When Matt came home and told me he was ready to get his MBA I was floored.  He was essentially leaving a career he loved to pursue a future he envisioned.  When the process was all said and done he had made his final decision on MIT’s Sloan Business School – I couldn’t be more proud, and even more terrified.  I had started to feel somewhat comfortable in Southern California, and here I was ready to move again.

We rented in San Diego, because we had a 6 week time frame to get out there, and the only thing I was concerned with was getting the house we owned in Virginia rented…and organizing a cross country move.  We loved the home and neighborhood we rented in – but looking back now, that high rent didn’t make us any money,  so we decided no matter what, we were buying in Boston.  If we left in 2 years, I hope we don’t, we would rent whatever home we decided on. 

In the beginning of the search I was thinking there were so many coastal towns, we’ll buy a cute little beach style bungalow – like 1200 sq. ft., and I’ll gut it and renovate- which I actually love to do – Perfect! Well my perfect plan quickly went out the window. In one weekend alone, we viewed 23 homes – they were all awful; from the neighborhood, to the street, the traffic, the foundation (don’t get me started on these foundations), and so on…and on…and on.  We put in an offer on a home that weekend, we weren’t crazy about it, but we liked it enough.  We offered 8K more…we still lost.

I realized two things that weekend: 1. The Boston real estate market is insane right now, and 2. I really didn’t want a beach bungalow.  I was in BOSTON.  One of the oldest towns in America, and I was going about it all wrong.  So I started backwards – as in time: I craved something old, something with character that needed renovation and period restoration.

I also started studying real estate and business articles on Boston’s real estate market.  There aren’t enough homes for the buyers currently, so each house is getting on upwards of 20 + offers.  These offers are going for 20-40% over asking price, and people were paying cash.  I mean HELLO hell.  The only thing I had in my back pocket was a contractor’s background – because people wanted finished, renovated homes.  I began stalking zillow, I had my areas narrowed down and I swear some days I stalked every hour on the hour for new listings.  My husband was getting worried about my zillow obsession, and whether or not I  was going to pull the trigger on a home – even from CA.  I mean look people, I didn’t have the means to fly out whenever a house popped up.

One morning he tried to butter me up with cinnamon buns (his new Sunday tradition- ugh) and a latte in bed while politely telling me to get my ass in gear and pick a house or he was afraid we would be homeless.  I told him I wanted a HOME, and I had until the end of April to find it, and if I didn’t, only then would I  switch gears to finding an investment property.  That settled him down….for like 48 hrs.  I mean… I did try to get him to consider buying a home  built in 1730 (it was too far) and another home built around the same time, but the fact that it looked like it was going to fall over didn’t help my cause. He, not as politely, told me I was insane.

I wanted a Victorian, not a crazy clown house Victorian that people muddled up over the years, but a real deal French Chateau style Victorian.  The odds were NOT in my favor.  But alas, a house popped up.  I called the real estate agent, we face timed the house (yay technology) and then I called Matt.  He said ok, put an offer in, and we laughed because hahahaha – no way…not in this market would we get THIS house.  But we were the first to “face time”, or see it, and we put in an offer that day.  We went back and forth with the buyer on a price for him to pull it off the open houses that weekend.  And he agreed.

Just like that we had what I wanted…in one of the areas we wanted!  I swear I thanked God a million times a day because I couldn’t believe this home would soon be ours.  Don’t worry though…we had many issues to deal with over the 60 day period before closing, and surprisingly the mortgage was the easy part.  I just had to sign over my first born in a blood signature and the bank said OK Mrs. Shipman, even though your husband will not have a paycheck, and you are going to have school debt- it’s yours!  And that my friends, is how we locked in a ridiculously low loan rate.

Now this particular Victorian had one downfall.  It was renovated – I wanted to renovate.  No bid deal…I wasn’t a fan of the cosmetic choices, which leaned towards a Mediterranean style with poor tropical taste – the contractor did however keep a lot of the original touches AND the big ticket items were done.  Upgraded plumbing as well as electrical, new windows, new roof – all of these cost big and I was grateful I didn’t need to do it.  So I will still have my hands full restoring some of that amazing second empire/mansard/ Victorian style charm to my beauty built in 1888.  I hope you follow along, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE hearing ideas, inspiration, and opinions – or even questions as to why I choose what I choose!

Now I know…many of you are asking – “what’s wrong with this girl, this house is done, it’s beautiful, what is she thinking?”, and my husband asks me these same questions, yet when I explain the methods of my madness he gets excited to start the projects I have lined up.  Anyone with a deep appreciation of architecture, home styles, and interior design knows you do not buy a home such as this and not stay somewhat true to its history.  You can’t build Victorians anymore…the whole point of the style is the era they were born in!!!

One more thing.  I’m thoroughly convinced Victorian homes were owned by true hoarders.  They were built at a time the industrial age was booming, and everyone had to have everything…and everything had to be better than the next.  Walls were covered with “things”, rooms were over run with furniture, and trim work and ceilings oozed with ornamental woodwork.  OK, OK, I won’t like, I die over the woodwork….seriously, can’t get enough.  So as I go through room, by room I will not have the exact essence of that age, but more of a nod of appreciation to their glamour, textures, decadence, mill work,  and ambiance that no other style has come close to hitting on.

XO, Shannon