House Hunt

We are always on the look out for houses that go on the market.  We have done a lot of research over the past 1.5 years and have a good idea what you get for the money around here.  It still amazes us that the housing crash just didn’t hit here nearly like it did other places.  Good for those that live and own homes here, but not as good for those of us looking….

We have only been going through empty houses thus far (except for the one my friend has for sale by owner—which is still a contender). 

Sometimes we let Bella in on the action.  Many times she is afraid of empty houses and will try hard to get out  This particular house Bella LOVED!  She checked that thing out and must have run up and down the stairs about 7 times—just for fun it appeared! 

Usually the houses are completely empty, but this one had some stuff left in it.  We didn’t take anything out of course, but we did check some of the things out to get “clues” about the family that was there.  It actually is now being sold by the two sons since the parents have died.  Turns out, Mike works with a woman whose daughter married the grandson of the older couple that lived here.

Clara still talks about this type writer!  She thought it was the coolest thing ever!  She said she wants to buy the house in hopes that it comes with the type writer!  LOL!  If only it were that easy :)

The doors in this particular house were incredible!!  The old hardware, skeleton keys, etc.  We are praying and trust God will lead—we are coming into the final stretch here.  We can get financing in April (April 11th is our 2 year anniversary of the short sale).  We have our VA loan all ready to go.  We will start working with a realtor in March (maybe end of Feb).  It will be fun to see houses that people actually are living in still  LOL! 

We love the house above—however, we have to decide how much work we want to put into a home this go around.  We would LOVE to take on a big project like that, but the fact of the matter is we don’t know how long we will be living here.  Do we really want to do all that work (AGAIN!) to another house FOR SOMEONE ELSE—AGAIN!!  Of course, we may be there for years and years and we will get to enjoy the fruit of our labor.  It is not likely that if Mike is to stay with Graphic (which he plans to of course) that we will be here forever.  That makes me sad!  We love it here!  I mean, who would have ever thought!  We have great friends and a real support system here—which honestly has been a foreign concept to me.  Now that we have it I would hate to leave it.  I am a nester and want to root—however, I know so much of the lessons I have learned lead me to the BIG lesson of—I am rooted—in heaven, and everything here is temporary!  Ultimately, I (we) yield our will to His and know He knows best.  Life here (especially these days) is NOT about our comfort—quite the opposite in fact.  We have a purpose and there is a plan, far bigger than what I could think up, and that plan (as they always do) does NOT include staying inside the comfort zone! 

So, the next several months will be very interesting.  We know we do not want to continue to rent—and really don’t want to stay where we are at.  It has been a real blessing being here, but this house has issues, and does not have an owner that wants to pay for those issues, and I can assure you, it does not have tenants that want to pay for those issues either!  We would also love to entertain more and it is just not feasible in this house.

We trust God will be clear.  I am in plan the move mode—I am organizing things to ease the move—once again  :)  I have lists made—of course!  And we look forward to the next chapter, knowing that it really isn’t about us, but the bigger picture!