Empty California House

We decided that we were going to buy a house in California. I contacted a realtor help us choose a house. Aussie and I flew out in late February to go house hunting. I e-mailed a list of 25 houses to look at.

I flew to San Francisco and spent the night at my moms. We drove down Friday afternoon. My realtor informed me that 20 of the houses I wanted to view were short sales and that if I did put an offer on one of those house it could take 3-6 months before we could get moved in. I had less than 2 months!

I wanted to live in a certain neighborhood in Orcutt The schools are the best in the area and that part of town is closer to base. However, everything was over our budget or way too small. At the end of the weekend I put in offers for two houses, both short sales. Both houses were small than I wanted, but with big yards and in the right neighborhood. However, I wasn't really sold on either house and I flew home a little bummed.


One of the houses was sold quickly to someone who paid in cash and the other house wanted to wait to see if there would be another offer (that house is on the market now as a foreclosure, it is better for the owner to sale as a short sale).


I spent the next week pouring over the Internet and Realtor.com for another house to magically appear that I would fall in love with. And, it did!


This house was originally posted as a short sale, but no offers came through. The bank then took it off the market, paid for it to be painted and re-carpeted and listed as a foreclosure on Thursday. As soon as I saw we called the realtor, he went over and took pictures. We put in an offer right away. There was a little bit of drama with another offer and some confusion about which realtor was getting credit for the sale. In the end it all worked out and we bought this house.

I arrived in California with my mom on Wednesday, April 27th. We saw the house, signed papers on Thursday, April 28th, had the keys on Monday, May 2nd and unpacked the truck on Tuesday May 3rd. Travis arrived 3 weeks later. I had every room, except for the office and garage, unpacked and set up before he arrived. There was still a ot to do.

Around mid-July I think I could say that we officially are done unpacking.

Here are pictures the realtor sent to us. I haven't taken any of the house yet, but I will post them when I do.

This is when you first walk into the house. Living room to the right, there is another room past the door (formal dining room, which we use as a toy room), looking further down is the 'family room' (we use as the dining room) and kitchen:Living room. Its not huge, but but perfect for us. Legos have taken up permanent residence here, but those are the only toys in this room:

Formal dining room (AKA toy room). The dining room and living room have vaulted (cathedral ceilings...dumbest thing in the world, but Travis already has plans to add a 5th bedroom above the dining room):

HIGHLIGHT of the house!!! The kitchen!! On the other side of the island are more drawers and cupboards. I actually have empty cupboards. We bought a french door fridge, with the freezer on the bottom (thank you tax returns!!). What I love about it, is that it is functional, it has plenty of counter space, and a double sink.

This is really considered the family room because the fireplace is in the room and the cable hook up. We use it as the dining room. Where the TV is suppose to go, is where we keep our games. This is also double as our homeschooling area.

Here is a better shot of where the room is in connection with the kitchen. In the alcove next to the fireplace is where the games are. In the nook next to that is where I keep the homeschooling supplies.

Laundry room and door to garage:

Downstairs bedroom, currently being used as office/craft room (Moth free zone!):

Full bathroom on main floor. This shower is home to our pool toys/life jackets/inflatables, etc:

Side back yard. The shed is on this side with the kid toys and yard equipment. Travis pulled up the pavers next to the grass. That area is now a garden:

The swing set was included. Its is cemented in!

Looking down into the living room.

Looking down into the dining room:

Upstairs main bathroom. It has double sinks. And yes, I did get rid of the nasty, cushy toilet seat. I replaced it with the one downstairs. The downstairs bathroom now has a NextStep seat with the kid seat built in...best idea ever!

A corner of the master bedroom, looking part way into the master bathroom. There is not door, which means it is a master suite...so we were told! That little room is a room just for the toilet, isn't it special!Master bathroom. The door on the right is a huge walk in closet. The bath and shower are separate. Perfect for bathing 4 children at once:

Looking down into the backyard from the master bedroom:

Swing set. Travis made the poles by the slide longer, so there are two swings on either side. Then he removed the pole by the ladder. The kids were swinging into each other:

I don't have a picture of the front, yet. In our yard is a lemon tree and there was an orange tree, but Travis transplanted it into a different spot in the yard and it died. He should really steer clear of orange trees :-) Our neighbor' blackberries have found their way into our yard. Its great to have your own little berry patch, but not actually have to water it.

That's the house in all it wonderfulness. I'm already dreading having to move away from a house that is so perfect for us. There are some changes I'd make if we were going to live here longer, but for now we are very happy!