Well friends the moment has come..... we have made an offer on a property!! I know, we can't believe it either. So here's the story. Last week I noticed a listing on the craigslist real estate section that advertised an 'Adorable 3-acre farm in Sandy, OR. I clicked on the link, saw that the property was close to town (1.7 miles to be exact), that it had a sweet little red barn, a 48' greenhouse, a detached shop and a large garden. "Hmmmm," I thought, "very interesting". I google mapped the address and what I saw was even more intriguing. So I called the owners and scheduled a viewing for the coming weekend. All week John and I went back and forth about whether or not it was even worth it to go out and look. The property is a forty-five minute drive from Portland and we were feeling a bit disheartened about the last couple of places we had seen (when some people say farm what they really mean is field of blackberries, or 5 acres of trees in a gulch.) The property was also smaller than what we have been looking for and a bit out of our price range. We didn't want to be move to the country only to be surrounded on all sides by neighbors with no sense of serenity and privacy. But despite our misgivings we went out to meet the owners Kristi and Jason and their six kids (and no, that is not a misprint.)
When we showed up to the house I think John and I both started to get pretty excited. Their dairy goat was wandering around the backyard like a true domesticated pet, and the chickens were right at home on the back porch searching for bugs in the wood pile. The barn was even more adorable (and functional) looking in person with a hay loft and milk stanchion, with plenty of room for a couple of goats. The three acres gently sloped down to the west behind the house and had great sun exposure. Their was only one neighbor whose house immediately bordered the property and the folks to the south had a little pond right across the fence line, adding to the lovely view off of the large back porch. The house was totally livable and charming, unlike some of the manufactured homes that we had run across. In fact manufactured homes were such a huge part of our house hunting reality that I had somewhat resigned myself that I would be forced to live in a plastic box to realize my dream of country living.
So we left feeling pretty elated, drunk on possibility. Next came the volley of emails back and forth about the price and the process etc. Then today after a couple sleepless nights I spent about two and half hours on the phone going over logistics with my mortgage broker, calling my parents for support and finally getting the go ahead from John. The mortgage broker explained to me that my first step was to make an offer, then if the offer is accepted we will sign a purchase agreement stipulating the various aspects of the purchase (inspections, appraisals, well tests, is the riding lawn mower staying with the property etc.) Next we will put money into an escrow account which is basically a show of good faith, like 'Hey we're so serious about buying your home we're willing to put some money on it.' Apparently the word escrow comes from a French word escroue, which means a scrap of paper (the deed) that a third party would hold until a real estate transaction was completed. Glad to know that we are participating in what are ancient customs of private property transferal (note a hint of sarcasm.) Next we will begin the inspection and appraisal process. Does your head hurt? Because mine does! Whew.
Mostly I'm excited. I've been pretty sad about spring, weird, I know. But I'm a gardener and spring without late night tea and seed catalogs (also know as seed porn) is just down right depressing. In fact my Fedco catalog which has always been a favorite late night read has been sitting unopened on the bed stand because I just can't bare the thought of all those varieties and no where for me to plant them. We will keep you updated as things progress...wish us luck!
