So, on Friday, Ryan and I were driving back to PA when our realtor called. He asked if we had watched the news and we said “Yes.” Then he asked if we saw our house and we said, “No.” Then he said, well apparently it burnt down last night and I think we should rescind your offer. With that I told him to repeat what he just told me so that Ryan could hear it. And what do you think Ryan’s reaction was? LAUGHTER! He didn't know what to do besides laugh... I was all concerned; is everyone ok, were other homes burnt as well, etc.? In the end, we believe it was a sign from God telling us that we should be buying a house in Virginia right now, at least not that house.
As it turns out, no other houses were significantly damanged and everyone escaped, including the dog, safely.
Here is what we found on the internet:
Initial Article that we read: http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_news/smoking-blamed-for-sparking-condo-fire
Video: http://www.firerescuetv.com/video.php?vid=17a4113cb
Article: http://www.wvec.com/news/local/Discarded-cigarettes-blamed-for-Va-Beach-fire--90352564.html
Article: http://hamptonroads.com/2010/04/twoalarm-blaze-damages-virginia-beach-townhouse-other-units
The cause of the fire was "improperly discarded smoking materials," but it was later declared as arson. Desperate times lead people to do desperate things; it’s sad.
Future home…rest in peace.
I'll be living with my parents for the summer while Ryan is deployed. Saving money!
Showing posts with label house hunting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label house hunting. Show all posts
Monday, April 12, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
House Hunting In Virginia Beach...
House hunting in Virginia Beach has been interesting. Our search revolved around school districts, distance from the Norfolk Navy base, 3+ bedrooms, 2+ bathrooms, 1,500+ sq. ft., a yard or community area and an open floor plan. Ryan and I looked at houses for months and we were excited to finally get to Virginia Beach to see some of the “beautiful” houses we found online. Well, when we went to see the homes, they were in “transitional” neighborhoods i.e. a few really nice houses built into traditionally rundown neighborhoods. Being that we wanted a safe neighborhood, we discounted all of the houses and areas we saw the first weekend.
After another week of research, we decided to increase of price range a bit and look at five more houses. We strongly considered two homes, but one was not an open floor plan and was in need of a new roof. There were five different floors on the first floor (wood, carpet, laminate, 2 types of ceramic) and the entire upstairs was carpeted in a royal blue and there was carpet in the master bathroom…yuck! This house was also at the top of our price range, so we would not have had as much extra money to invest in fixing up the house. The other home was in a great neighborhood on a golf course. It was advertised at a 3 bedroom house, but essentially it was a master bedroom, a room with French doors and a closet (i.e. an office in my opinion) and a loft with two closets. Only half of the upstairs loft area was finished, so we would have had to finish it, at a window and a bathroom to make this house safe for a family. The floor plan was exactly what I was looking for, but the limited amount of bedrooms, amount of work and danger of golf balls flying into our house and at future kiddos worked against the house. The workmanship was also a bit shoddy, crown molding falling off, loose wood flooring, etc.
On our drive home Ryan and I decided to look into townhomes because the yards we were getting were about the size of a townhome and had a ton of work. We found a few townhomes and on Tuesday, 03/30/10, we drove down to Virginia Beach again and looked at a few townhomes. We liked a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom, open floor plan, 2 car garage townhome that was in a good neighborhood, great school district, near a great college and park, easy access to work and PA, so we decided to make an offer! Wish us luck!
Here is the floor plan of the house we decided to make an offer on.
After another week of research, we decided to increase of price range a bit and look at five more houses. We strongly considered two homes, but one was not an open floor plan and was in need of a new roof. There were five different floors on the first floor (wood, carpet, laminate, 2 types of ceramic) and the entire upstairs was carpeted in a royal blue and there was carpet in the master bathroom…yuck! This house was also at the top of our price range, so we would not have had as much extra money to invest in fixing up the house. The other home was in a great neighborhood on a golf course. It was advertised at a 3 bedroom house, but essentially it was a master bedroom, a room with French doors and a closet (i.e. an office in my opinion) and a loft with two closets. Only half of the upstairs loft area was finished, so we would have had to finish it, at a window and a bathroom to make this house safe for a family. The floor plan was exactly what I was looking for, but the limited amount of bedrooms, amount of work and danger of golf balls flying into our house and at future kiddos worked against the house. The workmanship was also a bit shoddy, crown molding falling off, loose wood flooring, etc.
On our drive home Ryan and I decided to look into townhomes because the yards we were getting were about the size of a townhome and had a ton of work. We found a few townhomes and on Tuesday, 03/30/10, we drove down to Virginia Beach again and looked at a few townhomes. We liked a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom, open floor plan, 2 car garage townhome that was in a good neighborhood, great school district, near a great college and park, easy access to work and PA, so we decided to make an offer! Wish us luck!
Here is the floor plan of the house we decided to make an offer on.
Let me know what you think!
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