Home Sweet Home: A Q&A

The new digs

Q: So, you guys are moving to a new place?
A:  Yup.  We bought a house in Somerville, at 8 Fennell Street, near Magoun Square.
Q:  Congrats.  I didn't even know you were looking.
A: We weren't.   For a long time, we thought we could fit us and two kids in our current apartment.  I guess, technically, we could, because babies themselves are small.  But all the baby stuff?  That turns into kid stuff?  Forget it.  It became obvious pretty early on that we'd outgrown this place.  So, we started looking in early October, made an offer on October 22nd, closed on November 30th, and we'll move in December 15th.
Q: Yeesh, that was fast.
A: Tell me about it.
Q: So what are vitals on the place?
A: Three beds + study, two baths, almost 2,400 square feet of living space, front yard and back yard with covered patio, fireplace, eat-in kitchen, finished basement with a bonus kitchen.
Q: A bonus kitchen?  So you have two kitchens?
A:  Yeah.  I'm pretty excited about it.  It's common in old school Italian homes; the upstairs kitchen is for show, the downstairs kitchen is where the sausage gets made, so to speak.  I was positively frolicking through Home Depot, picking out my two gas ranges.
Q: Should we be expecting twice as many dinner parties?
A: Maybe not twice as many, but there will be some kind of multiplier effect.
Q:  How's the neighborhood?
A:  Great.  It's about a mile and a half from our current place, on a small dead end street.  It's across the street from a big park that has two baseball diamonds and two basketball courts and close to the best public elementary school in the district.  The closest T stop is Davis Square, which is about a twenty minute walk, but there are some smaller squares close by that have restaurants, shopping, and public transit.
Q:  Sounds a lot like your current neighborhood.
A:  Our current neighborhood has gentrified a lot in the past few years.  The new neighborhood is a little more "Old Somerville", families that have lived there for decades rather than yuppie transplants.  But the footprints of Davis Square and Tufts University are growing, and will probably include us soon.
Q: Tufts, huh?  So you're trading one brand of college kids for another.
A:  It's Boston.  College kids are pretty much unavoidable.
Q: So, how much did you guys end up paying, if you don't mind me asking.
A:  Not at all.  It's nothing that can't be looked on the city assessor's website.  We paid $473,000.
Q: Whoa!
A: I know.  It's more than I ever thought I'd ever pay for a house ever in a billion jillion years.  But for the area and for what we got, it's a bargain.  Similar single family homes are running at least a 100K more.  We actually ended up paying about 75K over asking price because there were eleven other bids on the property.
Q:  What are you most excited about in your new place?
A:  It's the little things.  A dishwasher.  Not having to go to the laundromat.  No ancient shag carpets.  Oven knobs that don't come off in your hand.  A bathroom wide enough for two adults to pass each other.
Q:  Is there air conditioning?
A:  Nope.  No air conditioning.
Q: Seriously?!?  Are you guys secretly Amish or something?  With the apple butter and everything?
A:  Sometimes it feels that way.
Q:  What are you going to miss most about your current place?
A:  The neighborhood.  My favorite coffee shop.  My little fancy grocery store.  My big not-so-fancy grocery store.  The little playground catercorner from our place.  The tree lined walk to Harvard Square. Our crazy neighbor with all the ducks in his yard.  For the past few weeks, I've had to remind myself daily that it's only a quick walk away.  Now it's almost hourly.  In my head, I know that I will find just as many things to love about the new neighborhood.  But my heart doesn't know that yet.
Q: And Mary?
A: And, of course, we'll miss our landlady "Grandma" Mary.  But we'll definitely be bringing Leo by for visits.
Q:  There's a rumor that you wrote a sappy letter to sellers to try to persuade them to take your bid.
A: Guilty.  It was on the advice of our realtor.  And it was high-octane sap. If I put in the whole thing, you might have to squeeze it out over your eggo waffles, but here's the last paragraph.

               "We read in the listing that this home has been occupied by the same family for the past sixty three years, since 1949.  Know that if you let us buy this home, it will stay a family home as long as we own it.  We will take care of it and take pride in it, hopefully for the rest of our lives.  This home has clearly seen some good years, and we hope to add many more good years of our own."

Q: Oh, lord.  You were laying it on thick.

A:  It gets worse.  We included a family photo.

Q:  Did it make a difference?

A:  We'll never know for sure, but Aaron went by the house today, and there was a bottle of champagne in the fridge and a note from the sellers, congratulating us on our new home.