Homes I love in NJ

As I mentioned in my previous post, this time I was going to get an old home and there are some great ones in this area.  I had certain requirements including wide hardwood floors, not renovated to remove all the charm and 100 plus years old but other than that I was open.  Mark not so much!  His list included no huge renovations needed , laundry services not outside in dirt basement and indoor bathrooms he could turn around in....oh and no cemetery in the yard.  This turned out to be harder than I first thought it would be to locate because I could see the charm and potential in almost all the homes but couldn't get Mark and in some cases the realtor, Peter to see it.  They have teased me, made fun of my vision and even made me cry on a couple of times but in the end we found the best home for us.

Here's a few that I might have shed a few tears over:  This one had 1 very, very small bathroom and to do laundry you had to go outside to the dirt basement along with an operating outhouse were enough to make Mark and Peter laugh their asses off while I sobbed.  The woodwork was original and those enclosed staircases were worn.  Ok it needed a kitchen but I could just imagine my life in this house but the guys not so much.

Next came this beauty and if it hadn't been in active flood plain I might have swayed Mark over on this one.

 

This next home is one we had to cancel the contract on because there were so many issues with the home inspection that could not be resolved.  It was  built in 1830 as a school house and the stone walls and window sills were amazing.  But the kitchen was going to have to be redone because you could barely turn around in it, there weren't a lot of storage/closets and no septic system but we were willing to work thru some of it.    The monkey wallpaper was going to have to go right away but I could see the possibilities and so could Mark.  However when the inspection was done there was no way when the Radon reading was 66 and a high reading is considered a 4.  

This next one was a dream for me complete with barn, carriage house, chicken coop, ect…..but alas it is a foreclosure that has sat so long without utilities that radiators had burst but oh the possibilities were endless in my mind.

These were just a small sampling of the great places I saw but in the end I found the home that meets almost all of mine and Mark's requirements.  It was just meant to be!

Two years, Really?????

Oh my gosh I've had blogger issues, password problems, ect…..but no excuse for a 2 year lapse in blogging.  Oh my where to start.....

Let's not try to recreate the wheel here so let's focus on just the last 6 months.  We're moving again and this time I got my antique home.  We've been transferred to New Jersey (yep home to my Bon Jovi Boys) and we've been in temp living with Clarice since Nov but we close on our new home the end of April.  We're keeping the North Carolina home as well so I've been shopping and trying to decide what stays in NC and what comes with me.  It's been a long struggle to find a home with some real disappointments but I feel like the house we finally chose is HOME!  Real estate moves extremely fast here, taxes are ridiculously expensive and it's winter plus I've been extremely sick so it became a chore very quickly.  I looked at 50-75 houses and took Mark back to a few but usually by the time he could go they already had offers.  We made offers on a couple of places that fell thru due to multiple offers coming in or inspection issues that could not be resolved but it all worked out in the end because we found our Home!  I saw it first day it was on the market and made the offer without Mark even setting eyes on it which was a little nerve wracking since we weren't always seeing eye to eye the potential in 200 yr old homes.  But he got to see it 3 days later and Hey Markie, He Likes It!  Sorry a little 70's Lfe cereal commercial plug there.  So without further ado here is our new soon to be happy home

Just look at those wide width pumpkin pine floors...I'm swooning!

 And did I mention it's got 4 working main floor fireplaces plus 2 summer kitchen fireplaces in the dirt floor basement that I have promised Mark and the home inspector I'll never, ever light.

 Oh and 2 wood stoves in the bedrooms upstairs plus just look at those beams!

 I can't wait until closing and moving in so stayed tune because I'm back to blogging, bursting with ideas and excited to share the journey with everyone.