Victory!

We offered. They countered. We countered. They countered. We countered. And ... (drumroll please) ... they accepted! It happened awfully fast, mainly because this home is in a new development and is an inventory home, meaning it's finished and sitting there and the developers want to sell it and move on to more construction. It had 50,000 in upgrades (granite counters, stainless appliances, 18 inch tiles and who knows what else) which weren't even tacked on the asking price.

What I love about it: it's in a gated community, right across the way from the elementary school, which just opened this year. There are parks throughout the area, including a junior sized Olympic pool, a community center and walking/biking trails. Easy access to the freeway will be perfect for D getting to work, especially as he'll still be commuting for at least the next year. It has a wide open floor plan, so the kitchen looks out into the large family room. We were scrimping on square footage and so I was grateful not to have any wasted on a formal living or dining room. There are four bedrooms, and a split 3 car garage--we'll probably use the 1-car for an exercise space, bikes, and storage. And the master suite is gorgeous! I'll be so spoiled.

On the negative side--it's got a shall-we-say "interesting" look to it (the outside, I mean). I actually really like it now, but it has to grow on you a little. The only real drawback is the small back yard, but D sees that as an enormous plus, as he won't have as much yard work to do. With the parks so close, it won't be a big deal.

Tonight we'll be seeing it again, and I'll try to take some pictures to put on our webpage. I'll post again when they're up.