We are MOVING!!!
So, we are officially MOVING! After praying and seriously weighing all the pros and cons we took the plunge. We found THE house last Tuesday, signed the lease, paid the deposit, and are in the process of packing up all of our belongings....................which is going faster than ever....................but is still.................a very..................long.............................process!
The goal is to be moved into our new house this weekend! I am SO excited. And I have been non stop packing since we signed our lease last Tuesday, thus falling off techno world! But, redeeming thing about all this packing, I found a bike trainer I thought we gave away! No more interval workout excuses. My butt will be in the saddle doing intervals during nap times starting next week. Ironman Louisville is still very much on the radar.
Awesome back story to finding THE house...two Sunday nights ago I was up searching the web again for rentals. Up late because I was nervous about the house we were going to look at Monday morning-for a brief moment we considered purchasing a home instead of renting, but we both did a bit more research and talking and realized now is not the time for us to get a mortgage. Anyway, I was up fretting, er, googling more rentals and found a house we hadn't looked at yet. I saw the pictures first and the description of the location: 2 miles from downtown Southern Pines! I was in, until I saw the monthly rent. WAY above our budget. Immediately bummed. But I wrote down the address anyway...
After we walked through the potential purchase home and realized the timing was off, I told my husband about the house I found the night before. He wasn't keen on the price-not budging on the budget we agreed too, darn it!!! So, we drove by a couple other in the budget rentals in the area and we were unfortunately dismayed by the exteriors...it's so true, sometimes things are, "so much cooler online..." Really bummed now with no progress, he went back to work and I decided just to "drive by" the out-of-budget rental...
I was thrilled by the proximity to downtown-definitely safe to ride bikes. And the neighborhood was lovely. Quiet, and serene. Nice running space out the front door, too. I initially drove passed the house because I noticed someone was in the driveway, darn it, someone else already snatched it up. But something told me it never hurts to ask. So I turned around and pulled into the drive way. It was the OWNER of the rental just collecting her cleaning supplies. She happily showed me the house and let me take video of the interior to show my husbee. We talked. I told her that the location was perfect and she'd done a fantastic job cleaning up the place. You would never know you were in a 1970's ranch on the inside! She said it was available and ready to be moved into and she really wanted to rent to a military family. Check, check, check! Then I asked the hard question: negotiate rent? I offered a laughable low number and she countered with the top end of our budget!
Now the house was in budget!!! (I guess that negotiations class in college did come in handy?!)
Ecstatic, I actually succeeded at negotiating I drove home and waited impatiently to show my hubby the video footage of the house. He was sold. And was equally impressed how low I negotiated the price. The following day we went back to the house so he could walk through it in real life. Even more impressed in real person...we took the lease home!
So, we are moving into a spotless and nicely updated home with all the amenities we wanted (minus the wood burning fireplace, it's gas); perfect proximity to downtown Southern Pines, which means date nights on our bikes, bike rides to the library with sugar bean (in the trailer with a helmet of course!); 3 miles versus 17 miles one way to a fantastic grocery store: Harris Teeter; 3 miles versus 22 miles to bed bath and beyond, Lowe's, Kohl's, Panera, Starbucks, etc... I'm pretty much stoked about the driving I WONT be doing during the week for normal errands. Oh, and my husbands commute only increased by 5 minutes and no more crazy traffic on his way home during rush hour!
Tomorrow I conquer more packing and cleaning!
Olivia
The goal is to be moved into our new house this weekend! I am SO excited. And I have been non stop packing since we signed our lease last Tuesday, thus falling off techno world! But, redeeming thing about all this packing, I found a bike trainer I thought we gave away! No more interval workout excuses. My butt will be in the saddle doing intervals during nap times starting next week. Ironman Louisville is still very much on the radar.
Awesome back story to finding THE house...two Sunday nights ago I was up searching the web again for rentals. Up late because I was nervous about the house we were going to look at Monday morning-for a brief moment we considered purchasing a home instead of renting, but we both did a bit more research and talking and realized now is not the time for us to get a mortgage. Anyway, I was up fretting, er, googling more rentals and found a house we hadn't looked at yet. I saw the pictures first and the description of the location: 2 miles from downtown Southern Pines! I was in, until I saw the monthly rent. WAY above our budget. Immediately bummed. But I wrote down the address anyway...
After we walked through the potential purchase home and realized the timing was off, I told my husband about the house I found the night before. He wasn't keen on the price-not budging on the budget we agreed too, darn it!!! So, we drove by a couple other in the budget rentals in the area and we were unfortunately dismayed by the exteriors...it's so true, sometimes things are, "so much cooler online..." Really bummed now with no progress, he went back to work and I decided just to "drive by" the out-of-budget rental...
I was thrilled by the proximity to downtown-definitely safe to ride bikes. And the neighborhood was lovely. Quiet, and serene. Nice running space out the front door, too. I initially drove passed the house because I noticed someone was in the driveway, darn it, someone else already snatched it up. But something told me it never hurts to ask. So I turned around and pulled into the drive way. It was the OWNER of the rental just collecting her cleaning supplies. She happily showed me the house and let me take video of the interior to show my husbee. We talked. I told her that the location was perfect and she'd done a fantastic job cleaning up the place. You would never know you were in a 1970's ranch on the inside! She said it was available and ready to be moved into and she really wanted to rent to a military family. Check, check, check! Then I asked the hard question: negotiate rent? I offered a laughable low number and she countered with the top end of our budget!
Now the house was in budget!!! (I guess that negotiations class in college did come in handy?!)
Ecstatic, I actually succeeded at negotiating I drove home and waited impatiently to show my hubby the video footage of the house. He was sold. And was equally impressed how low I negotiated the price. The following day we went back to the house so he could walk through it in real life. Even more impressed in real person...we took the lease home!
So, we are moving into a spotless and nicely updated home with all the amenities we wanted (minus the wood burning fireplace, it's gas); perfect proximity to downtown Southern Pines, which means date nights on our bikes, bike rides to the library with sugar bean (in the trailer with a helmet of course!); 3 miles versus 17 miles one way to a fantastic grocery store: Harris Teeter; 3 miles versus 22 miles to bed bath and beyond, Lowe's, Kohl's, Panera, Starbucks, etc... I'm pretty much stoked about the driving I WONT be doing during the week for normal errands. Oh, and my husbands commute only increased by 5 minutes and no more crazy traffic on his way home during rush hour!
Tomorrow I conquer more packing and cleaning!
Olivia
That sounds perfect! I'm so glad everything worked out for you guys!
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