A lot has happened since I last posted. Someone made an offer on our house, which had been on the market for over a year (I was about to take the listing down so it would reset after three months of being down). They gave us about three weeks to move, which, as you can imagine, is not much time at all to pack up a fairly large house with four people living in it.
The realtor kept telling us that it wasn't a done deal until after the inspection, etc., and we kept saying we can't wait around until it is! So we had to pack even though we knew there was a chance the buyers would back out. We also had to consider where we would live. I didn't like the idea of moving into temporary housing because that would mean two moves. And our movers wound up costing $2,500! As it turned out, the temporary housing we were counting on was booked up, and we really didn't want to stay in an apartment for six months.
So we started looking at houses. Again, the realtor said we couldn't make any real plans until the option period passes on our house. And we said we can't afford to wait! So we looked at about 16 houses over two weekends. None really grabbed us except for one. Matt and I both decided it could be the one. Our realtor made a few inquiries to get more information and found out another offer had already been made on the house. I didn't like being rushed, but we decided to make an offer anyway. The sellers had a verbal agreement with some other buyers, but those buyers weren't getting back to them with a contract. In real estate, a verbal agreement means nothing. So we offered list price, which they accepted.
We also asked if we could lease the house for a month while our paperwork got processed. Amazingly, they said yes, but they wanted a huge deposit and would only let us move once our house was closed.
So there were quite a few dominoes lined up, and I didn't sleep this entire time (2-4 hours a night for a person who usually needs at least 7 to function--I didn't sleep until we spent our first night in the new house). So if anything went wrong with selling the old house, we'd have no place to live, and our furniture was all with the movers. We spent two nights at a hotel with no house. Scarier than you would think.
We also had to worry about the cats. At first, we were going to keep them in the hotel with us because I thought this would be less stressful. We found a hotel that took pets, and when we were checking in, they said they didn't take cats. What? You said you would--on your website and on the phone! I was so angry. So we scrambled to find a hotel that would take the cats, and then of course later I decided to board them anyway because I did not relish having to pull the wild cat out from under the bed (what hotel doesn't block under the bed?). (How wild is this cat? The vet couldn't give her shots because they couldn't hold her down.)
Another hiccup was that Fed Ex screwed up the delivery of some paperwork, but we closed on time, and we got to move into the new house. We have our closing Monday, and everything looks good. I'm looking forward to putting some nails in the walls!
I keep telling Matt how much I love the house. The exterior isn't my favorite, but the interior is gorgeous and roomy. I have granite countertops. I have more cabinet space than I know what to do with. I have a utility room and a sunroom. I have high ceilings again.
I have my own sewing room, and my mom has her own too! There's a playground behind our house for Logan, and the neighborhood is great. It's only 30 minutes from work, instead of 60.
So it all worked out after a lot of stress and a lot of time. We still have a lot of work to do to get the house unpacked and like we want it, but we have time, and more now that we don't have to drive as much.
Just don't ask me how I'm doing on my diet.
