Start Packin'

In February we listed our house for sale. On March 23rd we got our first offer. On March 24th we countered and our offer was accepted. April 25th we are set to close!

Whoa.

We know we are very lucky to have had this quick of a sale and the fact that we are selling it for more than we bought it for exactly a year ago is truly a blessing. We are stocked on boxes, packing tape and bubble wrap but haven’t started packing yet. I’m thinking we better get on that since we are closing in 19 short days. Eek! It’s not so much the house packing I’m dreading, it’s the garage and attic packing. You know, where you throw all the junk you don’t want to deal with?!

So you may wonder, where are we going next? Well, we’ve pretty much decided we’re going to rent a single family home with a YARD before jumping into buying our next house. We want to take our time buying a place and figure out where we really want to be, as far as what part of town and also what we really want in a house. Renting will give us the opportunity to figure out all the things we knew, or thought we knew we wanted when we bought our first house. It’ll also give us the opportunity to pursue foreclosures, short sales, etc… in search of a deal since we will be able to take our time!

For those of you that didn’t know, we have been living with my parents for a while now due to some personal things that have been going on, which is also one of the many reasons we are selling the house. We’ll be staying with them until some more things are worked out and then we’ll move into a rental. I had mentioned before that life just stinks sometimes:/ It’s tough when things are out of your control but you still must do what’s best for your family even though sometimes you would much rather just be selfish…

Sigh.

Some people may assume from reading this though that we are struggling financially. You know, “they sell their house, move in with their parents, they must be in financial trouble”. This is not the case at all. If only it were that easy! The “case” is that in this point in our lives we need to be around family. Obviously it’s a lot deeper than that, but without going into details that don’t need to be shared with the entire world, that’s all I really need to share at this point.

For the time being, our stuff will be kept in storage. The funny thing is though, we won’t have a lot of big items to store because the buyer and the buyer’s realtor have asked to buy a lot of it! We hadn’t even entertained the idea until we were asked if we’d be willing to sell the furniture with the house. We have agreed to part with our couch, recliner and loveseat. That’s under the condition that I include my zebra striped blanket that currently adorns the couch. Huh? (Yep, that was the request from the buyer!) As well as the office desk and our living room TV. I couldn’t part with our bedroom set and the dining room table. I love them too much! We look at it as less stuff we have to move and pay to store, so why not sell it at pretty much what we paid for it and then go buy new stuff when we get our next place? Works for me! Besides, what on earth were we thinking when we bought a light cream colored recliner?! Hello! Big black dog + light cream recliner = no bueno. (that’s for you Kim;)

SO that’s the latest scoop on the house situ-ma-wation. In the meantime I’ll be DIY design blog-stalking and compiling ideas for the next house. Can’t wait :)