I'm on a roll lately with big news... HDawg turned one, we announced that I'm pregnant, we shared the gender reveal of baby #2... it's been quite an eventful end of the summer! But we like to keep things interesting around the Ten June house, so let's throw out a bit more fun news... we officially have an update on selling our old house!
For those of you who are new around here, the quick version of our house selling story is that David was given an opportunity at his dream job 75 miles away from our house back in January 2012. We immediately put the house on the market to sell. For over a year, he drove that distance (150 miles round trip!) while we showed the house non-stop. We had a lot of interest and even some offers, but nothing panned out. Chalking it up to bad timing, we took the house off the market in July 2012 before we had HDawg in August.
In November 2012, the house went back on the market. Again, lots of showings and even a few offers, but for various reasons (lost financing, etc.), everything fell through. Finally, in February 2013 we were sick of David making the drive and decided to move into a rental house closer to his new job while keeping our house on the market. Unfortunately, that meant not only paying a mortgage payment, a rent payment and two sets of utility bills each month, but also maintaining two houses. For the last six months, we've spent our weekends shuttling back and forth between the two homes to clean, cut grass, etc. Phew. It's been exhausting, needless to say.
Then, a couple of months ago, we had another offer. It wasn't a true purchase offer, but a lease-purchase offer which means that the purchasers offered to rent the home for one to two years and then they are financially obligated to purchase the home at that point. It wasn't exactly what David and I were expecting (we were hoping for a true purchase offer), but we were excited that there was finally some serious interest in our beloved home. To tell you the truth, but without getting into the gory details, we are still losing money with this deal, but we believe that's a product of when we bought versus when we are selling. So for those of you out there who are struggling with a financial loss when selling your home, just know that you're not alone. Luckily, David and I have had plenty of time to save and plan for this moment, so we're in a position to handle the loss appropriately. That certainly doesn't make it any more fun. We've simply had to accept that it's just part of this process.
As soon as the lease-purchase contract was formalized, David and I got to work moving the rest of our belongings out of our old house. We spent the better part of August selling our remaining furniture and belongings on Craigslist, taking boxes to Goodwill and packing up our favorite things for storage in a POD.
Then, a few weeks ago at the beginning of September, we met our new tenant-purchasers to hand over keys and get them settled into our old home. It was a slightly surreal and bittersweet moment, especially since this process has turned into such a lengthy one. But the family that is buying our home is so sweet and we feel like they are absolutely perfect for the home. We couldn't be more excited to hand it over to these folks and feel blessed that such great people came into our lives. Perhaps all of the other buyers weren't the best fit for the house? Maybe we were waiting all along for this great family to come love the house as much as we have?
We'll never know why the house selling process took so long for us (besides the obvious... a slow national real estate market and an extra, extra slow local market in our town), but David and I can only think that God has a plan and that everything happens for a reason. Don't get me wrong, it certainly wasn't an easy path. David and I have held many serious chats about the state of our house and have prayed over it for quite some time now. We clearly feel that this is the best option for us right now in our lives. Especially since that doesn't include paying a rent and a mortgage payment each month : )
So, you're thinking... well that's great, Michelle! Now you guys can get settled in your current rental home, let life quiet down a little and have baby #2 happy and content as can be. Right? Well, not yet! Unfortunately, David and I have had some awful mold issues in our current rental home. We've had mold experts in and while there is thankfully no toxic mold or anything scary like that, there are elevated levels of mold and moisture due to a crazy wet Georgia summer and an old home that sits on a poorly ventilated crawlspace. It's definitely not an ideal situation for a pregnant chick, a baby and an asthmatic (David). So we have decided to... wait for it... move, again!
You still with me on this saga? I feel like we're all over the place! I'm exhausted even just typing all of this.
But seriously. Let me be real for a minute. I'm pregnant (and still nauseous 24-7!), chasing around a one-year-old, just moved into this house six months ago, just finished moving out of our old house last month and now we're packing up again for the next move in two weeks to the new house. Holy cow. Let me say it again... but seriously. When I say life is cra-zay around our house, I mean it!
In the end, we couldn't be more happy right now. I am super in love with our new house. I can't wait to share it with y'all! It is ten thousand times more "us" than our current rental house. It's got more space, more updates, more yard, more community... it really is just incredible. See! Everything really does happen for a reason. It's certainly no fun moving but we are thrilled about the road ahead of us.
This has turned into a marathon post, so I'll just end by saying that we are happier than pigs in mud and I can't wait to get settled into the new house. And then maybe take a breather? Sit around and do nothing for awhile? Yeah right, y'all know I couldn't do that! Of course, I promise more info and pics on the new house soon. You know I'll keep y'all posted every step of the way : )
If you want to learn more about our moving adventure, including the process we went through from start to finish, our thoughts at various stages of the process and even fun posts like my favorite showing tips, check out our moving posts here.
Psst! Don't forget to submit your projects for tomorrow's Tuesdays at Ten June!
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Wow! What a whirlwind of a time, but all because of good things! That is so crazy about the mold. I hope they take care of it properly for the next tenants
ReplyDeleteCant wait to see the new place!!!
I have actually thought about the next family who lives here. Luckily the landlords have been pretty good about managing the mold issues, we just aren't comfortable with any remedial measures at this point. I sure hope they disclose it to the next tenants, though!
DeleteWOW..... catch your breath, friend!
ReplyDeleteI know, right? I need a drink! Wait... make that a water on the rocks? ; )
DeleteCongrats!
ReplyDeleteMAN! I will stop complaining when I am too lazy to put on pants- because I dont know how you do it!! Looking forward to seeing the new house (and super excited to see your new little man in a few months!)
ReplyDeleteI may or may not be approaching life with a "let's just fight the fires" attitude right now ; ) There's only one way to manage the crazy... you don't! Ha! Thanks so much, Casey!
DeleteCongrats on finding renters/buyers for your old home. And wow, what a whirlwind. But, I know you will all be glad to be settled once again before new baby arrives. Are you guys buying or renting another house?
ReplyDeleteLauren, I answered you via email... but for anyone else wondering, we'll be renting : ) I'll share more details soon!
DeleteWow! Craziness, I hope everything settles down for you after this next move!
ReplyDeleteIt's been a wild and crazy roller coaster but I really feel like everything is falling into place the way it's supposed to. Cannot wait to see the new digs and read about how you decorate!! xo
ReplyDeletewow!! i hope everything settles down for you soon but this is all exciting (minus the mold part).
ReplyDeleteYou're so right, Michelle! At the end of our crazy long days, David and I sit down for the first time at like midnight and think, wow... all of these things are such amazing blessings! Lucky us! Even if it is a little crazy for awhile : )
DeleteSo much excitement happening for you right now, I love following along and reading all the updates!
ReplyDeleteSo happy for you!
xo
Kate
Congrats, I love the interior and exterior of your house.
ReplyDeleteLots of crazy good stuff, Michelle! Praying that you'll find the extra measure of energy you need right now and that everything goes smoothly with the move! Hugs!
ReplyDeletexo Heidi
Holy smokes!!! That is bananas, Michelle. I am so so thrilled that you have found a new place to call home that you love. Can't wait to see all of your projects. Hang in there and be good to yourself. you have a lot going on!!!
ReplyDeleteSo excited for you and your family for all these amazing changes!!! You are so good to stay faithful and trusting with this whole phase!!! Soon you'll be settled and it'll be like none of it ever happened!!! xoxoxo
ReplyDelete