More House News

The long and the short of the story is that we are not moving into the house cited in my last post. The home inspector came to inspect it and there were major water issues that could have been dealt with, but we did not want to. Water is such a force of nature. Water always wins. The yard did not drain well, the sump pump was "jury-rigged", the washer and laundry tub drained into the sump pump. Several electrical safety problems existed as well. The longer we were with the home inspector, the sicker my stomach got.

After a couple of days of thought, we decided to take the contingency we had in the contract and back out.

But, there was a house we always had in our back pocket. I've had my eye on it since it came on the market, via Realtor.com. We gasped when we went for a showing, it was so wonderful. The reason we did not snatch it up when we first saw it was that Taciturn did not think he wanted to live in the town in which it was located. As time went on, though, he realized what I had known all along--the town is a pretty special place. I think that realization helped him to come to the decision along with me to cancel the first home contract. So the same day we cancelled the first contract, we put an offer on the other house. After a few rounds of negotiation--the seller is a lawyer--mainly over occupancy date, we signed a contract on the house we have viewed almost as a dream house for months. The kitchen has everything I've ever wanted in one. Truly it was built for a cook. The entire front of the house has clear views of the Adirondacks across the lake in New York state, yet most of the large lot is wooded. It is a lovely home by a quintessential Vermont town. I can roll out of bed in the morning and walk a block and a half into town, then another couple of blocks to the bakery for a bagel. The New Haven River runs along Main Street. Water, mountains, view, walkable town--there you have it.

BUT--the home inspection looms next week. If that is ok, we press. Even if it is ok, we can't move in until mid-June. But anyway, the time will pass. After the home inspection, I'll post some photos.