Chapter 1: The Beginning - Late June 2009

Anthony and I decided we were ready to start looking for a house at the end of June 2009. We've had our Realtor picked out for years (yes, she's that awesome), we had our finances in order (well, close enough), we knew what neighborhoods we were looking at, and we knew what we wanted in a house. Anthony did a quick search online and came across a house that met all of our criteria and then some, but it needed lots of TLC and was a short sale.

So we called up Lauren, our Realtor (who was about to take a week long vacation) and had her contact the sellers' agent. After quite some difficulty due to unresponsive tenants, Lauren's assistant, Pam, got us in to see the house on June 26, 2009.

We loved the house. It had everything we were looking for. 4 good size bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, a living room AND family room, a dining room AND eat-in kitchen, and a SUNROOM!!! Not to mention a 2 car garage with extra space for a work bench, hardwood floors and ceramic tiles throughout, and a nice size front and back yard. And lets not forget that it's in a nice little neighborhood, conveniently located near the highway and shopping, and it's zoned for great elementary, middle, and high schools.

Never mind the filth and funk so bad that we wouldn't dare set our only child, Raymond, down for fear of what he might touch (or worse, what might touch him). Never mind the pictures of naked ladies, the joints laying around, and the absolutely gross toilets and tubs (the tenants were 4 bachelors in a rock band!!!). Never mind the great big FAKE RAT sitting atop the kitchen table!!! Hey, at least it wasn't real!!! Right, Nick? (Sorry, that's an inside joke between us, Lauren, and her husband, Nick)

In fact, we later learned that Pam called Lauren while we were viewing the house to tell her how absolutely horrible the house was. So naturally Lauren asked her what we had said about the house, and Pam shrieked with disbelief, "THEY LOVE IT!!!"

And yes, I said "only child." This was all pre-Ryan. Once upon a time we thought we would close on this house before he was born!!!

Well, to make a long story short, we submitted a bid the very next day, and after a brief price war with a few other buyers, had our offer accepted.

We returned to see the home a second time on July 7, 2009. We had a chance to chat with one of the tenants about the house and the neighborhood...both of which he loved. Below are pictures from our second visit (I caught the tenant's derrière in two of the pictures...sorry!). If you would prefer to view these pictures on Picasa, click here.

Shed in Backyard	Sunroom and Ivy "Thing"	The Deck (it's since been demolished)
The Pool (we had it removed)	Wires All Over the House	Living Room View
Living Room	Kitchen	Kitchen
Family Room into Sunroom	Master Bedroom	Master Bathroom and a Closet
Bedroom 2 of 4	Bedroom 3 of 4 (in all it's red, yellow, and green glory)	The Garage

To Be Continued...

P.S. Anyone in need of a Realtor in Hampton Roads, contact Lauren Conner at William E. Wood. Her contact info and bio can be found here.