I’ve been meaning to post an update for this particular topic for quite a while now, but that giant thing called LIFE has majorly gotten in the way of me doing so. But, here ya go. Everything you want to know about our current house situation. Coming right up.
This all started back in Februaryish, as I’m sure you remember. We’ve talked about selling our current home, basically since we bought it. Our plan wasn’t for this to be our “forever home”. It was supposed to be our “first home” and our “start a family home” and then our “quick and easy to sell home”.Â
Well, I guess 2 out of 3 ain’t bad.
We’re those crazy people who stalk realtor.com….always. We almost bought a different home back in the fall of 2011 but a family with post tornado insurance money beat us to it. Ever since then, we’ve had a general idea of what we want to buy and what we’re willing to spend to do so. We really decided to crack down early this year when it became clear that fertility treatments would no longer be happening and no other children seemed to be happening either. We were happy and willing to move into a fixer upper for the right price tag as long as it met our other requirements:
4 bedroom
Location
We found the first one that fit the ticket in March…..but then after a horrible inspection we canceled our offer.
We found the second one that fit the ticket in May and listed our house right before we made our first offer.Â
And we waited. And waited. And waited. And dropped the price. And waited. And added a sellers bonus. And waited. And dropped the price. And waited.
And it just. wasn’t. happening.Â
The first month of our listing we did have quite a bit of activity and a whole lot of “your house was our second favorite”. But after that? Hardly anything.Â
It was SO frustrating. And it just didn’t make any sense.
Then in September our contract on the first house ended. We went to them and asked if we could renegotiate even lower than we previously had our contract so that we could lower the price on ours even more just to get this over and done with. Their realtor replied with something to the effect of, “Well. We believe that we have this listing priced fairly.”
So, that’d be a no then. Oookay.
We spent some time looking at some other houses that fit our criteria and they just weren’t it. It wasn’t working.Â
After our most recent price reduction we didn’t even have ONE call. Not a single one.
After a bit of pouting(on my part. I’m good at that.) we finally decided to take our house off of the market.Â
We weren’t happy with how low we’d dropped the price on our home. Our home has value, you know? And we wouldn’t have been overly thrilled with any offer that came in around it. And of course, there was the future hopeful house that had initially been an awesome financial move that suddenly became a stretch thanks to no activity on our listing. So we pulled it.
And then a little over a week later I found out I was pregnant.
One of my very first prayers?
“Thank you God for not making me move into a fixer upper while I was sick and pregnant.”Â
You don’t always get clarity or a reason for why something isn’t working. Sometimes, you just take your house off the market and always wonder why it never sold. But thankfully, this time, we got the greatest reason ever.Â
So, now I’m spending my afternoons sitting in that future nursery thinking about all of the creative ways we can make the things we have work and all of the wonderful memories we’re going to get to continue making in our current house for a little while longer.
I don’t doubt that we’ll end up in a different house someday. Maybe even as soon as next year. Who knows. We just know that it isn’t right now. And we’re okay with that.Â
Isn't it funny how we don't see god's bigger plan. I'm always amazed at this. Glad everything is working out for the better. Hopefully when the time comes to move you will find an even better house!
What an adventure!! God provided perfectly for your family and it's true that it's challenging to wait while God works. Hooray for new babies and a home that you love. I have friends that stalk real estate listings, too. I'm excited to follow along with your house/baby adventures in the coming years.
aw such a lovely post. i am a realtor.com stalker as well. i am terrified of finding a new house and not selling the old one, so i think what we might do is move in with my mother in law (ugh) in between selling and buying a new one. the house we bought was everyones second favourite as well (thats what the seller said) and was on the market for a few months. so i don't expect it will be easy to sell, but who knows. at first we were happy to stay here forever, but now we want a teensy tiny bit more space and a better location. thats all! lol. anywhoozle, glad things worked out the way they did 🙂
Girl, I feel like this story could be our story!!! We put our house on the market last fall. Kept dropping the price. Switched realtors. And finally, back in September, we took if off the market. Like you guys, we weren't happy with how low we'd gone, and definitely didn't want to go any lower – which left no room for negotiations with potential buyers. Not where we wanted to be at all. So, right now, we are living in a rental home and sitting on a mortgage on our old home. Which is definitely not ideal. But, we're hoping if we re-list in the new year, something good will happen this time around!!! Needless to say, I know how you feel. Everything does happen for a reason though, and I'm so glad that a little Spena is your reason for right now:)
Right there with you girlfriend. We are a few years out from building, so we will be living in our small, cozy home until then. Adding another person to our already cramped home is going to be an adventure, but it's totally doable 😉
I love this!!! It's always hard to see the blessings in the moment, but when they become obvious, I always feel stupid for how upset I was that original plans didn't work out!!! 🙂
I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Everything. You might not know it at the time or understand it, but it will become clear eventually. And this is the BEST possible reason why all of the house stuff wen the way that it did. You weren't meant to move. You were meant to have a baby! 🙂
I'm so sad that you won't be moving into that second house but I would take a healthy viable pregnancy over a new house any day!!! Praying for a great OB appt for you!!!
It's amazing how things work out. I'm definitely a "everything happens for a reason" kind of person! Hope you keep enjoying your home! It will become something completely new when your baby comes!
This was making me so frustrated for you until I got to the end! It's funny how our "no's" can be leading us towards a "yes" that we have no idea about! I love it when we can see examples of God working everything together towards our good, one little step at a time! 🙂
Isn't it funny how sometimes things don't fall into place for a reason? I'm bummed about your home not selling (which I don't get why it's awesome from the photos you posted!). But that's real estate right? Sounds like you'll be busy enough with baby prep in your current home taking a break from the buying/selling seems just right. You don't need that extra stress! 🙂
It is so awesome how God works. My husband and I are going through kind of the same thing just not with a house but with his job situation. We are still waiting to see how this last opportunity will pan out, but we are praying it is not another closed door. However, if it is, we know that it will be best. I am happy for you, that you are not moving with morning sickness too!
How many bedrooms is your house now? Three and i love your bedroom furniture from your precious post. We are going to do the canopy bed as soon as we get rid of our awful ceiling fan.
It's seriously amazing the way He works out the details. Always in His own timing… Which usually drives me nuts 😉 I was like 36weeks pregnant when we got back from California–a stuffed u-haul and a tiny apartment to move into–but it all worked out. Even though I pouted a LOT! 🙂
And we waited. And waited. And waited. And dropped the price. And waited. And added a sellers bonus. And waited. And dropped the price. And waited.
Thanks for the update! I was wondering about this! Hope you are feeling well 🙂
Isn't it funny how we don't see god's bigger plan. I'm always amazed at this. Glad everything is working out for the better. Hopefully when the time comes to move you will find an even better house!
What an adventure!! God provided perfectly for your family and it's true that it's challenging to wait while God works. Hooray for new babies and a home that you love. I have friends that stalk real estate listings, too. I'm excited to follow along with your house/baby adventures in the coming years.
aw such a lovely post. i am a realtor.com stalker as well. i am terrified of finding a new house and not selling the old one, so i think what we might do is move in with my mother in law (ugh) in between selling and buying a new one. the house we bought was everyones second favourite as well (thats what the seller said) and was on the market for a few months. so i don't expect it will be easy to sell, but who knows. at first we were happy to stay here forever, but now we want a teensy tiny bit more space and a better location. thats all! lol.
anywhoozle, glad things worked out the way they did 🙂
Can't wait to see the new nursery! Funny how things work out sometimes, you got an even better gift!
Girl, I feel like this story could be our story!!! We put our house on the market last fall. Kept dropping the price. Switched realtors. And finally, back in September, we took if off the market. Like you guys, we weren't happy with how low we'd gone, and definitely didn't want to go any lower – which left no room for negotiations with potential buyers. Not where we wanted to be at all. So, right now, we are living in a rental home and sitting on a mortgage on our old home. Which is definitely not ideal. But, we're hoping if we re-list in the new year, something good will happen this time around!!! Needless to say, I know how you feel. Everything does happen for a reason though, and I'm so glad that a little Spena is your reason for right now:)
Right there with you girlfriend. We are a few years out from building, so we will be living in our small, cozy home until then. Adding another person to our already cramped home is going to be an adventure, but it's totally doable 😉
I love this!!! It's always hard to see the blessings in the moment, but when they become obvious, I always feel stupid for how upset I was that original plans didn't work out!!! 🙂
I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Everything. You might not know it at the time or understand it, but it will become clear eventually. And this is the BEST possible reason why all of the house stuff wen the way that it did. You weren't meant to move. You were meant to have a baby! 🙂
I'm so sad that you won't be moving into that second house but I would take a healthy viable pregnancy over a new house any day!!! Praying for a great OB appt for you!!!
It's amazing how things work out. I'm definitely a "everything happens for a reason" kind of person! Hope you keep enjoying your home! It will become something completely new when your baby comes!
This was making me so frustrated for you until I got to the end! It's funny how our "no's" can be leading us towards a "yes" that we have no idea about! I love it when we can see examples of God working everything together towards our good, one little step at a time! 🙂
Isn't it funny how sometimes things don't fall into place for a reason? I'm bummed about your home not selling (which I don't get why it's awesome from the photos you posted!). But that's real estate right? Sounds like you'll be busy enough with baby prep in your current home taking a break from the buying/selling seems just right. You don't need that extra stress! 🙂
It is so awesome how God works. My husband and I are going through kind of the same thing just not with a house but with his job situation. We are still waiting to see how this last opportunity will pan out, but we are praying it is not another closed door. However, if it is, we know that it will be best. I am happy for you, that you are not moving with morning sickness too!
How many bedrooms is your house now? Three and i love your bedroom furniture from your precious post. We are going to do the canopy bed as soon as we get rid of our awful ceiling fan.
I love reading this x100! I was wondering what happened with your house hunting! I love how Jesus works in the best ways!
It's seriously amazing the way He works out the details. Always in His own timing… Which usually drives me nuts 😉 I was like 36weeks pregnant when we got back from California–a stuffed u-haul and a tiny apartment to move into–but it all worked out. Even though I pouted a LOT! 🙂
What a good answer to a problem! I can't think of a better one really. Just how things should be working out. And it is good!
what a great story, theres reasons for everything.
http://www.oursweethingcalldelife.blogspot.com
Gosh golly I love this. The epitome of "God's rejection is His protection." 🙂
xx
Love this post!!! I don't love all the house headaches y'all have experienced but I love seeing everything happening in His perfect timing.