we bought a house!

[aroraborealis]

After five months of active looking, and a total of three offers on various houses, amber_phoenix, longueur, and I finally bought a house yesterday. I'm alternately elated and weirdly blase about it. There's something about the process having taken so long that makes it a little hard to wrap my head around it being real.

For all that the overall process took a long time, the process on the house be bought yesterday FLEW. We went from offer to closing in less than a month!

I'm really delighted with the house, which is a sweet single family in Union Square, Somerville. I'm super excited that we found a good fit in Somerville, which I feel really invested in, and I can hardly wait to have people over. It sort of has to wait until I move, though, which happens on Saturday. Phew!

Naturally, I've been thinking a lot about what it means to leave my current digs. I've lived at UDL for 8 1/2 years, which is longer than I've lived anywhere but the house I grew up in. If I live in new-and-unnamed-house for as long, I'll be almost 45 when I cross that milestone.

When I moved into UDL ...
* it was named "The Vatican", not Undisclosed Location
* I was dating shayde
* I had hair down to my butt
* I was just settling down after almost a year of international and cross-country travel
* I was unemployed
* The house cat was Gearbox

While I lived at UDL ...
* I cut more than 12" off my hair
* We got another roommate, named Olivia
* I got a job at Campbell-Kibler Associates
* Olivia brought home a consolation kitten after the second time GWB was elected
* Olivia brought home a stray cat, now known as Kitteh
* I stopped dating shayde
* Olivia moved out
* I started dying my hair
* fraterrisus moved in
* I got into and started attending grad school
* I started dating spike
* I quit my job at CKA
* I graduated from grad school
* I got a job at WalkBoston
* I quit my job at WB
* I got a job at athenahealth
* I bought a house

And that's just a few self-centered highlights! 8 1/2 years is a long time, and a lot happened in that time. I feel like a pretty different person from when I moved in, and it's been a super great place to call home for all that time.

It makes me both nostalgically sad to look back at all that and know I'm moving on, and excitedly anticipatory and happy to look ahead at what might be coming next. Life is so full of surprises.

Comments

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! That's a huge milestone and I hope it will be a very happy home for you. I will miss seeing you at UDL and hope we can make those plans to get together on purpose sometime after the move.

[snowy-owlet.livejournal.com]

May your new house quickly become home.

[bluegargantua]

Congratulations!

later
Tom

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

wow, congratulations!

if this is the gearbox i remember, i named that cat while i was still living in seattle.

i've been in my house in somerville for fourteen years. it's possible i'll leave feet first :)

[sparkymonster.livejournal.com]

For some reason I'm fixated on butt length hair.

Also congrats on the new house and new adventures

[arachne8x.livejournal.com]

Are you guys going to share it as one household or carve it up somehow? Congratulations!

[lcohen]

congratulations!!! i hope that it's a wonderful place for you in all possible ways!

[jillbertini.livejournal.com]

Congrats! How exciting!

[missionista.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on finding (and more importantly, closing on) a place! Hooray!

[regyt.livejournal.com]

Mazel tov! Live in it joyfully!

[trom.livejournal.com]

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay

[infinitehotel.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! May the new house bring you new things to make you happy.

[kimcob.livejournal.com]

GO YOU! Enjoy!

[ceo]

Congratulations! May it be a house of joy for you all.

[kcatalyst.livejournal.com]

Yay! Also, pics or it didn't happen!

[ectropy.livejournal.com]

Felicitations again on this exciting new part of your life!

[cos]

I haven't yet lived at any one place for that long!

[fanw.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! Can't wait to see the new place!

[muffyjo]

Congratulations! Sounds like you've done so much with your adventures so far. More growing and adventures to come!

[metaphortunate.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! That's awesome.

[catness.livejournal.com]

Yay new house!!!!

Congrats, and good luck on the next part of your journey. :)

House purchase.

[jd-trouble.livejournal.com]

{Putting on Financial Planner Hat. Begin unsolicited advice}

Congratulations.

I hope you worked out in writing the terms of ownership before signing a sales contract and taking on debt. A separate partnership contract should have been drawn up detailing what is expected from each person, such as initial equity input, handling on-going expenses, responsbilities for managing operations, establishing shares and valuations, making decisions that effect the partnership and jointly held assets, and separation issues. Issues such as what happens if one person becomes unable or unwilling to pay their share (disability, loss of employment, death) and how conflicts are resolved are best worked out before they occur.

If you haven't already, there is still time to engage professional legal help for the partnership stuff. It'll be much cheaper now than if you have to sue to resolve differences later.

Buying a house is the largest financial transaction most people will be involved in their life. There are huge risks, and partnering with people who are not a legal spouse involves significant groundwork to avoid potential disaster, both personal and financial. Get this stuff in writing.

Really, I hope it all works out. Take care of yourself.
{End unsolicted advice. Taking off Financial Planner hat}

Re: House purchase.

[aroraborealis.livejournal.com]

Reading your comment left me thinking, "What are his goals, here?" I presume your idea was that this comment would be helpful, but what you have achieved is an impressive display of mansplaining.

Does something about either my post or the very little you know about me make it seem like I lack the capacity and/or inclination to think carefully about my financial and life decisions? Do you have reason to think that I need unsolicited advice from a near stranger about my major life choices? Did you think about me at all when you wrote this, or were you so excited to share something you know that you didn't consider the implications of telling a near-stranger how you think she should manage her life? What makes you think this is appropriate or needed?

Believe me, I am aware of the magnitude of the decision I have undertaken. I am profoundly offended that you would extend this degree of unsolicited -- and, indeed, unwanted -- advice to me or anyone you know as barely as you know me, on this, or, frankly, any topic.

Re: House purchase.

[jd-trouble.livejournal.com]

You're absolute right. Despite my personal and professional experience, I had no business butting in. My post was condescending and my intentions are/were completely irrelevant. Lesson learned. I wish you only the best outcomes in your endeavor.

Re: House purchase.

[aroraborealis.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much.

Re: House purchase.

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

Wow! jd_trouble, this is all really great advice!

I was about to roast a chicken for supper tonight. Could you please instruct me a little about proper food safety for handling raw poultry, and what temperature I should cook it at?

Thanks!

[darthsunshine.livejournal.com]

Woo-hooooo! Congratulations. :D