It’s hard to explain these last almost 4 months, or truth be
told, the last 8 months but I’m going to try {one} because it’s been a roller
coaster and I feel it needs to be documented and {two} because I miss
blogging. Actually, maybe I don’t miss
the blogging itself, but it makes me sad to think how much I had documented
previously only to have this huge break due to, well, life.
So these last 6-8 months.
Here is the timeline version:
Spring 2016 – We have always known this wasn’t our “forever”
home. We love it and actually would
probably make it our forever home if we could move it to a different
location. The house itself is good and
the backyard & pool have been awesome.
We have a great neighborhood full of kids but the town itself leaves a
little to be desired and we made the decision to send our kids to a private
school about 25 minutes away (2 minutes from where Wally teaches). We have always known we wanted to move within
the district that Wally teaches. We would
be closer to the kids’ school, their and our friends, where we participate in
most activities and just basic life necessities (like having a grocery story 5
minutes away rather than 15). So this
Spring we decided to list the house and see what happens. The market had started to pick up a little in
our town so we figured we’d test it out.
May 10, 2016 – Listed home for sale
The rest of May – we had an open house and a few showings
here and there, but pretty quiet
June 7, 2016 – reduced the price
The rest of June – radio silence
Mid to end of July – before leaving for our Disney vacation,
we buried a St. Joseph statue and had 3 or 4 showings while we were gone
Early August – we received an offer (super super low),
negotiated back and forth but we couldn’t come to an agreement
August 12, 2016 – another showing and received feedback
right away that we would be receiving an offer that evening. Offer is received and is oddly similar to the
first offer. It turns out it was the
same buyer with a different agent. The
guy already knows where we want to end up and so we eventually come to an
agreement there.
August 16, 2016 – our home goes contingent – holy crap! Time to start looking for a new house!
August weekends – We spend the next few weekends and
evenings looking at homes.
August 28, 2016 – We find what we think is THE ONE! We
immediately sit down to make an offer.
Seller’s accept the offer but aren’t crazy about us being contingent on
the closing of our home since they have already purchased another home.
August 31, 2016 – I drive by the house we have a contract on
after picking the kids up from school and see several people walking into
it. It looked very much like a “showing”
to me. I immediately call our agent to
ask what’s going on. She calls the
seller’s agent and learns that they are continuing to show the house even
though we have a contract. We are
freaking out!
September 1, 2016 – We receive the devastating news that
there is another offer on the house and the seller’s have accepted it. It essentially bumps us from our contract
because they came in non-contingent (meaning they had no house to sell
first). We are seriously heartbroken and
wondering now what? We had basically
seen all of the housing inventory in the area we want to move to so were we
going to be homeless come the closing of our current home?
September 6, 2016 – We receive word that our appraisal came
in $10,000 less than our agreed to price.
Say what??? We are so mad. How could this happen? But then we start to think it’s all part of
the plan and the reason why we were bumped from the other house. And then after talking with everyone
(attorneys, agents, etc.) we decide we still need to move forward with the sale
of our home. The area we live in isn't a hot market. We have a buyer so we need to make this work. The agents both gave some
in commission and the buyer dropped a few items from the inspection and the
home warranty. We were still out some
money, but not the full $10,000. But
still, where are we going to live? We
have 3 kids…we need a roof over our head!
So after looking at a few more homes for sale but not loving any of
them, we decide we don’t want to settle on a house so we will rent for awhile
until the right house comes along.
Most of September – I am looking at and inquiring about
rentals. We meet a guy that flips houses
and rents them out. He says he may have
one ready to go about the time we are ready to close on our home. We check it out and it is small, but we know
it’s temporary. We keep in close contact
with him to stay updated on the how the rehab is going. We do not want to sign a lease until we know
for sure the closing will happen.
October 3, 2016 – We learn that our buyer is changing
lenders 3 weeks prior to closing.
WTH? Our first question is
why. Are there underlying finance issues
and his loan wasn’t approved? We learn
that the buyer doesn’t believe that the first lender was being honest with him. We don’t know what
to think? We are wondering if this sale
is really going to happen.
Most of October – We spend our time packing up our house
under the assumption this will all still happen because one can’t pack up a
house in a day. We had to stay positive
and keep packing. We get a storage unit
and start selling off furniture that we never intended to bring to a new home
and certainly don’t have space for in our small rental home. Our home is becoming more and more bare.
October 19, 2016 – The buyer has asked for an extension
because the new lender can not process the loan in 3 weeks. We agree to this extension to November 4th
so long as we have notice in writing from the buyer’s lender no later than
October 28th that the loan is approved with no conditions. Meanwhile, we have to make accommodations for
a move the weekend of October 29th that we aren’t sure is actually
going to happen.
October 25, 2016 – We receive a loan commitment letter from
the buyer’s lender stating there are no further conditions and it was sent for
final approval. Woo hoo! We are starting to breath a little easier. We confirm with our landlord that the house
will be ready for us to move on the 29th and he sends us a lease to
review.
October 26, 2016 – The words we have been waiting to hear
CLEAR TO CLOSE! The final approval of
the loan has been made. I guess this is
for real. Holy crap! I feel extreme relief but a rush of
sadness. This means we truly are leaving
the house we brought all of our babies home to, where our family began. It’s bittersweet!
October 30, 2016 – Moving day!
November 2, 2016 – Officially closed! (and the Cubs became World Series Champions - a day we will never forget!)
Wally and I say we have both aged years over these last few
months. There have been many sleepless
nights wondering where we are going to live, wondering whether we are making
the right choice by moving forward with the sale of our home, wondering if this
is all happening for a reason, wondering if we are handling this all the right
way with the kids. So many sleepless
nights – not to mention the Cubs are in the playoffs so that is a priority for
us too J
A bittersweet picture for sure.
And hopefully, in the not too distant future, I will be able to share a picture of us in front of our forever home!
One thing I know for sure is that Home is Wherever My
Family Is!
