Downsizing
This is another big thing that has happened in the last week or so... Hang on!
For a while we have known that we really didn't want to afford our current house anymore. We bought it in 2006 while Josh was still working very successfully as a mortgage broker. At the time, we could totally afford it. No question. Now? Not so much. Here's what changed:
1. The same month we bought our house, Josh's mortgage company went under AND he lost a valuable partnership that had been bringing in tons of business.
2. Josh and I were just beginning to get our feet wet in the rehabbing business, and made some mistakes that cost us big time. We lost quite a bit of money over 2006-2007.
3. The real estate market's bubble burst and our house now is worth far less than what we paid for it.
The bottom line: We need to move into something smaller (ie: more affordable).
Last spring/summer we began looking for something we could afford and would like, and found a home that was being sold as a short-sale. It needed a ton of work! No, you don't understand. I mean A TON!! The former owner had inteded to rehab it, but quit in the middle of his project, leaving no flooring in all but one room of the entire house, and a boatload of work still to do. But it was priced right, so we put in an offer on it. That was in June 2008. We waited and waited and waited. Well finally (after a few realtor mess-ups and having to resubmit our offer a couple times), the bank accepted our offer, and we closed on it last Friday!
It will be a true downsize for us. The new place has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths in 1700 square feet, as opposed to our 5 bedrooms and 3 baths in 2300 square feet now. HOWEVER, it is less than half of what we paid for our current home (even including the "planned" cost to fix it up!), so it is much more manageable. It has the potential to be a really cute home. Josh also loves that it is all-brick and it's on a small canal that goes out to the St. Johns River. Our projects on the house will include:
A new roof
New flooring throughout (except in the master bedroom)
New kitchen cabinets/countertops
Gut and redo both bathrooms
Sheetrock work in at least 3 rooms
Opening up the kitchen
Closing off a room for an office
Light fixtures and fans throughout
New doors and baseboards
Painting the entire interior
And now the work begins. We plan to spend some evenings and Saturdays working on it until Josh has a break in his schedule and can spend more time on it. I'm so thankful I have a husband who knows how to do all this work himself! What a blessing!
Here is a pic of the front of the house and one of the canal in back at high tide, and I'll show you the inside another time.
For a while we have known that we really didn't want to afford our current house anymore. We bought it in 2006 while Josh was still working very successfully as a mortgage broker. At the time, we could totally afford it. No question. Now? Not so much. Here's what changed:
1. The same month we bought our house, Josh's mortgage company went under AND he lost a valuable partnership that had been bringing in tons of business.
2. Josh and I were just beginning to get our feet wet in the rehabbing business, and made some mistakes that cost us big time. We lost quite a bit of money over 2006-2007.
3. The real estate market's bubble burst and our house now is worth far less than what we paid for it.
The bottom line: We need to move into something smaller (ie: more affordable).
Last spring/summer we began looking for something we could afford and would like, and found a home that was being sold as a short-sale. It needed a ton of work! No, you don't understand. I mean A TON!! The former owner had inteded to rehab it, but quit in the middle of his project, leaving no flooring in all but one room of the entire house, and a boatload of work still to do. But it was priced right, so we put in an offer on it. That was in June 2008. We waited and waited and waited. Well finally (after a few realtor mess-ups and having to resubmit our offer a couple times), the bank accepted our offer, and we closed on it last Friday!
It will be a true downsize for us. The new place has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths in 1700 square feet, as opposed to our 5 bedrooms and 3 baths in 2300 square feet now. HOWEVER, it is less than half of what we paid for our current home (even including the "planned" cost to fix it up!), so it is much more manageable. It has the potential to be a really cute home. Josh also loves that it is all-brick and it's on a small canal that goes out to the St. Johns River. Our projects on the house will include:
A new roof
New flooring throughout (except in the master bedroom)
New kitchen cabinets/countertops
Gut and redo both bathrooms
Sheetrock work in at least 3 rooms
Opening up the kitchen
Closing off a room for an office
Light fixtures and fans throughout
New doors and baseboards
Painting the entire interior
And now the work begins. We plan to spend some evenings and Saturdays working on it until Josh has a break in his schedule and can spend more time on it. I'm so thankful I have a husband who knows how to do all this work himself! What a blessing!
Here is a pic of the front of the house and one of the canal in back at high tide, and I'll show you the inside another time.
Comments