moving up

last week, i posted that we are moving, but i didn't know when or where. now i know answers to both questions. we found new townhomes that are being built just a little west of where we are now. they are beautiful. despite the fact that it's a townhome, and not a detached house, it's worth it because it has everything we love, except for a backyard. everything comes standard - granite countertops, hardwoord floors on the first floor, stainless steel appliances (which we opted for black appliances to get more upgrades, like hardwood on the second and third floors), jacuzzi tub, walk-in closet, two car garage...i could go on.

because it is still in the process of being built, we won't be able to move until march at the earliest - but we're told we will get more money for our condo if we wait until february, which is considered the spring market. we shall see.

after our experience with buying our condo new, we promised ourselves we would never buy new again. this builder is extremely reputable though (which our current builder is not - they were ranked below average by my friend j.d. power) and these homes are already well on their way to being built and finished. our agent says the builder is also well-known for top-quality homes that finish on time (i didn't think such a builder existed). also, we can apparently set the move-in date for may, but we just have to give 60 days' notice if we want to move in as early as march. which means we put our condo on the market in february and once that sells, give the builder notice and we can move in within 60 days. we shall see if this too holds true.

in the meantime, our agent saw our condo and said we would have to do very little to prepare for the open house, other than put away some personal documents and wash the windows. the hiding of personal documents should be easy...and we have until january to decide how we're going to go about washing the windows ourselves in the dead of winter...