House Hunters

I've been contemplating this post for a bit now. Amid all that this year has brought, it has brought a desire to research new homes. Last year, Brad and I purchased 27 acres of country property in Marne from my dad, family land that my grandparents owned and farmed. My grandma passed away in June of last year, leaving land to her children. Brad and I purchased a portion of the land with the intent of building a home in the uninhabited country-side. We had been planning for it for several years, knowing that our current home was a typical "first home" purchase.

We began talking with builders last fall, ironically just a week or so after learning we were pregnant with Baby Clark #2. Our current home is certainly large enough for two children (three bedrooms, two baths), but it would be cramped a bit with toys and such. And we're really not crazy about the layout, among other things, for the long term. We talked with builders about building in Marne on our acreage, thinking we'd shoot for Spring 2012 to break ground. We put everything on hold when we learned that our pregnancy with Grace was complicated, and ultimately brought us a very sad outcome. Who cares about a house, right? It was the last thing on our minds. And the only place I was going to call home was the hospital (arggg) for that time.

After everything we've experienced this year, we've changed our minds with regard to location of a new home. I can't exactly pinpoint why, but our hearts are pulling us in a different direction. We've been researching options the past few months. For some reason, our hearts keep coming back to a neighborhood setting, one that is in the heart of all things that we love - recreation/parks, downtown, Grandville for shopping, our current proximity to the growing Standale location, and closeness to the school that Gavin will start at next fall. The stars seem to be aligning for this particular location.

So, a change of heart. And one that we're 100% okay with. We went back and forth on pros and cons and in the end the pros of our new idea far outweigh our original country-living thoughts. Not to knock country-living - there is certainly something very serene, peaceful and simple with it. I just think we would miss the neighborhood/suburban appeal that we have now. Gavin would be able to have neighbor friends, we'd be able to travel quickly to the places that we like, and as far as our commitment to fitness, like running and biking, it would be much easier and enjoyable. Running is a big part of our lives, so it's important to consider that in our decision.

We've been exploring options for either an already built home (something new, craftsman style) or building. Not quite decided, though a very nice home that we've been keeping an eye on recently had the price reduced. It's quite possible we may put an offer on it soon.

But yicks! We have a house to sell. And a neighborhood and neighbors who will we will be very sad to leave. We can afford to maintain two mortgages, yes, but it certainly is not ideal given the market. How long will it take to sell our current home? We've enlisted a realtor to help with all of this, so are feeling a bit more comfortable. I also have some hesitancy with the timing. Ideally, spring/summer would have been the time to move/put our house on the market. The winter tends to be a bit slower for real estate. And not the most fun time to physically move all of our belongs.

Double yicks, enter another anxiety factor! We have a lot of "stuff" that will need to be moved. We've never moved, at least in our married years. We started our marriage, our life in our current house, "living on love" for a year. We both had just graduated from college. I was working at a fraction of my earning potential doing an optional year of residency (something that has paid off with hindsight) and Brad was substitute teaching. We had a bed, a futon, a hand-me-down dining room table and chairs, and gifts from our wedding. That was it. Well, over the years, we've accrued much more. Not to mention a child and all of his "things".

Moving will be a lot of work. But people do it every day I suppose. And on the bright side, how fortunate are we to have all of these things to move (so wish I had one more child and her things to move as well, but I don't).

There are good reasons to move. I'm ready for a home with a different layout. We have a bi-level with a very tight entry way. We don't have a private master bathroom or walk in closet, two things on my list of ideals for a dream home. And our living room is overcome with toddler goodies - lots of fun, but wouldn't it be nice to stow them all away in a dedicated play room? I think so!

The neighborhood we're looking at has larger lots than our current home. And fewer homes in the neighborhood, which is appealing from a privacy standpoint (our whole idea with building in the country). And the proximity to all things that we enjoy is wonderful. Wooded lots, another perk, is something we're looking for.

So, I hate to jinx us, given nothing is written in stone (except our daughter's name on a headstone) - but I'm hopeful that our recent desires will soon become reality. We will very much miss our current home. It is the place we have built our life together as a family. We welcomed home our beautiful son to this home...and hoped to do the same with Grace. We made this our own, investing sweat and tears into it, doing much of the work ourselves - finished the basement, the landscaping, built a shed. It has been our first hand work that has made our house a home. I will miss it should we decide to move. And we love our neighbors, so that will be difficult to leave behind. Such very good-hearted, wholesome people. Funny, when we moved into the neighborhood (which is just down the street from Brad's parents), Mark started (and continued) to call our neighborhood "Pleasant Ville", because everyone is always so nice, it is always in good order, and is just a great place to live and raise a family. I will miss our little Pleasant Ville.

Today, the reality of all of this hit me. If we're going to put in an offer on the new home, we need to get our current home ready to sell. Brad does a great job of keeping the house in order, but there are things that need to be touched up. And quite frankly thrown out. I don't want to move with ALL of this. So, we began day 1 of organizing, cleaning, purging, etc. Goodwill/St. Vincent DePaul will be getting several goodies soon!

So, there are no guarantees that things with this new home will work out this year, or even next year for that matter. We'll just have to see. I'm not going to get emotionally attached to a home that may or may not be ours - and we're definitely not willing to over pay for it. I'm perfectly content staying where we are if that is how the cards fall.

And while I'm not 100% sure I'm ready for the "for sale" sign to appear in our front yard, I do know it is inevitable that we will move. Like so many things in life, and this year in particular, it is very bittersweet. I've been praying a lot about our decision. That God will guide us to where He thinks we should be. Regardless of where it is - a box on the street or a beautiful mansion - I know that it doesn't really matter. It's just a house. It's what you make of it that matters. And I'm convinced that we can make any house into a home. I look forward to it!