Building our Redmond Home

Real Estate is a funny business.  Timing is everything, and the entire process is one big chain of events.  Like a linked list you are only as good as your weakest link.  Miss a date and the deal is off.  It's a funny dance of tango, where if you get it right it looks beautiful and effortless, but if you are not good and lucky brace yourself for a train rack.  Confused?  Yeah so was I!  Thank GOD for the cute realtor, at least I can be lost in her eyes while she explains this, and when she says it, it all sounds pretty.  Then again maybe it's just the caveman club over the head effect.  But enough of that, let's write down the timeline so that you can follow along from home:

• 3-17 (Mon) - we put the official offer on the house.  It's a full price offer, meaning I didn't haggle or negotiate on the price of the house.  When you buy a new house the builder will usually sell you a basic house, and then as you build it he will sell you a bunch of upgrades.  After you are emotionally attached to the house it's hard to say no to that nicer tile, better carpet or designer paint on the wall.  Knowing that I can't say no to the wife, this easily nets you out for an additional 30k once the house is done.  Being a smart cookie I negotiated on that.  I said, "Buddy it's a buyer's market right now, I'm buying your best lot, with your best house on top of it.  I'm paying for it now even though I don't move in till September.  By then the economy could have gone to shit and the house could be worth 20% less than when I bought it.  I'm removing that risk from you, so you are going to give me peace of mind.  I'll do a full price offer but you'll throw in *all* the upgrades for free.  And btw if you negotiate on that with me deal is off the table".  Not surprisingly they say yes, so I get the house with a theoretical 4% discount. Good enough and likely what I would have negotiated on the price anyways, so I'm getting a good deal in my mind.
• 3-18 (Tues) - Builder comes back with a signed contract
• 3-19 (Wed) - We have mutual acceptance.  Meaning both parties agree on the deal and the deal is final.  Now the fun begins.
• 3-26 (Wed) - In real estate nothing is ever final.  Our offer is contingent on selling my current home.  If I don't sell my current home I won't have enough money in the bank to buy the new home.  If I don't have enough money I don't want to be stuck with a house I can't afford.  So the offer has a clause that says the following: "Our existing home must be on the market by no later than 7 days after we have mutual acceptance".  This signals to the seller that we are indeed serious about selling our existing home and moving into the new one. 
• 3-26 + 60 days - The builder does not have infinite patience.  After all he can't sell our property to anyone else while we have it, but if we don't sell our house we are not buying it.  So he needs to hedge as well.  He gives us 60 days after the house goes on the market to sell it.  If we don't sell our house in 60 days, once again the deal is off the table so that he can sell the home to other people. That really becomes the next big milestone.  Can we get an offer on our house in 60 days?  We shall see!
• House offer + 30-60 days - Once we get an offer on our house the dance starts again, but in reverse.  Now we are the sellers and someone else is the buyer.  They could also make a contingent offer etc etc.  When/if we get that contract we have to negotiate how long we'll give between that offer and the people moving into the house, which more often than not will entail them getting out of their current place and the cycle moves on. 
• Temp housing - now if you have been doing the math at home, you'll quickly realize that if things go our way we'll be on the street in about 120 days (4 months).  April + 4 months = July.  Our home is not ready till September so that gives us 1 or 2 months in between where we'll be homeless.  That means we'll have to find some temp housing for a few months, and move there while we wait for our home to be completed.
• September - move into the new house and call this saga complete :).   

Bet you didn't realize it was this complicated huh :)

Our home has a name: "The Shaw".  Shaw meet the world... world meet Shaw.  The outside of the Shaw comes in two flavors.  One with shingles and columns <yuck!> and one with singles and stone <hot!!>. Guess which one we chose :).  The circle on the scanned picture must have given it away :). 

The Shaw ( click on the picture for full size):

Now that you know what the home looks like, it's time to see how it fits on top of the property. First imagine that the home is a mirror image from the picture, think door and windows on the left and garage on the right. The 'XXX' are a solid wood fence separating us from the world and giving us privacy. The 'OOO' is an open fence that allows us to bask in the beauty of the natural growth protection area. The dotted line around the home represents landscaping (pretty grass etc).

Exhibit 1: ( click on the picture for full size):

Now that you know what the home looks like on the outside, come on in and let's take a look at the floor plan for the Shaw. Again remember that the home is a mirror image of what you see. If you look at the shape of the home and compare it to Exhibit 1 you'll note that the flat side of the home is on the left (not the right) and the 'stair shaped' side of the home is on the right (not the left). With me? Ok!

First thing to note is that we have the 'B Exterior Elevation'. This is because we have the stone front. Next you'll note that we did not go for the 'Alternate Family Room' on the main floor. We wanted the big windows in the back of the house so that we could stare into the backyard and the natural growth protection area. The alternate floor plan would hide that view and would leave us staring at the neighbors. Yuck!

As you move to the second floor you'll note a few choices. First the 'B Exterior Elevation', which again is a result of having chosen the stone front for the house. Next you'll note that we chose to have a 4th bedroom (computer room / den for us) as opposed to leaving it an open 'loft' space. Finally we kept the master bath as is as opposed to making the shower more elongated.

Finally you come up to the third floor and my favorite space in the house :). Yeah not much else to say about it besides the fact that it is gorgeous.

Floor Plan: ( click on the picture for full size):

We took many pictures of the old house.  Unfortunately you can only have 15 on the MLS.  That means that there were a lot of very cute pictures that did not make the cut :'(.  Well they'll at least get to shine here for you to see.

Introducing our honorable mentions:

Check out our lovely washing and dryer

A different view of the kitchen

Our powder room

The workout room

A different view of the living room

A loooooooooooooong view of the guest room

Now you can check out how sexy my realtor is as her photo is on the flyer advertising the sale of our old home.  Cute flyers no?  Would you buy this home?  I would... oh yeah... I did :)

Front and back of the flyer (click picture for full size):

Did I say it was near Microsoft?  So how close is close?  As I like to say it's segway close.  You better believe it I'm buying one of these once we move into the new house.  Can you see me 'commuting' into work in one of these bad boys :)? 

Here is a map showing where the home is.  Look in the middle of the map and you'll see a little star that says "Evergreen Lane".  Now go down 148th Ave NE, turn on 40th St and what do you see?  Yep Microsoft Main Campus.  For what it's worth most of 148th is also Microsoft.  For those that have come visit 'Evergreen Lane' is next door to the Pro Club (our gym).  Note how close it is to some of the best schools around (elementary, middle and high school).  Not that we are planning on having kids anytime soon <wink> <wink> ;).

Now if you zoom into Evergreen Lane you get to see the plot of land where the house is going to be built.  We are Plot #9, yes the one that says SOLD.  The home backs into a beautiful park called "Grass Lawn Park", and our lot is the most beautiful lot in the place being surrounded by the park on two of the three sides.  The big open space with the warning (!) sign is going to become the following:

• A new community building & outdoor heated patio
• Children's play and splash feature
• A resurfaced basketball court
• A boulder climbing area
• New landscaping with environmentally sensitive rain gardens
• A new maintenance building with eco-friendly green roof

So what are all the little cameras on the map? Well they are pictures of the park from those locations. In no particular order:

I have such a smart, sexy and pretty realtor.  Don't tell my wife but I have a crush on her!  She just listed our home and after looking at the listing I want to buy it.  Oh wait... I already live there... but not for long!

Here is the listing info with associated pictures.  Isn't our current home pretty?  Over the past week or so Amanda has been slaving over the house to get it ready.  And it shows.  The garden is all done up, the house is all cleaned up (more than usual) and we are getting ready to hide the dog and have people walk through it.  The home is listed for $564,800.00 (yes the realtor is a little psychotic with getting the price to *end* with an 8).  Anyone want to bet what it'll sell for?  I say we sell it for $550,000.00.  We shall see!

Feel the serenity & peacefulness that Duvall has to offer while only being 20 min. from Redmond. This fantastic home has a spacious and versatile floor plan that will meet all your family’s needs.  Play football and entertain your friends in the fully fenced private backyard.  There are 4 bedrooms upstairs plus a bonus room with a den downstairs. Lots of natural light throughout. Gorgeous hardwood floors from the entry to the family room & kitchen, designer paint colors and upgrades. Truly a wonderful home! Come take a look & make your way home!

WELCOME!

Open the door to your hardwood entry... and the vaulted ceiling LIVING ROOM invokes a sense of drama, perfect for entertaining.

The Living Room flows into the DINING ROOM with access on the right to the kitchen.

The large windows in the KITCHEN and family room flood the wonderful open bright room with natural light! This kitchen is perfectly planned with a center island, pantry and stainless steel appliances included. There is abundant storage to help keep everything looking tidy!

Another view of the kitchen from the family room. With both the kitchen and family room being so open, it creates the opportunity for casual gatherings to spill out into the spacious backyard!

Comfortable FAMILY ROOM to big for one picture. There is also plenty of space for your big screen television in the wall cut out (not shown, to right of the picture frame,) or shelving for books like there is on that wall now. Enjoy evenings by the cozy fireplace.

View from the entry of the STAIRWAY to the upstairs 4 bedrooms plus a bonus room and a view of the family room in the back and the den to the right.

Large enough DEN that 2 people can work in there at the same time.

Spacious MASTER BEDROOM with double door entry.

Other view of the fabulous master bedroom with walk-in closet and wonderful windows to let in lots of light and to take in views of the mountains.

Bask in the tub featured in this quite large 5 piece MASTER BATH.

Very large 4th Bedroom which is being used as a game room next to the master bedroom.

Here is one of the TWO BEDROOMS in the "2nd wing" of the house.  The 2nd wing, in addition to the 2 bedrooms, has a BONUS ROOM and 3rd bathroom.

Nice size 3rd bathroom with 2 sinks and shower-tub combination.

The large, private, fully fenced BACKYARD is practically a blank slate waiting to be developed for outside entertaining and playing football with friends.

After nearly 5 years in our lovely first home it's time for a move. It’s time to move to a newer home, closer to civilization, closer to Microsoft and a home that will take us through the next phase of our life. We've been looking for this mystical new home for about 6 months now and haven't been able to find one.

After having such a wonderful first home the bar is pretty high and our requirements only higher. So we decided to build our own home, this way we can specify the things we like and enjoy 'that new home smell'! I'm not sure how many times in one’s life one gets to build their own home, so I decided to document the event.

Eventually when the kids are old enough to care and are living in said house it may be neat to come back and look at the 'making of' the Kipman house. That's what this blog is about. Should be entertaining and we look forward to sharing the next ~6 months with you.

Kisses...

A&A