all mine

SOLD!

More to come on settlement fiascos and hard appliance choices, but for now I will just savor the moment.

cabinets, counters, confusion: the three Cs of real estate

I'm supposed to be making all these decisions about what I want in my place, but I am freaking out. HELP, loyal blog buddies!

Do you like white cabinets? Like this one?


Or with slats?


Or do you prefer black, with a "rustic finish"?


Should I go flat


or slightly embellished


or even more embellished?

yessssssssssssssss

The listing is under contract. It's really happening.

I'm so excited.

confidential to Terri

Terri, do you know any architects in D.C.? I want to know if I can knock down a wall between the kitchen and the living room.

DID YOU HEAR THAT CO-OP BOARD? KNOCK DOWN A WALL. WITHOUT YOUR PERMISSION. SUCK ON THAT!

:) Cam

yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Big news in CondoLand, blog buddies: I have a condo!

And more big news: I was never rejected from my old one!

So much confusion. Here's the timeline:

Thursday: Meet with my realtor, who I love. Love love. She makes me want to be a better woman love. OK, you get the point. Saw a cute one, but it was another co-op, so I decided to keep looking. Plus my mom and aunt were coming in for the weekend to help me look.

Friday: My mom and aunt arrive, we have lunch, and then they, being the awesome women that they are, ventured into the 106-degree swamp and looked at condos all day while I sat at my desk. I left early and met them out, where we looked at a few condos, hemmed and hawed (and sweated) and decided to call it a day, after one more.

And it turned out to be The One.

It's in Dupont Circle, on a wonderful block, in a building thought to be built around 1885. The building has been redone and is in great shape. The unit has exposed brick walls, a fireplace and high ceilings. I was amazed. Of course, there is work that needs to be done in the kitchen and bathroom, so my mom and aunt were not as convinced as Adrienne and I, but they started coming around. The owner wasn't taking offers until Sunday, so we decided to get together again then and put our contract together. All weekend I was convinced it would go for thousands more than the asking price, so I tried not to get too excited.

Saturday: I woke up early to head out to the country for a kickball tournament. I kept in contact with my mom through the day to find out if there had been any news. During our final phone conversation, as I walked off the field, sunburned and weary, I got a call waiting. Checking the caller ID, I was surprised to find the owner of the OTHER place (hereupon known as: the Evil Co-op) on the other line.

"Hi, Campbell, it's Meg. I got some interesting news from the co-op board this morning. They said they made a mistake, and they approved your application, so the next step would be an interview, if you're interested."

Um, what? First of all, doing the happy dance, because I wasn't rejected, which, if you haven't ever been rejected, let me tell you: It is quite a blow to the old ego. Second of all, NO EFFING WAY IN HELL do I want anything more to do with you people. But of course I couldn't say that.

"Um, I actually have a bid in on another place [If you've been paying attention to the timeline, you know that is a big lie, because we didn't put in the bid until Sunday] so I will have to wait to see what comes of that. OKthanksbye."

Well, it wasn't that awkward, but I definitely did want to get off the phone, or risk jinxing my chances at the new condo (hereupon known as: the Lovely Condo).

Sunday: We met Adrienne and wrote the new contract, including an escalation clause (basically: If someone matches my offer, I will give you more money than them. So there!) and a non-contingent inspection clause (basically: If it turns out the oven is spewing gas into the condo at a life-threatening rate, I'll still take the place, I just want to know about it, got me?). It was all very Real Estate 101.

So then we left, and I prayed. God, this place is so pretty and so amazing and the location is so fantastic and I just really, really, really want it, God.
Thanks.

Monday: I heard from Adrienne in the morning, and she told me the owner was moving the deadline for offers to Tuesday, rather than Monday evening. I didn't know what to make of that -- either she hasn't gotten any other offers (good) or she got so many that she is going to see if she can get more (bad) or she just wanted to move the deadline. So more waiting

Tuesday: Adrienne submitted our offer in the afternoon ("I vill vait becaus I don't vant dem to see ah cards, ok?" I love her.) so I was jumping every time the phone rang.

I was at a friend's house last night, having a floor picnic and listening to Chicago's greatest hits, in lieu of an actual outdoor Chicago concert in the rain. The phone rang around 9, the caller ID revealed Adrienne's name, and I screeched.

"Hi Adrienne."
"Hi Campbell. Ha aur you?"
"Good, nervous but excited."
"Well, you should be excited, because you are a homeowner." YAY! "And de best pahrt is, you got it for de askingg price." DOUBLE YAY!

So here are pictures of my condo. (for real this time, they cannot reject me. How cool is that?!?!) SQUEEEEEEEEE!!!

so yeah, about that ...

As I announced in my other blog (and yes, I am one of those people, though I haven't hit rock bottom yet), I lost the condo. I found out on the way to a wine festival on Saturday (which turned out to be very convenient) and I was very sad. Thankfully, a few days have passed, I've already started looking again, and I agree with the legions of people I know IRL who have said, "You know what? Probably for the best." I'm not sure if they meant it, or if they pitied me for being such a sad person that a bunch of old people don't want to live with me, but I'm happy to hear it.

The process started going downhill rather quickly, though I didn't really recognize the signs. I would call to inquire about the status of my application, and no one would call me back. The owner decided to put it back on the market. The board asked me to put another $15,000 down. All this together, a logical person might think, "Hmm, it's occurring to me that I might not get this place." But not me. All I could think was, Butter Bread brown or Burnt Henna red for the kitchen?

So ultimately, when I got the call that my application was rejected, I was pissed. Six weeks of thinking about this condo, this building, this neighborhood were over. It felt like a waste. I questioned at first if I even wanted to start over again.

But obviously I have, spurred on by the idea of spending $3000 a month on a studio. And this time I'll be more cautious, sure, but I'm definitely more savvy. I know what I want. I know to wrinkle my nose at garish walls and kitchens with no dishwasher, and I no longer equivocate to my realtor (Campbell circa two months ago: "A studio? Well, maybe, I mean, if it's in the right area and ..." Campbell now: "No.") The right place is out there, and I'll find it. And until I do, I have other things to spend my money on.

So come back, ya'll. The journey continues.