They accepted our offer!

[stellarose]

Wow, I am so happy. I was hoping they would just accept and not counter. We got everything we asked for. I still have to officially sign first thing in the morning, so hopefully no other offers come in over night that are worth retracting ours.

Anyways, hopefully we'll be done with inspection by the end of the week (two openings available). Do you suggest getting a lead base paint test? The previous owners said they have no testing results, but the house was built in 1947 so I am considering, better safe than sorry. They have little kids, but you never know.

The real reason for my post: Tell me your favorite MM decorating sites....either inspirational or MM decor. There is really nothing we will have to do moving in, but I want to get some paint up on the wall before we get too settled in. There are curtain rods on all windows, but no drapery so any MM suggestions there would be welcome too. I am a seamstress, but ultimately want to get something up relatively quickly for privacy. (no blinds)

[Deleted]

I would definitely get a lead based paint test. It's worth the money. I would also not use someone your realtor refers for the home inspection. We got burned on our last house when we went with our realtor inspector recommendation -- they did not tell us about mold growing under our patio deck and we never knew about it since we didn't crawl in the crawl space until we went to sell and the buyers inspector red flagged it. We had to spend 15k to fix the issue and it had been there for almost a decade (we owned the home for 2 years before selling)

As for house website I like Houzz. No advice on the windows, I would put up sheets for temporary until I order what I really want. No point in spending money twice!

Good luck and congratsulations!

[juliahenry]

I would not bother with the lead paint test. If the house was built/painted before 1976, then it has lead paint. Guaranteed. Unless it's peeling or obviously damaged, it's fine. The procedure for dealing with lead paint is expensive and time-consuming and it's just not worth the trouble. If you are worried about it, then buy a more modern house. And I say this having bought twice with small children.

The blog younghouselove is great for fun ideas and inspiration.

Have fun planning for your new home!

[hbomdiggity]

Oct 31, 2012 6:06:47 GMT -5 juliahenry said:

I would not bother with the lead paint test. If the house was built/painted before 1976, then it has lead paint. Guaranteed. Unless it's peeling or obviously damaged, it's fine. The procedure for dealing with lead paint is expensive and time-consuming and it's just not worth the trouble. If you are worried about it, then buy a more modern house.

This.

[countthestars]

Congrats!! I like Houzz and Pinterest for house ideas.

Blogs I like:
Bowerpower
Emily Ann Interiors
South Shore Decorating Blog

[LoveTrains]

Oct 31, 2012 6:06:47 GMT -5 juliahenry said:

I would not bother with the lead paint test. If the house was built/painted before 1976, then it has lead paint. Guaranteed. Unless it's peeling or obviously damaged, it's fine. The procedure for dealing with lead paint is expensive and time-consuming and it's just not worth the trouble. If you are worried about it, then buy a more modern house. And I say this having bought twice with small children.

The blog younghouselove is great for fun ideas and inspiration.

Have fun planning for your new home!

This - except for the buying with young children part.

I am buying a house from 1940. I am sure it has lead paint. It is what it is with an older home. just don't eat the paint chips or let the kids chew on the windowsills.

[phunluvin82]

Oct 31, 2012 2:55:42 GMT -5 @switzerland said:

I would also not use someone your realtor refers for the home inspection. We got burned on our last house when we went with our realtor inspector recommendation --

I agree with this. Same thing happened to my parents...a huge issue that was never written up in the inspection. I think the qualifications to do inspections vary by state...but here there are apparently a lot of pretty shoddy inspectors. I would try to get recs or reviews or somethings to make sure you get an inspector who knows what they're doing.

[stellarose]

Thanks everyone! I forgot about younghouselove....I've only heard of them on here and haven't read too much. So there should definitely be some good back posts to go through. Thanks for the other recommendations too.

Good call on the lead paint too. I didn't think about it that way. No kids, but I will make sure non of us eat paint chips or chew on window sills. Isn't it hazardous to pregnant women though? Is that from just being in the air? would layers upon layers of paint over the years sort of seal it up?

[lmh1209]

I agree with the others about not bothering to test for lead paint. We bought a 1928 house and didn't test. If you do any renovations, however, do make sure that you use contractors that are certified in the EPA procedures for houses with lead paint. For any house built before 1978, certain procedures should be used when sanding, cutting, removing windows, and doing other renovations that could disturb any lead paint that might be in the house. More info: www.epa.gov/getleadsafe/

[ondaflipside]

Congrats.