons says
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh congrats congrats congrats!!!!
so flipping exciting!
xoXOxo
Jenn L @ Peas & Crayons
jbhat says
Ach, me again. Now I have a question. Has there been any remodeling work done on the new house already, or is it in its originally designed state?
jbhat
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Jbhat,
There have been some changes made in the 70’s (around 10 years after it was originally built) but nothing very recent at all. Which is definitely a “pro” in our mind. Lots of room for improvement!
xo,
s
rhiannon says
i knew you found something when you were posting mood boards for your potential future living room.
Pam says
Add my CONGRATS to the pile! I think you mentioned in a recent post that you were looking for packing & moving tips. I moved 7 times in 7 years, and I’ve got it down to a fine science. I’d be happy to send you an email with some tips if you’d like. Fortunately, I bought a house last year, so no more moving in the near future!
Good luck with the rest of the process, and I’m super excited for all 4 of you!
meg says
So excited for you guys!! Bring on the projects.
Andrea says
I’m soooo excited because the age, style and square footage is similar to ours, so I’m hoping that we can get many great idea from you as we diy our fixer upper!!!
Melissa says
Congrats!! Love the new heading!! =)
Ange says
Congratulations! So exciting! I am shocked by how simillar these photos of the 2 houses look, complete with 2 tall trees in front left and all! I hope all goes well to complete the sales for you and look forward to some exciting new home projects. I can picture Clara now, dungarees, handkerchief hat & paint brush at the ready..LOL.
Katherine says
Yeah! Congrats! I bet you are so relieved and excited!
I know you tested your current house for radon, will you plan to do the same in your next house?
Also, I’m currently house hunting and have had some concern about a pre-1978 house with the possibility of lead in the paint. Is that something that you will be testing in your new house?
(So sorry if you’ve answered this before!) :)
YoungHouseLove says
Yes! We definitely made sure to do a radon test during inspection! More on that soon. As for lead, we always assume older homes are full of it so we take every precaution when we renovate. Safety first!
xo,
s
Amanda says
Congratulations! I can’t wait to see more pics when you guys move in. :)
Morgan says
Wow, good for you guys! We’ve had such a hard time trying to sell our place. It’s a 3 bed 2 bath, totally remodeled, and shows well (according to everyone who came through)..but no offers. We can’t lower the price very much without paying the mortgage company some big bucks. What’s your secret in selling your place in what, less than a month???? congrats to you guys! Wish we knew your secrets!
YoungHouseLove says
We’ll be sharing all the things we did to move our house as fast as possible! It was lots of work but well worth it!
xo,
s
Kim J says
So exciting!! I hope in a couple of years I’ll be able to find my own perfectly imperfect home!
hjc says
Woo to the Hoo! You do realize that you are spoiling your readers with all this buying/selling/moving/diy-ing wonderfulness. We will be expecting you to move again in say, 4.5 years so we can continue living vicariously through you two. And maybe someday waaaay in the future, you will be blogging about how you chose your golden years retirement casa…;)
Pam Gereau says
Oh man, I’m all teary-eyed for you guys. :D
Dana @ House*Tweaking says
I’m sooooo happy for you guys! Can’t wait to get started….uh, I mean, for yoiu to get started that is. Hehe. Happy packing, signing papers and unpacking.
Julie says
congrats guys! I have a quick question for everyone…my bed room is painted a fairly dark green color and i want to bring some light into the room with a bedspread etc. I am a little leary of plain white–don’t want to look like a michigan state theme :) any suggestions?
YoungHouseLove says
Soft celery would be pretty! Just a lighter tone of green- but nothing too pastel. Good luck!
xo,
s
Paige says
Woo hoo! I can’t wait to see the new digs! Congrats on having such a quick sale!
Kathryn says
Congratulations!!! I can’t wait to see what you guys come up with for this place!
Sara says
Yay!! So excited for you guys. I can’t wait to see the interior!! I actually sent my girlfriend a text when I found out you were selling your first house {both love the blog!} but as a new homeowner I am super excited for more project posts. Wahoo!
Steph says
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! I think all of us YHL followers feel like we’re movng right along with you Petersiks! LOL Cannot WAIT to see all the new goodies you’ll be bringing us with the new casa!
Aja says
The houses look related! You bought your current house’s big sister!!!
Carley says
Congratulations! Your new house has such great curb appeal! Good luck with your move. It sounds like you don’t have to go far, which is great!
It’s awesome that you’re getting a credit to turn the carport into a garage. You get the storage and functionality of a garage and the fun of making the change yourselves!
Can’t wait to see the ideas you have for the new casa!
Sarah says
Maybe you guys don’t yet know the answer, but is the 4th bedroom just going to be an office or are you going to have it an office/guest room/playroom so that you won’t have to transform the 3rd bedroom twice once you guys have another kiddo?
YoungHouseLove says
We’re still thinking things through but we plan to share a floor plan soon and outline our first thoughts for layout tweaks and room uses.
xo,
s
Jen says
Congratulations!! How fun! Can’t wait to see everything you do to it :)
audrey says
Congrats!
Can’t wait til we see the new projects posts =)
Kim says
Congrats on finding your next home! I recently (while half way through a 12 month maternity leave) decided that our house was too small, so we bought a new older home too, built in 1977. I am in the process of packing our whole house with my 11 month old running circles around me, pulling nicely packed items out of boxes as soon as I pack them. :)
Word of advice (which should just be common sense…) um, sealing boxes with packing tape is louder than you think, and shouldn’t be attempted during nap time!!!
Good luck with the move and keep posting all the fun stuff!!!
Catherine says
wahoo!!!! congrats! needless to say, there are thousands of us who are so excited for you and can’t wait to meet the new love of your life! thank y’all again, so very much, for letting us into your home(s) and lives :)
Barbara says
Congratulations. Did you sell to someone who reads your blog?
I’ve enjoyed all your ideas but especially the process of your solutions.
YoungHouseLove says
The buyers actually don’t read our blog, but we disclosed it to them just so they know about it.
xo,
s
Heidi H. says
Whoa! This post came WAAAY sooner than I thought it would! YAYAYAYAYAY!!! When I first saw the blurry picture, I thought, “Why did they blur the picture to their own home?!” But then I went up to read about why & practically had a conniption. Haha, it’s silly that I could get so excited over YOUR house, but I can’t help it! I’m very happy for y’all. I cannot wait to see more mood boards. Much love!
Michelle says
Yay! Congratulations on selling your house AND finding another one! This is definitely an exciting turn in your lives and I hope it is for the better. You two put so much effort and love into fixing up your house that it definitely shows. I can only imagine all the great DIY and renovations your new home will go through. I can’t wait!
I must say I am uber-sad though. I felt like I got to really know the current-soon-to-be-previous-house. Heck, if I was already graduated, had a job in Richmond VA, and had a down payment, I would have completely jumped on the opportunity to buy your house. I hope the new owners love it, which I have no doubt in my mind that they will!
Congratulations!
Jess says
congrats guys! i am truly excited to see you work your magic on your new place! :)
Carolyn says
aaahhh! I knew that there would be an big announcement after yesterdays post. Congrats! We are all now hanging on the edge of our seats waiting to see what you guys do with your new home!
P.S when I first saw the pic of your new home I thought it was actually your current house. Looking forward to seeing the layout. etc Happy planning and happy weekend to you..
Rachelle says
Fabulous for you! So excited for everything that lies ahead–for you and your readers. Congrats.