In 2004, Joel and I have been blessed with moving to our town home since winning the big prize of 250K towards a new home through the Home Run Derby Sweeptakes that was sponsored by Century 21-- in which we are very grateful. I had been praying for our own home since we had gotten married back in 2000.
It was a long time answer to my prayers. We had some financial set backs, so the win was a miracle for us. Before moving into our townhome, we lived in a 3 bedroom 2 bath apartment. Our upstairs neighbors were a family of 9 ... from Samoa, so these were BIG people! They blasted their music day and night and they sounded like a herd of elephants when they walked across their floor. The final straw that broke the camels back was one day when I took our 2 year old son, Noah to the play ground. I had discovered that the play ground on the apartment grounds was covered in graffiti.. very foul language that no parent would want their children exposed to. Well, Joel and I had enough of it, so we began looking for another place to live, which is when the miracle of our big win happened!
Unfortunately, 250K doesn't buy you a lot in our area, but we felt pretty darn blessed to find our town home that was brand new on the market in 2004 at 238K! Since then, the value of our home has gone up to 330K in just 3 years! We figure it was a good investment, and a stepping stone for us. Being in the same school district was a factor, as we didnt want to uproot Noah and Jeremy from their schools. Since Jeremy will be graduating from high school in 2008 and Noah will be transitioning to 1rst grade, next summer that factor will be no longer relevant. Plus-- we would like to relocate further north, so to cut down our 30 minute (1 hr total round trip) drive to church each Sunday. Of course, a bus line will also be a factor, as Joel has been taking the bus to work in Seattle to cut down parking and gasoline costs from our budget.
Now that it is 2007, we've discovered that our abode isnt as perfect as we had thought. The interior paint and carpet is cheap, and will need to be replaced. Ive discovered that our kitchen lacks counter space, as cooking and baking feels cramped. We found the upstairs drywall to be poorly constructed, as Noah easily dug a small hole in the loft wall, with a pair of safety scissors! The gate to our housing development has been broken numerous times and the HOA isnt all that great. So-God willing; we are planning to fix up our place and put it on the market the summer of 2008.
Joel and I have been looking "just for fun" to what is out there in the housing market. In fact, I found a house that I liked just last week after I picked up Noah from preschool. In order to save time, I chose to drive home in another direction -- thats when we stumbled into this nice neighborhood & saw that it was for sale. Joel and I both agree that this particular home is over priced by 50K, but it gives you an idea of what we are looking for. (see photo above)
http://frame.windermere.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Listing.ListingDetail&ListingID=17581886
We've also noticed another listing for a cute townhome in Bellevue, which is another possible contendor for the future. Joel and I both loved the idea that it has a view that comes with the 350K price. Sweet!
http://www.northwestidx.com/listing.php?mls=27067461&site_id=13230&client_search=13653203
It was a long time answer to my prayers. We had some financial set backs, so the win was a miracle for us. Before moving into our townhome, we lived in a 3 bedroom 2 bath apartment. Our upstairs neighbors were a family of 9 ... from Samoa, so these were BIG people! They blasted their music day and night and they sounded like a herd of elephants when they walked across their floor. The final straw that broke the camels back was one day when I took our 2 year old son, Noah to the play ground. I had discovered that the play ground on the apartment grounds was covered in graffiti.. very foul language that no parent would want their children exposed to. Well, Joel and I had enough of it, so we began looking for another place to live, which is when the miracle of our big win happened!
Unfortunately, 250K doesn't buy you a lot in our area, but we felt pretty darn blessed to find our town home that was brand new on the market in 2004 at 238K! Since then, the value of our home has gone up to 330K in just 3 years! We figure it was a good investment, and a stepping stone for us. Being in the same school district was a factor, as we didnt want to uproot Noah and Jeremy from their schools. Since Jeremy will be graduating from high school in 2008 and Noah will be transitioning to 1rst grade, next summer that factor will be no longer relevant. Plus-- we would like to relocate further north, so to cut down our 30 minute (1 hr total round trip) drive to church each Sunday. Of course, a bus line will also be a factor, as Joel has been taking the bus to work in Seattle to cut down parking and gasoline costs from our budget.
Now that it is 2007, we've discovered that our abode isnt as perfect as we had thought. The interior paint and carpet is cheap, and will need to be replaced. Ive discovered that our kitchen lacks counter space, as cooking and baking feels cramped. We found the upstairs drywall to be poorly constructed, as Noah easily dug a small hole in the loft wall, with a pair of safety scissors! The gate to our housing development has been broken numerous times and the HOA isnt all that great. So-God willing; we are planning to fix up our place and put it on the market the summer of 2008.
Joel and I have been looking "just for fun" to what is out there in the housing market. In fact, I found a house that I liked just last week after I picked up Noah from preschool. In order to save time, I chose to drive home in another direction -- thats when we stumbled into this nice neighborhood & saw that it was for sale. Joel and I both agree that this particular home is over priced by 50K, but it gives you an idea of what we are looking for. (see photo above)
http://frame.windermere.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Listing.ListingDetail&ListingID=17581886
We've also noticed another listing for a cute townhome in Bellevue, which is another possible contendor for the future. Joel and I both loved the idea that it has a view that comes with the 350K price. Sweet!
http://www.northwestidx.com/listing.php?mls=27067461&site_id=13230&client_search=13653203
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