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April 22, 2004
Big changes are imminent
Is it just me or does it seem like there are a lot of families on the iParenting boards who have been buying/selling/moving homes. Well I am just thrilled/astounded to be able to add myself to that list! What? You didn’t know I was even looking? Well, maybe I should backtrack a bit.
You may recall that a few months ago I said that we felt we were outgrowing our home. We had never meant it to be any more then a ‘starter’ home. It was, after all, only two bedrooms so it didn’t take long to fill it up. But, even though we have only been here for 4 ½ years, I have really grown to love it and hated the idea of moving. Not only had we really grown to love our town, which we didn’t know much about when we moved here, but we also are part of a wonderful neighborhood that does things like organize meals for new moms and throw Halloween and summer parties. It really is a place where everyone waves to each other as you walk around and all the moms and the kids at the private playground know each other. Places like this are rare and I was loath to give it up, especially since there are tons of kids and I, myself, have trouble feeling comfortable in new surroundings. We seriously considered putting an addition on the house but a couple things slowed us down. For one thing, we live on a busy street that has always been a worry and we also live directly next store to a Catholic church that is probably going to be sold by the Boston Archdiocese to help pay their settlement costs from all the child molestation cases that they have to pay up for. While we have no idea what would go up in its place, we didn’t relish being next to a major construction zone, and feared condos or—worse—a Store 24 or the like could go up in its stead.
I did, however, listen to and appreciate the readers who wrote into my TTM board with advice re: buying vs. putting up an addition. The majority said over and over that a good neighborhood was hard to replicate so, while we go to open houses very often (it’s almost a hobby of ours, Ella enjoys it too), no matter how nice the house, I just couldn’t commit.
Then, a few weeks ago, came the perfect combination of everything we wanted. A house went up for sale right in the neighborhood. Jamie and I were giddy with excitement, made an appt to see it, and were crushed when the tiny kitchen and many needed updates made it a place we couldn’t see ourselves in. We so wanted it to be the right place for us, but it just wasn’t. Seriously wondering if we were making a huge mistake, we let it go and, crappy kitchen and all, it went for above the asking price the first weekend.
So last Friday, at 8 PM, we got an e-mail from our neighborhood association e-mail list announcing another one was going up. More expensive, but we drove by and saw it was a wonderful house, and this one had pictures on the internet that showed the inside to look very nice. Could this be ours? The only problem was, Jamie was leaving the next morning, Saturday, for a three day golf trip and the open house was Sunday. So I made an appt for Saturday afternoon, saw that it WAS our house, it was everything we wanted and more, and made an offer on the spot. Over asking price. Without Jamie ever even seeing it (although, in my defense, he had given me permission to do so). With Ella tagging along, pulling at my leg and trying to open all the drawers all the while. Without having our financing arranged at all. What a day that was! After spending two hours with the broker I had to bust home to arrange financing, write a killer letter about how we were the only people for the house, and then sit and wait and worry.
There were fifty people that came to the open house on Sunday and five offers for the sellers to review that evening. I waited and worried and worried and waited and then the call came that, while there had been offers that were higher, they liked the fact that we were from the neighborhood and they accepted!
YEAH!! In 48 hours we went from never even having seen the place to having committed to buy it. My head has been swimming from how fast everything happened but we had spent so much time thinking about all this that we knew exactly what we wanted and didn’t have to stop and pause. It really is a great home, too. Very similar to ours in a lot of ways, with all the rooms good sizes (including the third bedroom, of course). Like our house now, it’s on a corner lot with a fenced in yard. But it’s set way back in the neighborhood, away from the church and the busy street, and even closer to the play ground and the pond. Just perfect, really! The closing is set for June 30th.
So now, we need to sell our house, pronto. No small feat. I will freely admit that I have never been one to excel at housekeeping (god, how I envy those diary writers who speak of blissfully, lovingly happily shining, organizing, and just generally keeping things in sparkling shape) and clutter definitely happens around here. We have already rented a storage facility and the house is full of boxes but boy do we have a lot to work to do. And did I mention I have finals coming up?
So that’s our big news. We are so excited. I’ll try to write more about Ella next time, but she seems to be happy (albeit uncomprehendingly) when we tell her we are going to move and sell this place to some one home. Like all things in her life that she has said good bye to—old clothes, the crib, binkies, she has just explained the house selling as going to “A little baby”.
As always, thanks for reading.
Bonnie
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