House Searcho Dramaderio

The post title is what I would name this house search if it was an opera. Because, after the last two days, it is definitely a drama.

We saw two houses on Saturday and one house today. Well, I saw two houses on Saturday. Bronchitis required Shawn and our children to remain home while I ventured out with my parents.

So, let's fill in the next chapter of this constantly unfolding drama.

House #1 - County Highway 110

For some reason, I knew this house wasn't going to be the one before we even went. I don't know why. Maybe because it has tenants in it, maybe because I know the guy who owns it. I don't know what it was. But as soon as we pulled into the driveway and saw the various pets, many children, and large number of random items in the yard, I was positive that we would not be living here.

This house was a disaster. Of course, it was dirty and smelled awful. But it also had a terrible layout, with two bedrooms downstairs and two upstairs, which won't work for us at all. Our tour, including talking with one of the tenants who we knew from back in the day, took fifteen minutes. I almost peeled out of the driveway.

House #2 - County Highway 155

This house was sooo exciting to me because I have always loved it. It's just adorable. It was built in 1936, and it always looked so neat and tidy. Inside, it held true to this external appearance. It was obvious that, though cosmetically in need of updates, it had been cared for very well.

The problem was that this house is very small. It also has a very large full bathroom located in the middle (literally) of the downstairs floor plan, and the walls impose on all of the other rooms. It is labeled a three bedroom, but this is a misnomer. The third bedroom is really a large, open room at the top of the stairs that holds the doors to the other two bedrooms. I do not think this could be made into an actual room. It would be too small.

This house will be a great place for another family. Just not us. On the plus side, the agent who showed us this house was super, super nice and we had a great time with him. We were there for an hour.

House #3 - Colyer Road

I will be honest. I was not super excited to see this house. I had google mapped it and was disappointed to see that there were three houses directly across the road from this one, basically blocking the view of a beautiful creek (really a small river). Even though this is a dead end road, and there is only one other house past this one, I really thought that it would be quite busy and much noisier than I wanted. But, we had the appointment, so we went anyway.

I. Am. In. Love. Seriously in love. I am actually scared about how much I like this house. First of all, in quite a distressing turn of events, the three houses that had been there are no longer there. They were apparently quite badly damaged during the last big flood and now there is just open land and a beautiful, unobstructed view of Schoharie Creek. Secondly, you would not believe how quiet it is here. Even though you can see the road that leads to this one, including the bridge that goes over the creek, no traffic noise can be heard. All you hear when you're outside is the rushing of the creek. It's incredible.

The house itself has everything I have ever wanted. Wide plank floors. Four bedrooms (so the extra can be used as a playroom/office/guest room). Two full bathrooms. Original woodwork. A mantle. A big, eat-in kitchen. A big dining room. A barn that is actually in good shape. A smaller building for a workshop or whatever. Lots of windows. Two acres. It's amazing.

Is it perfect? No. It is not in pristine condition. Some of the upstairs bedrooms have carpet (not a fan). They also made many questionable wallpaper choices. The kitchen is almost a disaster. It can be used, but it is so strangely laid out that we would have to start from scratch at some point and completely rework it. I mean completely.

Allie was in her glory. She was playing on the floor, going through all of the rooms. And outside? Forget it. She didn't care that it was cold and drizzly. She was running around the yard, playing with rocks, running up and down the hill. She would have stayed out there for the rest of the afternoon, ignoring her red nose and cold hands.

But, a few unfortunate facts remain. One of these is the location. While it is amazing in and of itself, it is far from church and my parents. Also the grocery store. Another of these is the taxes. $4700. Yeah. For where we live, that is high. We currently pay $1900. So that is more than twice our current taxes. That hurts. Thirdly, the flood issue is a concern. The basement is set for it: everything is raised, including the furnace, and it's obvious that if it floods, the house is ready. But we don't want a house that floods all the time.

So, basically, now I am torn. What is the next step? Are we insane for even considering a house that is sort of in the middle of nowhere? It has everything on my "list." Everything. I could see our children growing up here, running in the yard without fear of cars or noise. It's the perfect place to home school them, to have their birthday parties, to make Christmas memories and to play in the leaves and plant a garden.

But I don't want to fall in love with this house. Every time I do, they fall through. My dreams disintegrate and my heart is broken. I don't want that again. So, for now, I guess we sit and wait and see what comes down the road. And pray. Pray a lot for God's will and guidance. Because there is one thing that I absolutely, without a doubt, 100% know: the only place I want to be is where He wants us.

Mo' Houses, Mo' Problems

So, my husband and I are preparing to list our house. We are really coming down to crunch time. Shawn has a few things he wants to paint outside, and then we'll be ready to go. 

Now, the next obstacle: finding our next house. 

I was always very set on what I wanted our next house to be: big (at least 2500 square feet), 4 bedrooms, some sort of den, lots of land, out in the country, pretty secluded, at least one barn, garage, big eat-in kitchen, etc., etc., etc. Just your basic country oasis. 

Then, when Shawn was laid off, my priorities began to shift rapidly and my goal became to simplify. Less house, less stuff, less maintenance, less hassle. Still somewhere out in the country (or at least not right in the village), but nothing that would be overwhelming to care for or too expensive to heat. 

During the beginning of April, I was beginning to panic a little bit. There were so few houses listed in our price range, and the ones that were listed were either not remotely desirable or were in places we did not want to live. I knew that, if we are supposed to move at this time, God would provide our house and I didn't have to worry about when that would happen. Bu I was still beginning to fret. 

Now that "spring" is "here" (the quotes are on purpose because spring is sure taking her sweet time about showing up on a steady basis - at least here in upstate New York), the listings are really beginning to pop up. We now have four solid properties floating on our radar, and I'm sure more are coming. 

The problem? They are all completely different and they all have one major problem. 

House One: small ranch from the 50s that, for some reason even unknown to me, I love. Major problem: The neighbors want to buy the house for their son. We don't know if they are even qualified to do so from a mortgage standpoint. But even if they aren't, we're pretty sure they will hate us if we get this house. 

House Two: A 2 story craftsman. 4 BR, 2 BA a mile from Great Sacandaga Lake. 2 acres, a couple of outbuildings, seems pretty secluded.
Major Problem: It has tenants. Mean tenants. Tenants who can't buy the house but don't want to leave. Is this something we want to become remotely involved in? I don't know. 

House Three: A 2300 square foot, 4 BR, 2 BA farmhouse with a big eat-in kitchen, large DR, large LR on 2 acres with a barn and chicken coop that overlooks a creek.
Major Problem: It is FAAAAAR away. Really far. 33 minutes from church, 33 minutes from my parents' house, 25 minutes from work. And for people who are used to driving about 17 minutes to church and 12 minutes to my parents' house, this is a big deal. 

House Four: A 1040 square foot home that was built in 1936. 3 BRs, 1 1/2 baths, on 10 acres that borders a creek. Also a barn and another small shed.
Problem: This property is priced about $5,000 over what we want to spend. Also, it is in a very desirable school district. It was just listed yesterday, and even though I'm hoping to see it tomorrow, I'm almost positive this house will be gone before we even get our house on the market. 

So, obviously, quite a bit to sift through. All we can do in this whole process is trust God in each step. We know that He has it all under control and that His plan is perfect. But, boy - it sure is hard to wait!

Surprised at the Desire to Downsize

Our family is moving this spring. 

Scratch that. Our family is hopefully moving this spring. 

Moving has always been something that lives at the forefront of my mind. When we bought our house, it was never with the intent to remain there until we died or became too old to care for it properly. It was always supposed to be a stepping stone. We bought it for $30,000 as a foreclosure in a great school district, and we planned to do all sorts of work (which we did) and then move on to something else. 

Fast forward eleven years. 

We are still at this house. We first added two dogs (one of whom, sadly, passed away last August), then two children (June 2011 and June 2013), and we are still there. During our tenure in this home, we went from newly employed (Shawn) and in graduate school (me) to no longer employed (Shawn - stay-at-home dad/freelance graphic artist and web designer) and tenth year of teaching (me - how did that happen???). But we are still at this house.

This is not for lack of trying, either on our part or on the part of our most amazing realtor, Joelle. We first listed in 2007, during the real estate craze, and we were certain we would sell. We almost did. Then they backed out. So we didn't. 

Then we listed again. And we got an offer! And a contract! And then they couldn't actually get a mortgage. Burn. 

Then we listed again. And we got an offer! And a contract! And then they couldn't actually get a mortgage either. Burn again. 

Honestly, after this point, it gets a little hazy. I think that we only listed three times, but there may have been a fourth. Point is: we have not been able to sell our home. Not for lack of interest. Not for lack of bid-putting-in parties. Just because it hasn't happened yet. 

I know that this prevention is from God. I just never knew why. But I have come to the point of reckoning where I trust Him in this matter. Not perfectly. Sometimes I begin to fret a bit. Sometimes I become fearful that we will always be in this house, that we will never get to move to something that has a bit more open space, a bit more seclusion. But then I know that I just have to trust. He sees it all, He has his reasons. 

So, anyway, we are listing our house in a few weeks for the fourth time. And, for the first time ever in the search for our next home, I am looking at small houses. 
  
I always found small houses annoying. Fine for newly married couples, fine for retired people, fine for families with just one child. Fine for many people. Just not me. 

I wanted expansive spaces: a large, sweeping kitchen, spacious living room, expansive dining room that could easily entertain both of our extended families (probably close to 40 people, combined), big bedrooms that would be a master retreat for us and places of sanctuary and imagination for our children, large bathrooms, a laundry room, a pantry. And outside: at least one barn, acres and acres of land, porches, large trees. Everything I had ever imagined. 

Now that Shawn is a stay-at-home dad and my salary is our sole means of steady income, this looks less and less appealing. In fact, it's completely unrealistic. Homes like that are great for people who have the money - or want to spend the money - on their maintenance. Even the idea of entertaining dozens of people at a time is a large expense in and of itself. 

I have come to the conclusion that I don't want to use our resources toward these ends. I want a smaller house. A house where we are cozy, where it isn't so difficult to heat, where the children want to spend time outside and make the yard and trees their playground instead of retreating to separate, giant rooms. I want us to be able to be close - not only emotionally, but physically. I want to feel tucked in at night. I want to be forced to purge our lives of the extra stuff that so easily becomes a regular part of who we are. I'm ready to move past the past dreams because now they would be burdens. I want to want only what I need. 

I think God has provided this heart-change in me. He knew that if we sold our house earlier, my sights would be drawn to something of this world, something that would require a great amount of fortitude in order to remain humble - fortitude that I don't possess. In a small house, my heart can't become so easily blurred by my real estate. Instead, I can see it being more of a daily reminder of God's provisions. 

It still remains to be seen whether our house will sell this time, either. It may not. We may spend another year or two or five in our house in the village. But, if it does sell, I want to cling to these new thoughts and pray that they become engraved on my heart. Because I always, always want to live in a spirit of appreciation - never pride. And only God can make that happen.