Pre-Christmas Getaway

Oh man. Buying a house is stressful! All this back and forth-ing, decision-making, deciding just how broke we can be for the next few years. Good times.

Plus, I am kinda down because this if the first Christmas I won't be home. We've done a good job of decorating, baking, and being festive, but now with all my co-workers heading home, reality is starting to sink in. I miss my parents!

But we will make the best of this exciting and new time. We've decided to get away from it all and head up to the mountains for the weekend. We will be camping Saturday night at the Great Smokey Mountains National Forest, in the snow and everything. Then Sunday, Trent booked us in a fancy lodge/hotel for one evening of luxury. Which is pretty much what we can afford with the pending house buying situation. I am so excited to get away and relax and quit doing science and house buying for a bit.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend before Christmas where ever you are!

The dance begins...

We just received their counter-offer, discussed with our real estate agent, and made our second offer. Yikes, seems real now! But also, seems like it might not happen.. they seem pretty stubborn. We'll see!

House Hunting

Trent and I have entered the world of potential home owners. And it is a confusing, stressful, but exciting world!


104 Thomas Lane, Carrboro NC!

This past Sunday we made a very lowball offer on this home! It was built in the 1950's, so it definitely has some "fixing-up" to do, but it is in a great part of town, and by a city park so we feel confident that we could fix it up and sell it for more than we bought it. Hopefully! Regardless, the fixing challenges are all cosmetic. Trent and a paid engineer both scoured the place from roof to crawl space, checking out each brick and board. The house is structurally sound, it just needs some love. Like refinishing the nice hardwood floors, perhaps installing new cabinets in the bathroom and kitchen, and lots and lots of landscaping. But these are all issues we have tackled before, and I think it will be a fun adventure. We also want to capitalize on the "eco-friendly" atmosphere of Carrboro and go with all the best recycle, reclaimed, energy efficient items we can get. Hence, the low offer. We are planning on investing a pretty penny into the fixing up, hopefully our hard work will be rewarded.

So we made an offer, and now are just waiting to hear the inevitable counter offer, and then the games begin. We have a great real estate agent who has been answering all our naive questions, and we know more about APR's and PMI's than I ever imagined.

Wish us luck!

Pretty master bedroom with nice floors and windows.

Trent checks out the bathroom tile.

The kitchen is straight out of 1950's, including an extra fridge probably from that year. I am thinking it is almost vintage cool though!

The side of the house, going to the backyard. We have big plans for a driveway, fencing for a dog, and a shed/carport for all of Trent's tools and such. We'll be busy!

Today, Biology Graduate Student Association President.

Tomorrow, Dean of Research at UC Berkeley.

All part of my sneaky little plan!

Yayyyyyy!