We drove out there today, and it's in the country area on a huge lot. 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, living, dining, fenced in yard, front porch, deck out back, also on a corner lot. I already had my heart set on the house down the road, but this other house is such a good deal that we at least have to consider it. They've lived in the house for 16 years and moved because they built a house closer to their family a few towns away (still in the same metro area though, coz we only have one big city and then a bunch of teeny tiny towns and villages surrounding it). So it's not that they've flipped it or it's in a bad neighborhood or anything like that.
My husband and I are planning on talking to the guy down the road to see if he'll come down on the price any to match what they're offering. That way we get the house we planned on at a better price. The savings in monthly payments would equal a few hundred a month, which could easily be spent on paying off law school debt, building an IRA, saving for a rainy day, etc.
They're both 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. They both have big fenced in yards. They both have a space for my studio. Those were really our only qualifications. The rest is do we want to move "into town" and all of the things associated with it.
There wouldn't be any walking area in the new-new house as it's off of a seldom used "main" highway, much like our house now. So I wouldn't be able to take leisurely walks around sleepy streets. It's farther away from our church. Our house now is literally 30 seconds away. The other house down the road is 1.5 minutes with the traffic light. The new-new house is 15 minutes away. I know that seems silly, especially since we used to drive over an hour to attend our last church before my husband accepted a position at our current church. It's still out in the country, but I can get to a Target in 5 minutes so it's not homestead-y. This is important to my husband who wants to be close to the office. And I just love the way our daughter says the name of our town.
I really wasn't expecting to make this decision. Hopefully my husband can talk to the guy down the road and talk the guy down on the price. I hate it that money has to be a factor, you know. I had everything planned out for the house down the road and to stay in our little bitty town. If this other house weren't such a good deal, it wouldn't even be a consideration. I was hoping when I initially found out that it would be out of our price range so it wouldn't even be a decision to consider.
But, I have to say that we're blessed to even have options like this. To even have a house to live in now. There are so many people struggling, and we're do fortunate to be able to make a move to a bigger house. I completely see that. But it's still a big decision. I don't want to move my family to a home and then move in a short span of time. Our plan was to move, stay for about a decade (when the kids won't want to share rooms any more) and get a bigger house in the same town. A decade is a long time, and I don't want to make this decision lightly. I'm just completely in awe that we have these new options that we weren't at all looking for (both homeowners came to us asking if we would want to live in a new home with the addition of Tony).
I guess we'll see how this all bowls over.
Well it's great that you have options, but I'm sorry you're having to face such a tough decision. I guess all you can do is pray about it.
ReplyDeleteThe new house sounds awesome to me!
Good luck.