Buying a house is the most thrilling and terrifying process ever. There are so many things to consider – How many bedrooms? what school district? is there an HOA? Master on Main? The list goes on. But, when you find the right one, you know it.
Sold in 4 days – Now what?
We put our house on the market and had 17 showings in 3 days. 17. We sold our home in 4 days flat. It was insanity. I am quite sure that our remodeled kitchen was one of the huge factors in the quick sale. Luckily, it was a week when the kiddos were not at home, so keeping it clean between showings wasn’t too difficult. Jason works from home, so he would pack up his laptop and head down to our neighbors for each showing. It was the perfect vantage point because he could see the action at our house.
One family stayed for over an hour. Jason could see them from his traveling office down the street. They were a sweet young family with young children. Jason could see that the wife was in love with the house. She and the kids ran inside and out, exploring every nook and cranny. He watched the husband quietly walk outside, cross the street, and stand in the neighbor’s yard staring at the house. They made a full price offer that night.
We were beyond ecstatic, but now without a place to live.
The Search For The Perfect House
The plan had been to buy something that we would be happy in for about 6 – 10 years. Once I retired from teaching, we were going to move to Lake Hartwell on the Georgia / South Carolina border. My husband had dreamed of living there since he was a teenager.
Finding a house within our budget, that would handle our blended family of 7 and that was available in our timeline was proving to be impossible. We had two neighborhoods left on the list, so we piled the kids in the car and hoped for the best. There was a third neighborhood nearby that our realtor Lisa (who also happened to be one of my dearest friends) thought would be perfect for us.
I had absolutely no interest. In fact, I had driven past it for years thinking “Who in the hell would ever want to live in there”? Let me explain.
Because God Has A Sense Of Humor
Back around 2008, developers broke ground on a cute little neighborhood centered around a small lake. It was a perfect location and had so much potential. Well, along came 2009 and both the developer and builder went bankrupt. They had only finished about 10 of the houses, so the whole place just sat empty and like a rather sad looking abandoned house farm for several years.
Fast forward to 2019 and we were running out of house options, so I agreed to go see the abandoned house farm. Only it wasn’t abandoned any longer. It had been developed into a beautiful neighborhood! There were two brand new houses left, both on the lake and (as luck would have it) they were unlocked.
I was completely smitten. The house was perfect. Except that it was beyond the budget that Jason and I had agreed on. This house was meant to be a stopgap between now and retiring on Lake Hartwell in just a few years. It wasn’t supposed to be our forever home.
The kids ran to the edge of the lake and didn’t even come inside for the longest. When they finally did, they ran from room to room shouting “Look at this! Did you see this? Oh my gosh! This is my room! The one with the view of the lake”. We all loved it. And, I knew God must have been having a good laugh at my expense for my judgy attitude.
The Moment I Knew We Had Found Our House
I walked through the house with a bittersweet ache in my chest. It was perfect. I loved every detail. So freaking much. But, it would have to be perfect for someone else. Jason would never go for it.
As I was passing through one of the bedrooms upstairs, I glanced outside. And, there was Jason. Standing across the street in the neighbor’s yard, staring at the house. It was in that moment that I knew this house would be our home.
We called Lisa and told her we were giving up Hartwell for our forever home.
