We didn't "have" to sell and move. We had been debating for about a year when the right time might be. We knew we wanted to be closer to Eric's job, closer to our doctors and places we frequent, and needed more space, the kids and the toys had over taken us! One night after the kids had went to bed Eric casually said "I think we should try and sell". I had been feeling the same way for a while and asked God that if it was the right thing to do to let it be clear to Eric as well. Within 2 weeks we had found a realtor and it was on the market. With Eric's job being in Conroe we initially thought we would move to Conroe. We like the feel of the area, a little more casual and "slower" with a small town feel like back home. What we didn't realize when we listed our home, even though the realtor warned us of this, is that home inventory in the Houston market is low and the demand for homes is high. Meaning it is a seller's market. Good for us selling, not so good for us looking. Most of the area's we liked we could either get a house in fabulous neighborhood for the same size or smaller than we had within our price range or we had to sacrifice location for size. In the end the home we bought we totally where God wanted us to be. It cuts Eric's drive time to work in half and I'm 5 minutes from The Woodlands where our doctors are and all the good shopping places. Plus we are still only 20 minutes from our church. Not as close as 1 mile away like the old house, but still within reasonable and doable driving distance. Long story short on the old house, after closing being pushed back 3 times by the buyer who was having difficulty obtaining financing and a 4th request we terminated the contract and as of last weekend put it back on the market. Terrifying to own 2 homes for the time being, but remembering God wouldn't have worked out everything the way he did if we weren't meant to move. With the crazy way the market is right now things are even selling above asking price. While the home we bought we originally got for slightly under asking, the appraisal came back short, like really short. Since we didn't have that kind of cash on hand we were going to terminate the contract and try and just build a home. In the end it worked in our favor and we were able to purchase the home for 16K less than we originally thought.
There are a ton of more crazy details in this whole buy/sell process that has given me quite a few gray hairs in the process, but I won't go into detail of those. All I will say is through everything that has happened God has been orchestrating EVERYTHING for our good. I am continually reminded of this when I start to stress over getting the old house sold quickly.
The kids have had a blast moving and being in the new house. Claire has been so excited about the new house. I was very nervous of how she would react moving. She isn't fond of change and really likes her routine and comforts she knows. Even the day we closed on the new house as we drove to it she was saying she wanted to go "home" meaning the old house. The instant we walked into the new house she lit up and has been in love ever since. Any time we got o the old house for something she refused to get out of the car and screams "no, go new house". I have to assure her she is still sleeping at the new house. Luke must like it too as he has slept 6-8 hours straight every night we have been here. He has been up every 2-3 hours for the past 2 months. Some sleep has been nice for the very very sleep deprived Momma, although the late nights spent unpacking haven't helped me catch too much.
Front of the new house
One of the last mornings at the old house
Claire immediately set up a gold fish picnic within minutes of walking into the new house.
So happy for you! I can sympathize with the moving/unpacking stress, we've been going through that too. It's so nice finally getting settled in though!
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