4th of July holiday, we were riding around the neighborhood and decided to ride down a new section of the neighborhood they were building. It is just a 3 cul-de-sac section and one of the streets backs up to the 15th hole of the golf course. They were just starting to build a house that was the exact size we needed, had all of the room we needed, backed up to the golf course and was within our budget. It was early enough in the build, that we could have them add a 4th bathroom, change the locations of things and we'd get to pick out everything on the inside. So it was like a custom build, but with speck house ease. Just 1 little problem... we currently already had a house.
We knew the new house would sell quick, and we wanted to get in early so we could customize it. So we didn't have time to sell our house and then make an offer on the new house. Before we made an offer on the new house, we met with several realtors to look at our current house. They each had the same expectation of what our house would sell for and how long it would take. Since it was still several months out from the new house being ready, and after a lot of prayer, we decided to put our house on the market and make an offer on the new house.
The close date for the new house was November. So we had about 4 months to get our current house sold. I was so stressed about selling the current house, it kept me relaxed about building the new house. I didn't have any more anxiety to spread out! I didn't stress about the new house, because my focus was all on selling the current house. We had an amazing realtor who is probably one of the hardest working woman I know. And she is a good friend of ours. She marketed our house like crazy and put up with Rob's Type A controlling personality and my irrational and pessimistic personality. (Not that I'm usually a pessimistic person, I just didn't want to get my hopes up about anything with the house. I just wanted to prepare for the worst in all cases. It helps me survive, but is a pain for everyone around me!) Julie was amazing though. Our house formally went on the market the last week of July. We had showings every other day the entire month of August. September slowed down a bit, but then picked back up in October. But we were panicked. We were supposed to close on the new house in a month. We had a plan B, C & D, but still. To say it was stressful was an understatement! (Note: I know that there are millions of other people that have had real estate worries that are a billions times worse than this. I get it. Our situation was in no way direr, but that still didn't prevent me from worrying about it day & night!)
Then, in October, a woman came to look at our house. And then came back the next day. Both times she stayed for over an hour. (I know because I would normally go to our next door neighbor's house during showings. And we'd spy on the people looking at our house. Not creepy at all.) And then she put in a full price cash offer. And she wanted a quick close. Yes & Yes!! Her house had sold quicker than she expected, so she was in a hurry to buy a new house. And we were in a hurry to get our house sold before we had to close on the new house. Her buyers were awesome, she as a seller & buyer was awesome and our builder was awesome. We all worked together, put dates out there and made them work. Her buyers closed on her house one afternoon, she closed on our house that night and we closed on the new house the next morning. She gave us 2 days after closing to move out of our house and her buyers gave her 4 days to move out of hers. Everyone was so cooperative! See, it pays to be expect the worse. Because then no matter what happens, you are pleasantly surprised. Ha! But all kidding aside, I am forever grateful to everyone who made this process so seamless, for my friends and family for putting up with my constant worry, but most of all for a Savior who forgives us when we let fear and worry overtake our trust in Him.
On November 16th, we said good-bye to the old house, one final time. It was bittersweet. We loved that house. It was the first house that Rob & I purchased together. It was the house Jake spent most of his childhood in up to that point. It was the house that we brought Hollon home to. Our next door neighbors were some of our best friends. But we were comforted that the new house was less than a mile away, so other than a new house and our neighbor besties being a golf cart away instead of a walk next door, nothing else would change. Same neighborhood, same school, same church. So while sad to say good-bye to the old house, everything else was staying the same.
It has been so long since I've updated the blog, I'm sure I've lost the only 2 readers I previously had (my mom & in-laws). But this blog is my record book. I thought about stopping, but then what would I use to remember all the things we did in life? I certainly can't depend on my memory and I'm not consistent enough to rely only on social media. So I will continue the blog, if anything, just for my own record keeping. This is the story of how our new house came about. Next post will be pictures of our old house (so I can remember down the road) and then pictures of the building process of our new house. So stay tuned!
We knew the new house would sell quick, and we wanted to get in early so we could customize it. So we didn't have time to sell our house and then make an offer on the new house. Before we made an offer on the new house, we met with several realtors to look at our current house. They each had the same expectation of what our house would sell for and how long it would take. Since it was still several months out from the new house being ready, and after a lot of prayer, we decided to put our house on the market and make an offer on the new house.
The close date for the new house was November. So we had about 4 months to get our current house sold. I was so stressed about selling the current house, it kept me relaxed about building the new house. I didn't have any more anxiety to spread out! I didn't stress about the new house, because my focus was all on selling the current house. We had an amazing realtor who is probably one of the hardest working woman I know. And she is a good friend of ours. She marketed our house like crazy and put up with Rob's Type A controlling personality and my irrational and pessimistic personality. (Not that I'm usually a pessimistic person, I just didn't want to get my hopes up about anything with the house. I just wanted to prepare for the worst in all cases. It helps me survive, but is a pain for everyone around me!) Julie was amazing though. Our house formally went on the market the last week of July. We had showings every other day the entire month of August. September slowed down a bit, but then picked back up in October. But we were panicked. We were supposed to close on the new house in a month. We had a plan B, C & D, but still. To say it was stressful was an understatement! (Note: I know that there are millions of other people that have had real estate worries that are a billions times worse than this. I get it. Our situation was in no way direr, but that still didn't prevent me from worrying about it day & night!)
Then, in October, a woman came to look at our house. And then came back the next day. Both times she stayed for over an hour. (I know because I would normally go to our next door neighbor's house during showings. And we'd spy on the people looking at our house. Not creepy at all.) And then she put in a full price cash offer. And she wanted a quick close. Yes & Yes!! Her house had sold quicker than she expected, so she was in a hurry to buy a new house. And we were in a hurry to get our house sold before we had to close on the new house. Her buyers were awesome, she as a seller & buyer was awesome and our builder was awesome. We all worked together, put dates out there and made them work. Her buyers closed on her house one afternoon, she closed on our house that night and we closed on the new house the next morning. She gave us 2 days after closing to move out of our house and her buyers gave her 4 days to move out of hers. Everyone was so cooperative! See, it pays to be expect the worse. Because then no matter what happens, you are pleasantly surprised. Ha! But all kidding aside, I am forever grateful to everyone who made this process so seamless, for my friends and family for putting up with my constant worry, but most of all for a Savior who forgives us when we let fear and worry overtake our trust in Him.
On November 16th, we said good-bye to the old house, one final time. It was bittersweet. We loved that house. It was the first house that Rob & I purchased together. It was the house Jake spent most of his childhood in up to that point. It was the house that we brought Hollon home to. Our next door neighbors were some of our best friends. But we were comforted that the new house was less than a mile away, so other than a new house and our neighbor besties being a golf cart away instead of a walk next door, nothing else would change. Same neighborhood, same school, same church. So while sad to say good-bye to the old house, everything else was staying the same.
It has been so long since I've updated the blog, I'm sure I've lost the only 2 readers I previously had (my mom & in-laws). But this blog is my record book. I thought about stopping, but then what would I use to remember all the things we did in life? I certainly can't depend on my memory and I'm not consistent enough to rely only on social media. So I will continue the blog, if anything, just for my own record keeping. This is the story of how our new house came about. Next post will be pictures of our old house (so I can remember down the road) and then pictures of the building process of our new house. So stay tuned!
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