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| Jones' Manor #1 |
Ten years ago I was 23 years old, single and sick of paying rent. One afternoon I was checking my mail at the apartment complex where I lived, and I came across a postcard from a real estate agent. On a total whim I made an appointment with this lady. I had no savings, and I was living off of a meager teacher's salary. But, I had dreams about not having to pay rent every month and not living walls apart from an assortment of interesting characters. At that time there were lots of loans available with 100% financing for people who had a decent job, so my house hunt began. It didn't take long for me to find a house I loved in Irmo. It was 1,100 square feet, but it was a mansion to me. I loved everything about it, and I was so proud to call it home. A year later I met Justin and luckily he was renting with a friend when we met. Everything worked out perfectly with my house because it was very close to the high school where Justin worked. Four years later we welcomed baby Madeleine to our little abode, and our home could not have felt cozier. It was just perfect for the three of us. Not too much to clean, small monthly house payment and enough room to be comfortable. Then three years later Micah Boo made his appearance, and while we definitely were more cramped for space we adjusted. We always knew that this house would not be our forever house, but with the expenses involved with having two kids in daycare the timing for upgrading to a larger model was not ideal. Many weekends we would spend leisurely afternoons driving around and pulling flyers for houses that we thought we liked, but usually our eyes were bigger than our wallets. However, as the kids got bigger and bigger it was obvious that we really needed more space to accommodate our family.
This past September we finally made the call and actually went to look at a house we had seen on-line. The realtor for the home was delightful and very low pressure, so we liked her right away. By October we decided to list our home on the market, and I will have to say that the day the sign went in the yard I did almost start to cry. This little home was part of me...part of who I had become. We had regular showings almost every week from October to the end of November, but no serious offers. Then came December when absolutely not one person looked at our house the whole month. Needless to say, I had pretty much resolved that it would be quite a while before our house would sell because of the poor market. Learning to be patient and wait on God's timing is something I really struggle with. I don't like waiting and not knowing from day to day what the future will look like for me; however, God knows best.
The second week in January we received an acceptable offer for our home, and we also put an offer on a home we had previously viewed with our realtor. Everything has progressed very smoothly, and we are very excited about our move. The new home is only about five minutes away from our old home, but it is significantly larger and in a great neighborhood. Our closing date is March 15th, so I am still holding my breath that nothing will fall through before then. Even after we move I am sure that I will have to still come by to do drive-bys of my first place...just to wave and say thanks for the memories.
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| Our New Home (As of 3/15) |
