First of all, NO I AM NOT PREGNANT. I know some of you were thinking that.
So Bob and I have settled in nicely to our rental house, and decided that we like this easy living and would like to rent for another year (June '15-16). We sent a nice letter to the Landlord and he agreed. Bob talked about starting to look at houses in six months. I was like "Wow! That's right around the corner!" Feels like it to a Planner. That's not enough time for me to.... plan something!!
Soooooooooooo. I've been calmly keeping my eye on the real estate market. Bob asks me every once in a while if there's anything new/good. And there really hasn't been much. Last week I had a little time and found two new properties that looked interesting. So I drove by, and timed the distance from the schools. Bob very wisely pointed out that we will be driving back and forth a lot (as will our kids) when they get to high school, so we should consider how far/safe the drive will be for our future teenagers. So that started to become a big consideration.
HOUSE #1 - "Price Mill"
a sweet looking old fashioned home (built in the early 1900s!) So charming on the outside and surprisingly maintained/updated on the inside. Yes, the rooms are probably 3x3 since the houses were so choppy back then, but the price was low enough that we would be able to work around it. There was an option of 5-20 acres coming with the house. It was in a very pretty, rural part of the county, but it was pretty far out there and the land was kind of flat and uninteresting. Plus the road it's on didn't seem private/quiet enough for us. Distance to schools: 5 minutes to the elementary school that's ranked (to me) #3 out of the 5 schools. The high school was 12-15 minutes and the middle school 15.
HOUSE #2 - "Griffith"
is not listed on the main real estate websites. 65 acres and comes with a 5 acre pond and a 3500 sf house. The house is in great shape, the land is pretty. The pond is a little closer to the house than I'd want but the view from the front is pasture and from the back is lake/vacation house. Seems like a nice setting. Too bad it's 50% higher than our budget. Oh, and the acreage has been approved to be subdivided into 45 lots in case someone doesn't want to buy the whole shebang (SAVE THE LAND!) 5 minutes to all of the schools. NICE. And it's in a neighborhood so you have the best of both worlds (private yet accessible). It's a beautiful setting and I was trying to figure out a way to make it work financially (sell-off some of the land, only buy part of it..??), and then I was also still unsure about the pond (SNAKES! Bugs! too close to the house!) Still keeping this house/property as a dream in the back of my mind, I drove to another one that had been on the market for a few months and had a pretty big price drop a few weeks ago...
HOUSE #3 - "Evans"
is a foreclosure. It seems to be in good shape (but in need of updates) inside, but there are some weird layout and decorating things going on there. So I decided to drive by and take a look. So as I started driving on the DIRT road, passing beautiful pasture land on the left and right... it took my breath away. Just the street itself. I drove onto the property (it's empty) and noticed that it looks a little rough on the outside but nothing that cutting down and clearing-out some trees can't take care of.... It doesn't look like the most well-built home, but it's 11 acres, has several fenced pastures, a barn (or two), a guest house.... and the price is right. I drove away excited. I just had this FEELING. I drove Bob by House #2 and #3 and he didn't have much to say. But when I asked him what he thought, he said he really liked #3. But it might have to be a total tear down. I disagreed (I had already started my computerized floorplan-renovation plan on the house). And did I mention that it's 2 minutes from the H.S. and 5 minutes from the other schools, AND our kids would get to stay in my #1 favorite (out of the 5) school?
So we decided to wait until July.... if anything, the price would drop and it would be even better for us. It would be hard (for me) to wait that long, but good for me to build that trust in God and keep casting the house/worry about someone else snatching it up back up to him).....
UNTIL
ANOTHER PRICE DROP!! $75K total price drops in 1 month. Yes, there might be something wrong with this house - thus the drops. But now Bob and I feel moved to do something (at least check it out). And yes. I'm stressed. Before I even see it. Because Right Now is NOT six months from now!! What happened to the PLAN?!?!
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