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Read about our experience selling a home.
Finally. After two years. We have sold our house!
The back story: Before the hubs and I were married (2007), he had wanted to buy a house. Why he did this before we got married was beyond me. This was before the real estate bubble burst.
He had found a very very unique property – in the middle of nowhere. Don’t get me wrong, it was a gorgeous parcel of land – 5.71 acres with a fully stocked pond, a shop (e.g. huge garage for man cave stuff) with living quarters, and a pretty building site for us to build our dream home. It was gorgeous. Perfect at the time. We would live there for a few years, save up for a down payment to build our dream home. At the time, the market allowed for the property to be qualified for a conventional mortgage. We thought we might have trouble because it was a “shop with land” – but we didn’t via one of the big banks.
He bought it – and we had many memories there.
- It was where he proposed to me.
- It was where we started our lives together.
- It was where Ryan got to try out his duck boat.
- It was where we built a greenhouse with a 1/2 acre garden.
- It was where the annual bonfire occured.
- It was where our friends’ kids went fishing.
Fast forward to present day: So why did we sell it? For starters, for both of us each, it was a 45 minute commute to work one way. We were waking up at 4:30 everyday just to get to work on time. The second push to sell was when we had a beautiful baby. And we realized that living out in the country in the middle of nowhere – she might not have a lot of friends to play with in the neighborhood. On top of that, imagine getting off of work, picking up baby, cooking dinner – that left no time for anything! So, we decided to put our home up for sale.
After 6 months of having it for sale by owner (via Craigslist), we had a lot of interest on the property. We could have sold it near our original asking price if the mortgage regulations didn’t change. See, we got our place with a traditional “home” mortgage even though it was a shop. When we first bought it, no one went out there to appraise it – they just lent it to us. We said great! With the new regulations, to sell the property – they had to get an appraiser out there. Even before that happened, most banks now won’t lend on a property like this because its not a traditional “home”. This put us in a rough spot – because we now had to find a cash buyer.
So, we decided to go with a realtor to sell our property because they have the experience and relationship to find these types of buyers. Two years later, we got the property sold! Just in the nick of time too – with baby #2 on the way – daycare is going to get expensive.
We’ve now moved into a rental condo – taking our time looking for homes. This time around, we know what we want – so we’re a little more picky. We’ve also learned that when buying a home, don’t get emotional. We’re in a great position now, with no contingencies on selling our home. When I do find a house this time around that I like – before we make an offer – I want to find a house that I equally like as much so that we’re in a position where if the seller is playing mind games with us, we don’t fall for it. Lesson learned the first go ’round.
What I am hoping is that my “nesting” instincts don’t kick in anytime soon. My husband tells me that I get emotional sometimes – and he thinks that one of these days I’ll freak out that we haven’t found a house after a few months of searching – and that I’ll whine that we need to buy a house. True, but he needs to be there to give me a reality check. Slow and steady wins the race. (Wait…is that the right saying?)
So for now, Ansley’s going to have to share a room with her sibling in this little ‘ol apartment. We’re nice and comfy now. We’ll see how long that lasts.
Here are some photos for memory’s sake (not my best photos – just archived photos):
Here is the lay of the property:
Here is our huge, fruitful garden:
Here is a pretty photo or two:
