After we sold our house in Washington, it became apparent that we actually need to get serious about finding a house to live in or decide to rent forever. Renting forever was not something we wanted to do (that will be in a separate blog about a horrendous neighbor and cat terrorism!) so we started to think about building the home we wanted instead of hoping for it.
Our realtor contacted the owners of the modern house at 349 Nassau in downtown Charleston. Turns out the owners are also the builders. They had been working on another house in Old Mt Pleasant, and they invited us to come by and see it. The house wasn't for sale because one of them was going to live in it, but they wanted us to see more of their work. They explained it was also a modern-style home in Charleston (okay, so there are at least *2* affordable homes here now!!) Who are we to argue? We met them at the "other" Charleston modern home with our realtor and they showed us around. The property wasn't finished at that time, but it had the same modern lines, sensible details and the kind of look we are hoping to have some day. This home would be at home in Seattle!
The builders, named Paul and Dan Swedloff, have developed properties from ground up and then sold them, until we came along. They haven't worked directly with clients like us before. However, magically, they are interested starting that kind of work. Good for us, good for them!
We went back a few weeks alter for a second meeting with Paul and Dan. This time they introduced us to Dan's girlfriend Megan who is conveniently their architect too. We discussed details of how designing and contracting a home with them would work. They were new to it, we were new to it but we all seemed to understand each other and really get along. Jon and I had conversations that we would actually hang out with Paul and Dan and have a beer with them. They seemed like good people!
We gave Paul, Dan, and Megan a CD of images we have been collecting of modern homes, interiors, and design features we like. Jon has been collecting stuff for years. Jon had even sketched a few pages of the kind of home we're dreaming about.
Building our own home is not our first choice nor the simple path. We know it will be stressful. As I've mentioned before, in the past year Jon and I have managed to get married, get new jobs, live in different states (separately for long periods of time), and move everything we own to another state. But maybe what the hell...let's round out the list of "stressful things two people can do together" with a custom-built home too.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
The Search Continues
We looked at many more houses. So it turns out that yes, 349 Nassau may in fact be the only affordable modern home within 50 miles of Charleston. We finally found a home that was decent, NOT Modern, but we were getting tired of looking. And, we did the whole get married thing and then new job thing, and it seemed like "enough is enough" let's just compromise and settle on something "good enough". We thought about it long and hard and decided that it was time to make a decision because it would make our stress levels much lower. This was the house....
It was not what we were looking for but it didn't look as 'old balls' as the other houses we had seen. Less decorative trim. It had a big two car garage, it had a good layout, awesome appliances and a tank-less water heater. It had not been lived in for a few years which was cause for concern it needed a good owner that would love it and take care of it. So we decided we'd make an offer as soon as we sold our WA house.
Right before we sold our WA house, we spoke with our real estate agent and he told us the owner of the house has taken it off the market and it is no longer for sale! We weren't going to offer them full price anyway and the number we thought it was worth was probably a long shot. So maybe fat worked out the decision for us.....
The search continues......
Right before we sold our WA house, we spoke with our real estate agent and he told us the owner of the house has taken it off the market and it is no longer for sale! We weren't going to offer them full price anyway and the number we thought it was worth was probably a long shot. So maybe fat worked out the decision for us.....
The search continues......
A Shimmer of Hope?
One day when we were driving to dinner downtown, I was driving and Jon got the opportunity to look around. As we were exiting the Ravenell Bridge (hey, its very modern!) he said "oooo, what is that house for sale?" We glanced at it and continued on our way knowing we would drive by it many more times. He looked it up online later and we found the listing. Looked pretty "modern" to us! Maybe there is hope after all!
A few phone calls to our realtor and we scheduled a showing of 349 Nassau. Turns out this is an affordable house (listed in the mid-300s) and although it was a little smaller than we wanted (about 1800 square feet) we would have seriously considered buying it if it was another location. I know beggars can't be choosy but come on...road noise, major highway and a bad part of town are not ideal, especially with 2 adventurous outdoor cats!!
We decided to keep looking as surely this is not the ONLY MODERN HOME in Charleston....Right?? We did get the builders name and number just in case!
We decided to continue looking for houses as it is not likely this is the ONLY one in Charleston and kept the owners/builders in mind, just in case.
 |
| It is not mid-century modern but it is modern and it is in Charleston...There was hope! Simple, clear exterior with a smart look. |
 |
| Big wall of windows |
 |
| Modern roof line and exterior finish |
 |
| Industrial garage door, Design Within Reach style house numbers |
 |
| Modern staircase with reclaimed wood, modern island |
 |
| Ikea cabinets and Modern railing |
 |
| At night the staircase looks like one continuous line |
We decided to keep looking as surely this is not the ONLY MODERN HOME in Charleston....Right?? We did get the builders name and number just in case!
We decided to continue looking for houses as it is not likely this is the ONLY one in Charleston and kept the owners/builders in mind, just in case.
In the beginning......
Our story actually begins in March, 2010; but we didn't have the time to start a blog until now so we are catching you up with the first few posts.....
We got married in October of 2009, both took new jobs in January of 2010, and we started living (at least most of the time) in Charleston in March. Part of the relocation "deal" (and we use that term loosely) is the incentives to buy a home in our new city. Over several months we looked at hundreds of homes in Charleston, both online and in real life. One home after another seemed about the same they all had the "Low Country" style, Well kudos to Charleston for at least having a style (try that, Ohio) and for preserving the heritage of the old South, but Low Country Style is definitely NOT our style. To us, all of the homes looked alike. Here are some examples of homes we looked at:
The homes are very big-looking from the street. They have lots of details and they are usually elevated (for floods and hurricanes, I am sure, but also to just look more expensive). The interiors have very high ceilings - which is great - but also a lot of wasted space. There is extensive wood trim and moldings, coffer ceilings and superfluous details. Most homes do not have gutters, which baffles us a little, and it looks like insulation is pretty poor in general, despite the high heat and need to run and air conditioner most of the year. A lot of form before function. Jon calls the look 'old balls'....Not exactly complementary, but many of you understand what he is getting at. Sometimes Jon calls our male cat "old balls" so I never know exactly what he means.
We were assigned a very nice and competent realtor and we explained we were looking for a modern home. Or better yet, a real 1960s-era atomic mid-century modern home. He worked with us tirelessly, but nothing ever came up. There either just weren't any for sale, or they just weren't any ever built here. Sure for millions of dollars some of the beach front properties were modern, but nothing in our middle class prices range for sure.
We got married in October of 2009, both took new jobs in January of 2010, and we started living (at least most of the time) in Charleston in March. Part of the relocation "deal" (and we use that term loosely) is the incentives to buy a home in our new city. Over several months we looked at hundreds of homes in Charleston, both online and in real life. One home after another seemed about the same they all had the "Low Country" style, Well kudos to Charleston for at least having a style (try that, Ohio) and for preserving the heritage of the old South, but Low Country Style is definitely NOT our style. To us, all of the homes looked alike. Here are some examples of homes we looked at:
The homes are very big-looking from the street. They have lots of details and they are usually elevated (for floods and hurricanes, I am sure, but also to just look more expensive). The interiors have very high ceilings - which is great - but also a lot of wasted space. There is extensive wood trim and moldings, coffer ceilings and superfluous details. Most homes do not have gutters, which baffles us a little, and it looks like insulation is pretty poor in general, despite the high heat and need to run and air conditioner most of the year. A lot of form before function. Jon calls the look 'old balls'....Not exactly complementary, but many of you understand what he is getting at. Sometimes Jon calls our male cat "old balls" so I never know exactly what he means.
We were assigned a very nice and competent realtor and we explained we were looking for a modern home. Or better yet, a real 1960s-era atomic mid-century modern home. He worked with us tirelessly, but nothing ever came up. There either just weren't any for sale, or they just weren't any ever built here. Sure for millions of dollars some of the beach front properties were modern, but nothing in our middle class prices range for sure.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)