okay...
so the big move is pretty much over...we have the stuff in the attic and basement to still move over, but hey, there's a reason it's all in the basement and attic...we don't use it/know we have it/even need it or want it anymore...so we will slowly go thru it all and do lots more purging as we pack up those two areas!
But if we moved how come our stuff is still at the other place...how can we have 2 places at once...
That is answered with the why we moved question.
I know our move was a little surprising for many, but for us it's something we've be planning since last fall...
(obviously not planning too well if we still have stuff to move!)
maybe mentally planning since last fall.
our house...our home...our fixer upper...our money pit...
was a house we bought when I was 9 months pregnant with Wilson...
we bought it at the peak of the market
(not that we knew that at the time)
we had a 5 year plan...
the plan...
Year 1...put some money into the place, make it livable
(believe me it wasn't when we bought it!)
move into once it's livable but with a long list of repairs still needed...slowly fix issues here and there...with the little money we have...
and then...
we'll have lots of sweat equity poured into it and refinance!
Years 2-4....take all that cash from the refinance and turn our money pit into a wonderful before-and-after-HGTV-quality-makeover! (with professionals doing the majority of the work, because we can now afford the pro's since we poured enough sweat equity into the 1st year!)
Year 5...Get a hit HGTV Reality Show because of the amazing transformation our house went thru! Sell the lovely fixer-upper, make loads of $ and buy our dream family home!
5 year plan meets reality!
Year 1 came and the real estate market hadn't fallen, but it was hovering...we were at a plateau status with our money pit, couldn't refinance because we just were level...so let’s wait another year...fix things here and there with more creativity than money!
Year 2...market is slipping, but that's okay, it's just temporary, we'll wait it out and sell when we have enough to just buy a house without as many problems...
Year 3...we...okay me...went with the 'La-La-La fingers in my ears this isn't really happening approach'
Year 4...the market was so bad that I chose the more effective 'head-in-the-sand-approach' when it came to how bad the whole 5 year plan was looking
Year 5...we really just didn't even talk about 'the plan'
Year 6...yeah I know 5 year plans don't have a year 6...
Year 6...we sit down and I am forced to take my head out of the sand...I am forced to admit that the money pit is more than a cute name I affectionately call our home...it truly is a money pit and every dime we spend on the house is a total waste.
Beau and I did a lot of talking......a lot of praying...I did some crying...
we talked to professionals
we sought out Christians that would give us honest advice on our situation...
the situation being...
we were in a house that was too small for us...
a house that needed lots of repair that would cost lots of money...
a house that would never be worth the money it needed in repairs....
a house that I was emotionally attached to...
a loan that was getting ready to 'adjust' to a price that was WAY out of our budget...
We made the hard choice to try to begin the process of selling our house via a short sale...
and also had to accept the fact that if it doesn't sell in a short sale we would/will be facing a foreclosure.
so that is where we are now...we have a 'sale' date for our house of August...
We began looking into rentals in January, knowing that when the right one came up God would lead us to it.
In the months we were searching for a place to move we were able to pay off all our credit card debt and make a dent in our recent car loan.
I am still mourning the loss of our house...
I am mourning the loss of my dream to have the perfect HGTV before and after pictures...I had a sense of pride in this house that I was an ugly duckling that I could see the swan inside of it...I never saw the tens of thousands of dollars that it would take, I just saw the potential that it had...
but that potential was taking money away from my family, opportunities from our kids, time from my marriage and no house is worth that.
We are now proud renters...
We are living is someone else beautiful house...
a house that I can still make a home...
a home that has tons of indoor and OUTDOOR space for my family...
a home that will not drain our family financially, physically or emotionally...
a home that is in a safe neighborhood...
(....yes, I still hold onto the 'Viva Downtown' dream, but the riff-raff that would meander thru our yard at night and not let me feel safe having our kids play outside is not part of that dream...so I say let the 20 something hipsters without kids fulfill the Viva Downtown dream...we'll come and visit...
and the best thing happened the first morning in our new home...
a sleepy little boy wandered out to the living room and asked,
"Mom, can I go outside and catch frogs?"
because we finally have a home that is a place for kids to be kids!
and a bonus...here is a pic of Beau mowing our lawn...
something we haven't had in 13 years of marriage!
and once we get totally settled, unpacked, pictures up on walls, etc. I will give you a tour of our new home room by room!
