The Day that Changed Everything

Our summer started out quite perfectly. We didn’t have any grand plans and I was excited for laid back days. I was determined to keep things simple and enjoy having all my kids at home with me.

My low-stress, carefree summer was severely shaken on the morning of Saturday, July 17th. Justin had just gotten home from scuba diving and asked me what I wanted to do that day. I suggested we could go look at model homes (assuming he understood I was referring to the homes he and the girls rode by on their recent bike ride.) He interpreted my suggestion as looking at homes close to his work. I was okay with that assumption and off we went. We decided to visit a neighborhood we looked at 3 years ago in Snoqualmie (20 minutes from Justin’s work). Thank heavens we didn't purchase 3 years ago cause home values have really plummeted. We looked at a few builders, and after several hours had found a floor plan in a new neighborhood that we both loved. If only life were that easy. We don't make any decision without looking at all our options (do you recall this post)? Thus started weeks and weeks of research… we looked at resales, short sales, and new construction. We visited neighborhoods in several cities that would shorten Justin’s commute and offer housing we could afford. We discussed financing options, upgrades, selling our current home, school ratings, and where we would go to church. Suddenly I had tons of research to do, options to weigh, and a potential house to sell... stress, stress, and more stress. And since my mind obsesses about things the possibility of moving took over my life. And that honey-do list was just getting longer and longer and much more pressing.

As we looked at all our options nothing felt as good as the new construction in Snoqualmie we saw on day 1. So we investigated further and asked a bazillion questions. We knew that house from top to bottom. In order to protect ourselves from costly expenses down the road we wanted to include all our changes and upgrades in a potential offer. Which meant we had to go through the process of thinking through every detail of the home even before knowing if it's possible to get it within our price range. Enter more stress and difficult decisions. On August 17th we decided to make the builder an offer.

The negotiation process was a long 17 days. We pushed the limits and made hefty demands. In the end, our efforts and persistence paid off (and largely thanks to a generous agent who forked in nearly half her commission to bridge the gap that was keeping the deal from closing) we reached an agreement for our new home this weekend.

We are super excited, but realize that the stress won’t be coming to an end soon. We have a few months until we need to put our current home on the market and then we need to find the perfect buyer. Of course, we have very mixed emotions about leaving. We have LOVED it here, but we feel that this is the right thing for our family. Besides, we’re only moving 45 minutes away and people drive that kind of distance everyday.

Our agent sent us a picture of our lot yesterday

The exterior of our home will look similar to this…