It started Thursday with looking at 24 resale (previously-owned) houses. We saw some possibilities and also determined pretty quickly "eliminating" factors. One of the last houses we saw became a very strong possibility, and we determined we would see it again the next day.
Friday started with 12 more resales, then visits to model homes and new builds. We probably looked at an additional 20 new homes.
That is when it became difficult. We had a really strong resale possibility, and two very strong new build contenders. We put them in order, then went and looked at the resale we liked. There were two factors that then moved it down from the top of our list- size (it was a little too big and had one more bedroom than we need) and a small set of power lines that ran through the back neighbors yards.
We went back to the new home center and put in a bid for the new "top" choice. We heard back from the new sales agent on Saturday with a counter offer, and came to an agreement around noon. We signed the contract and made the deal. We will close on or before the 24th of September.
Our new house is a four bedroom, 3 1/2 bath with a study, dining room, media room and two-car garage. It is in a new part of Cinco Ranch (near Katy, Texas), and is very close to Sidney's new school.
The house faces an area that will be a park, though it still isn't determined whether it will just be a green space or have playground equipment. Either way, there are several close-by parks, pools, bike trails, etc., in the area. The house is also only around a mile away from our friend Theresa from Findlay.
The house has a lot of nice features like granite counters, wood floors, iron stair spindles and such, but Kimber was sold when she saw the master bathroom. It is beautiful, and will be a welcome place to get ready for the day each morning!
Sidney has her own suite, with its own bathroom and walk-in closet. There is room for all of her bedroom furniture, as well as her other toys, play things and art desk.
We will have a few things to do after we get back to the U.S. for good and close on the house before we can fully "move in." It will take several weeks for our household goods in Norway to arrive back in the U.S., but we do have some stuff here in storage that we will start getting arranged.
We are really looking forward to being in our new home, but still are sad to leave our lives in Norway. We return to Norway tomorrow, and will continue to make the most of what time we still have left there.
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