We have a new nest! After months of looking and looking and looking at houses, we are going to have to find something else to do on Sundays – chores! We are again homeowners.
For the last two years, we have rented a condo on the thirty-first floor of a high rise looking for the right house. Seattle is new to both of us. I had never even been through the airport until we flew in to make this our new home. Looking for houses was a great way to see neighborhoods and learn the city. But we couldn’t find the right house.
Then one weekend, friends invited us to their home on Vashon Island - a twenty- minute ferry ride across Puget Sound. It was an idyllic place. Island living Pacific Northwest style! We began to look for houses on the island. Then someone mentioned Bainbridge Island as another possibility. More choices.
Every weekend we were on a ferry to one island or another. We had two terrific agents who showed us dozens of properties. But nothing clicked.
“What about building a house?” someone asked.
“No thanks, I like being married,” was my stock answer. Building a house seemed like a daunting, stressful project. Yet, we agreed to look at building lots.
We went to the first piece of property. It was dense forest, wild – I couldn’t even envision where a house would go. Clearly this was not going to work.
“There’s a house at the end of this road that’s on the market, and it’s vacant and on lock box,” our agent’s assistant told us. “Want to see it?”
What did we have to lose? So we continued down the road. And there it was – a two story house, a two car garage with an apartment above it and the best part – a little log cabin just my size. No one had live there for months. The yard was unkempt and overgrown; there was moss growing on the roof; a grapevine was taking over part of the deck. The house was suffering from neglect but somehow it felt right. We both felt it. This could be our new home. I nickname all the houses we like and this one became the “Cabin House.”
Five months and a lot of drama later, it is now ours. We have a lot of work ahead but we are going to make it our own. A new kitchen, moving a powder room, painting, and a lot of deferred maintenance. We can’t wait to get started! I’ll keep you posted on our progress!
Thanks to our terrific real estate agent and his wonderful assistant; thanks to everyone at the bank and title company who fought numerous battles on our behalf; and special thanks to all my gal pals who supported me through this long, crazy path to home ownership. Now, the adventure begins!
