Home on the Palouse
May 20, 2008

Last spring we met with our real estate agent, Joe Pitzer, in the hopes of buying a home. More than 400 days; two dozen or so home viewings; three accepted offers and three subsequent home inspections; two rescinded offers; and a load of frustration later, we have finally managed to buy a lovely new (to us) home.

When we first met with Joe, we had a simple wish list: a three-plus bedroom, two-story house with a basement and/or attic space; a large kitchen and an even larger yard for vegetables; and something from the Craftsman era or turn-of-the-century architectural styles. Added bonuses would have been a room for a library or den and maybe a garage. We were adamant that we didn’t want new construction or a “garage” house. As time went on and the “mortgage crisis” started to get in the way of our finding the perfect home, our criteria changed a bit – but what we ended up with is just lovely, and certainly meets all of our must-have needs.

We found a nice family home in a small town on the Palouse and we knew it was the place for us from the first viewing. It is a four bedroom house built in 1940, and sits on a nearly-10,000 square foot lot that will be ideal for growing fresh vegetables. The upstairs is an attic conversion and there is no basement – but there is a little shed at the end of the garden, which pleases Paul. The kitchen is smaller that Frances would like it to be, but the rest of the house more than makes up for that fact. You can tell from the condition of the home that all of the past residents have taken care of the property – which means that our weekends will be spent enjoying our new home instead of fixing it up!

The new home means a ½ hour commute for Frances, but she loves to drive and isn’t at all concerned about the journey. It also means getting used to real small-town life. Paul grew up in a small town of “only” 50,000; Frances in a town of 1,700. Our new home boasts a population of less than 650 – it has a small tavern, a grocery store, a bank, a post office, and an old boarded-up café. But most importantly, it has us!

Now that we’ve bought a house, we will work to make it our home. We are excited about choosing paint colors and planting the garden, and will look forward to eating on the patio in the warm summer months, and cozying up in front of the fire place when winter’s cold sets in. Of course, the house is too big for just the two of us, so we’ll have to see what we can do to fix that dilemma next …

Check out pictures of the house and some action shots from moving day here.

Special Thanks To and Sincere Recommendations For:
Our buyers’ agent, Joe Pitzer, of Pullman’s ReMax Home and Land
Our home inspector, Paul Duffau, of National Property Inspections located in Moscow, Idaho