Our First Home

It is March 16^th, 2012, and I am writing this blog knowing that I am not going to post it right now.  Amongst the million other things going on right now, Matthew and I have been working with a realtor to sell our house in Atlanta and working with another realtor in Kingsport to find our next one.  It has been a lightning-speed process – once we started looking, we moved pretty quickly – but now things are actually starting to happen.

Our house has been for-sale-by-owner since November.  With only one semi-serious potential buyer in 4 months, we listed it with a realtor 3 weeks ago.  Today we signed a contract with a buyer.  We listed our house at a considerably lower price than we paid in 2006, and the final number is even lower.  I told Matthew today that it is difficult to be too excited given how little we’re really making on its sale.  Both of us realize, though, that we’re in a much better position than a lot of people trying to sell their houses, and for that, we’re grateful. 

 

Every time our realtor set up a showing, we’d spend the night/morning cleaning away.  Much credit goes to Matthew – he cleaned more in the last 3 weeks than in the last 3 years put together.  Who ever thought there’d come a day when I’d say, “Please!  Just put up the damn vacuum cleaner!” 

Then our realtor would always get feedback from the realtor bringing potential buyers by.  Anything but positive feedback made us say, “What?!?  Why wouldn’t they love this house?”    And I genuinely feel this way…I love so much about this little townhouse that’s been our home for the last 6 years.  I love the spacious kitchen, the large master bedroom, grilling out on the back deck with the woods in the background, the way the rain sounds on the trees when I’m lying in bed in the morning, the basement with my super-girly turquoise room, cuddling with my pups in front of the fireplace…I could go on and on.  Now that the ball’s really rolling with a sale, it’s a little bitter sweet.

Finding a house in Tennessee has been another venture.  I’ve made a couple of trips to Kingsport to look at houses on the market.  After much consideration and working some numbers, we decided to make an offer on a house.  We knew we would make an offer eventually but were holding off until our house sold until another offer was made on the same house.  So we put in an offer last night so the seller would get the two offers at the same time, and I felt sure that he would choose ours given that I had been back three times to see his house.  You can imagine my disappointment (and irritation) when I heard he countered the other offer. 

 

So we’re back to looking at what’s available.  Matthew and I do not have all too interesting lives, but us looking at houses may make for a good reality show.  Add our moms who repeatedly swear to not voice their opinions as they make faces of disgust or loud nods of approval at nearly everything, and it’s ready for HGTV.  The words of our life right now are, it’ll work out, it’ll work out…..

Until next time, sending love,

The Spiveys