Do you remember when LP siding was in the news back in the late 90s?  I do.  I don't remember all of the details, just that Louisiana Pacific was forced to give money to lots of people because their siding turned out to be crap.

 

The townhouse has LP siding.  It is failing.  We are not going forward with the purchase.

 

Back to the drawing board.

We made an offer on a townhouse this weekend.  It was a bit surreal.  We'd already seen the place once and decided that it was out of our price range, especially considering that it needs some cosmetic TLC (new paint, carpet, appliances, counters, cabinets, etc).  But then we heard that the seller had dropped the price by 10k.  We thought that we should take a second look.  I'm so glad that we did.  The occupant wasn't home this time (she was there the first time we looked around) so we got to be a bit more thorough.  After measuring and talking and measuring some more we decided to go for it.  (Since this was Saturday, we figured that we had the luck of the Irish on our side.)  In the end, ours was not the only offer, but apparently it was the best.  They accepted our offer (with minor changes) and we now find ourselves in a state of mutual acceptance.  So, for the next 29 days we will be schooled in home buying by our fabulous realtor and our very kind mortgage lender.  The inspection is coming up this Wednesday and closing has been set for April 18th.

 

As soon as we got the call saying that the seller was going to accept our offer I went into panic mode.  I get buyer's remorse after purchasing a $40 purse...so you can imagine the anxiety and worry I felt when faced with the purchase of an entire townhouse.  Brandon was able to keep a level head and talk me down.  I'm feeling much better about the whole thing now and can officially say that I am happy and excited!

 

 

I have looked long and hard to find simple, classy, well made photo albums that hold over 100 photos.  That search ended this weekend when I discovered these at Crate and Barrel:  http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=3054&f=4833.  We bought three and put all of our wedding photos in them.  They're not bulky, either!  Nice, slim and clean lines.  Oh, how I love them!

 

On a slightly more important note, we started looking inside condos this weekend.  (Up until now we've just been looking at listings from the outside and checking out neighborhoods.)  We found one property that we really liked.  To see it, go to http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/home?MARKET=seattle and search for the location 10744 Greenwood Ave.  There are three units available. 

The one on the second floor is out of the question because it only has one bathroom.  There are two on the lower level that we're kinda split between.  #101 is beautiful and spacious, but just happens to be set up for handicapped accessibility.  The main bathroom has a sliding pocket door and handrails in the tub.  The bathroom off the master bedroom has this huge door that might get in the way of a bed or other furniture because it opens out into the bedroom - and there's a fold-down seat in the shower.  #102 is nice, there are no bathroom issues, but the floorplan isn't as nice - it's a wee bit smaller.