2021 has been a very good year to us, but as with all good things comes some chaos.
Back in April I wrote about the changes that had been taking place in our life. This included new jobs for both my husband and I, and a total career shift for my husband! Both have been extremely good changes, and necessary ones for our mental health and long term success. We are both so grateful. This also meant we could try to actively buy a house due to some inheritance and support!
From April until June our goal was to find a house, and in this market, one where most houses are getting 5+ offers with many over asking. It was insane. The worst part was falling in love with homes, making an offer, and then finding out that the house was snatched up for some $30-40,000 over asking! When we were squeaking by affording asking price, it was frustrating, and a tiring process.
Obviously, we were not alone in the situation as anyone else trying to buy a home was part of the game of skipping inspections, offering insane amounts over asking, or buying things sight unseen. While smart, and stubborn, I refused to do all three because I did not want to risk getting a home and needing to come up with thousands of dollars for repairs = money we could not afford. I decided to wait it out and keep trying.
Early in June my aunt found a townhouse that was hitting the market soon in a neighboring town we can not looked in yet. The home was huge – at least per the listing – newer build, great location, and checked all of our boxes. It took some finagling by our magic-worker realtor to even see the home. But we did. And my husband and stepdaughter fell in love.
While it didn’t have the historic charm of other homes we had offered on, it did have a massive kitchen, an affordable HOA, a garage, and easy access to many thing we needed. We were ecstatic when we could offer below asking, and have it met close to the offer. We became home owners on July 1, 2021 – a dream we didn’t think was going to be our reality.
Buying a home is mind boggling; the phone calls, paperwork, financing, planning, COST, and many other factors. All of these end in everything being more expensive than you thought, mindlessly agreeing to bills and payments that you aren’t really sure what they do, and praying nothing insane comes up until everything is finalized. Somehow, even with what feels like being totally broke, it comes together. Someone hands you the keys, you sign a stack of paperwork with a stranger, you move all your crap, you throw together rooms as time allows, and before you know it you’ve got your new routine, bus schedules, and life moves along.
Of course new jobs, moving, and home buying were not enough adventure in one year. So I continued with a trip I booked in March to head to Iceland for two weeks. Then my boss encouraged an extension to see family in England and two weeks were spent traversing Europe and having a hell of a good time! More on that in future blogs.
On top of all of this my stepdaughter also started high school, which hit us hard with her intensive schedule and extracurricular activities.
All of this really good, and exciting things have meant my blog and other hobbies have slipped to the back burner. BUT somehow through travel, time relaxing, and exploring, I have gained some new clarity and confidence to move forward with a redesign, and creating content again. I hope you’ll enjoy the new stories!
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