We are sad but okay

We're not buying that big old house after all.

We had a "butt nugget", as Clinton says, of an appraiser who denied our application because he doesn't share our open-minded creative outlook about downtown Durham revitalization. I think it is super weird that you can have awesome credit but get denied simply because you want to live in a really old house in a sketchy neighborhood. Isn't that how one makes the world a better place?! *Be* the change you want to see, right?!

We could appeal the appraiser's decision with the Department of Veterans Affairs but decided that this possibly 6 month+ process would be mind-meltingly frustrating.

We are sad but okay with the turn of events.

NEXT STEPS: We're taking the winter off the house-hunting endeavors (to rest, thank GOD) but will be back at it after the holidays! Look out Durham, here we come!

Sinking feeling

Our realtor pointed out that our bank should not have assigned us an appraiser from Johnston county who is not familiar with the Durham market. It took much longer than expected to get the appraisal because he/she had trouble finding comparable home sales in the area (imagine that!)

Well, we finally received the appraisal yesterday, and I'm not sure what to make of it: there is another required repair in the appraiser's report which the Seller may not want to take on, and the home was valued several thousand less than our offer price. What this all will mean for us is beyond me.

It's a real pain in the ass to not know what will happen next. I'm starting to get a real sinking feeling.

Everything's up in the air

The repair process sucks. Had to cancel gas line setup this morning because HVAC wasn't installed yet. After repairs come re-inspection. A bit freaked out about the appraisal part, especially after reading this in Bull City Rising (see 5th bullet down).

Is everything going to work out?!? Clinton and I ready ourselves for disappointment.

Gas line set up

I called PSNC Energy to set up gas service to the new house to start next week. Makes me feel giddy...almost as though we already own the place. Why do utilities get me so excited?

Best idea ever

Thanks to the Endangered Durham guy, I now know about "Durham City Directories", which are sort of like really, really old-school phonebooks. Only they don't have people's phone numbers. Instead, they list Durham residents and tell you their professions and addresses of where they live and work. These books date back to 1891!

On Friday night I couldn't sleep, so I decided to check out the Durham City Directories on the Durham public library Web site. Well, the Directories were so fascinating that I ended up staying up until 4 AM on Saturday morning reading through them!!! You can actually FLIP THROUGH these crazy old books ON THE INTERNET, and they are chock full of Durham history!!! I totally understand why the Endangered Durham dude gave up being a doctor to do this history detective work stuff.

From my late night research, I now know the names and professions of the actual people who lived in our 1884-built house in the years 1892, 1897 and from 1902-6, as well as all the names and professions of the other people who lived on our street at those times!

BEST IDEA EVER:
My crazy idea is to put together a murder mystery dinner party at our house in December or January. Prior to the event, I'd write up bios of the people who lived on our very historical street back in 1892. It would be historical fiction, based on what I know about these people from my local library research. Party participants would select a historical person, study their bio and come in character, complete with costume!

DOES THAT NOT SOUND LIKE A CRAZY FUN TIME?!?!

Okay, now I'm really hoping this house sale goes through. I've got a party to plan!!!

Update on the big old house

We're in this weird limbo phase while we negotiate repairs with the seller. I'm not a fan of this part!

Hopefully we'll get these things resolved soon so we can move on. Projected closing date is still September 29th if all goes well...

Structural assessment - COMPLETE!

Buying this house is definitely more complicated than buying our last one. Thank GOD for realtors. Honestly, I don't know how people buy and sell houses without them. Ours is like an angel and does EVERYTHING for us. We just make decisions, sign our names and write checks.

Our structural assessment went well yesterday.

I think the hardest part of this crazy process is over with now. We're many, many steps closer to knowing whether this house will indeed be ours, but there are a few to go. Now we're crossing our fingers in hopes that the seller will agree to the repairs we've requested. Wish us luck!

First round of inspections: complete!

This morning, we spent three and a half exhausting hours doing the home inspection with Brent (the inspector), JoEllen (our realtor) and my dad who just happened to be in town.

I learned a TON about the house, especially piers and pilasters. I even got to wear a jumpsuit and crawl around under the house with a flashlight!

I am slightly disappointed that I still have not located any secret passages in the house, but Brent says that there is still a good chance that they are there and we just haven't found them yet.

We have a few concerns now that we know the house more intimately, but we have a plan for handling them. Can't wait to get the inspector's full report in a couple days! This is getting really exciting!

Signing more paperwork today

Re-signing the offer paperwork today to reflect the price we settled on with the seller. Next is inspections and appraisal. Wish us luck!

Potlucks and trust

Back from camping today, and I went on a really nice walk with Natalie Spring of Cleveland-Holloway. Learned a lot more about the neighborhood from her. It's filling up with great people who are putting all kinds of effort and energy into making this little piece of the Earth a better place.

She and another lady are the leaders of their Cleveland-Holloway neighborhood club. As Natalie puts it, you don't need bylaws and official meetings to be a neighborhood group; all you need are potlucks and trust. Love that.

Getting more and more excited to be a part of the Durham Central Park District! Who knows - maybe I could be the leader of the Central Park District neighborhood club?! I'm crossing my fingers that all goes well with this house deal.

Offer made!

Yesterday was a very intense day. I was so excited and nervous I couldn't eat breakfast until we got to Rue Cler, which is where we met with our realtors, Sarah and Welsford. (Rue Cler is downstairs from Clinton's work and only 3 blocks from the house we're trying to buy!) Once I calmed down a bit, I was able to eat half of a famous Rue Cler blueberry muffin.

After two hours of paperwork, we made our offer around 11 AM. By that afternoon, we already received a counteroffer from the seller. Around 5:45 PM, we counter-counter-offered.

Buying this crazy old house is one of the riskiest things Clinton and I have done, but the more I get used to the idea, the more I know we're doing the right thing. Great things are happening in Durham, and we don't want to sit around and wait for it. We want to BE a part of those great things.

By the end of the day today, we might have a final answer from the Seller!! Wish us luck!

Now we're going camping for the weekend with 16 people and 12 dogs so that we can have some much-needed fun and relaxation. Have a great weekend, everybody.

We're making an offer in the morning!

We found the perfect home! It's a beautiful house in downtown Durham built in 1884. This year is its 125th birthday. It sits on the edge of Cleveland-Holloway and Central Park districts, and we're excited to be a part of both neighborhoods. Wish us luck!

Conclusions

Made some conclusions after today's visit to the big house downtown.

Basically, we are:

• Needing to really think about things and talk to friends about this
• A little overwhelmed about rehabilitation loans, permits, inspections, etc.
• Totally excited by all the possibilities

Touring the big old house today

Today's the big day: we're looking at the house. We won't say which one because someone might try to buy it before we do! (Why do I have that fear?)

Anyway, we'll tell you how it goes!

Okay, now you'll really think we're crazy

Clinton and I are reviving this blog because now we're interested in owning a historic home in the Cleveland-Holloway district. It's in great shape outside - new roof, new paint, foundation has been repaired, etc. BUT it needs major interior renovation. And we both think that sounds like a ton of FUN!

Good news

Hooray! Looking at the Duke Park house tomorrow.

Duke Park, perhaps?

Tonight we at burgers at Dane's Place, and on the recommendation of the bartender I drank a Black Chocolate Stout by Brooklyn Brewery (10% alcohol), so then I felt a little tipsy. We had fun discussing the future and listening to David Bowie and the Pixies.

Now we are excited about a (different) house which Clinton found on Realtor.com today. It's in the Duke Park neighborhood. After burgers this evening, Clinton drove us there. (Thank goodness!) It was dark outside, but we didn't care: It's the cutest house ever! Small and wooded and brick, just like we want! We e-mailed Wendy right away. Let's hope we can see it ASAP!

Small setback

Yesterday we learned some things about the house we're interested in which are not so positive. We will probably not be making an offer on it. I remain hopeful about this process. We are open to looking at other houses, and we still want to live downtown! The adventure continues...

Where is the Cleveland-Holloway District?

The Cleveland-Holloway District is one of the coolest downtown Durham neighborhoods. It's in walking distance to practically everything, including the YMCA, Durham Farmer's Market, Carolina Theater, Main Public Library and tons of great restaurants! Cleveland-Holloway is the heart of the downtown neighborhood revitalization initiative.

In case you don't know where it is, check out this Google map. The blue lines indicate the borders of the District. The flag labeled "F" is the house we're interested in.


View Larger Map