Well life has taken an unexpected turn for us of late.
We are currently renting our home here but have been talking about buying a home for some time now.
When we moved to Minnesota the plan was to only stay 1 year so we rented a 1 bed apartment. Then we decided to stay a little longer and I needed more space for a workroom so we moved to a 2 bed apartment.
Then, when we moved back to California, we had no idea which area was a good place to live so we rented the house where we are now.
Because we knew we'd be moving about so much in the last 5 years renting was the sensible way to go. So, although we kept saying we ought to buy a house, it has never been the right time....until now.
This house has a huge yard....and it is all grass. Not very sensible when you live in the desert huh. We didn't want the responsibility of a huge yard but part of the deal with this house was that the water bill and a gardener were included in the rent.
Until now ! Our lease is up shortly and the new terms are not only a rent increase but also that we pay the water bill. As you can imagine keeping a big lawn green in the desert is not cheap.
So...this has finally been the kick up the backside we needed to buy somewhere. We don't plan on leaving Southern California in the near future so it is insane to pay more in rent that we'd pay in a mortgage payment on a house of our own.
So that's where I've been the last couple of weeks. We found ourselves a wonderful realtor and he has been driving me round looking at homes.
Most of which, unfortunately, looked nothing like the online pictures.
We did find one we liked very much this weekend and put an offer yesterday but was pipped to the post by an offer that was put last in Friday :-(
The market in California right now is extremely tough. There are lots of buyers but very few homes available which means that any house we've seen has already had multiple offers..... even the not so nice ones.
So for the next few weeks I am going to be at the realtors beck and call and going to view places at a minutes notice. Luckily with me being at home all the time I have the advantage of being able to do this.
And I'll be packing. One way or another we'll be moving somewhere shortly, even if it is only temporary rented accommodation while we keep looking so I need to get moving on boxing everything up. A task I am not looking forward to one bit..... in situations like this living so far away from people we know, and help from them, really hits home.
So blogging with be intermittent at best. I won't have time for sculpting or flowers. I will be putting somethings on etsy shortly though as I plan on having a clear out at the same time so I'll let you know when I do that.
In the meantime, I'll be saying bye bye.....but I'll be back :-)
We are currently renting our home here but have been talking about buying a home for some time now.
When we moved to Minnesota the plan was to only stay 1 year so we rented a 1 bed apartment. Then we decided to stay a little longer and I needed more space for a workroom so we moved to a 2 bed apartment.
Then, when we moved back to California, we had no idea which area was a good place to live so we rented the house where we are now.
Because we knew we'd be moving about so much in the last 5 years renting was the sensible way to go. So, although we kept saying we ought to buy a house, it has never been the right time....until now.
This house has a huge yard....and it is all grass. Not very sensible when you live in the desert huh. We didn't want the responsibility of a huge yard but part of the deal with this house was that the water bill and a gardener were included in the rent.
Until now ! Our lease is up shortly and the new terms are not only a rent increase but also that we pay the water bill. As you can imagine keeping a big lawn green in the desert is not cheap.
So...this has finally been the kick up the backside we needed to buy somewhere. We don't plan on leaving Southern California in the near future so it is insane to pay more in rent that we'd pay in a mortgage payment on a house of our own.
So that's where I've been the last couple of weeks. We found ourselves a wonderful realtor and he has been driving me round looking at homes.
Most of which, unfortunately, looked nothing like the online pictures.
We did find one we liked very much this weekend and put an offer yesterday but was pipped to the post by an offer that was put last in Friday :-(
The market in California right now is extremely tough. There are lots of buyers but very few homes available which means that any house we've seen has already had multiple offers..... even the not so nice ones.
So for the next few weeks I am going to be at the realtors beck and call and going to view places at a minutes notice. Luckily with me being at home all the time I have the advantage of being able to do this.
And I'll be packing. One way or another we'll be moving somewhere shortly, even if it is only temporary rented accommodation while we keep looking so I need to get moving on boxing everything up. A task I am not looking forward to one bit..... in situations like this living so far away from people we know, and help from them, really hits home.
So blogging with be intermittent at best. I won't have time for sculpting or flowers. I will be putting somethings on etsy shortly though as I plan on having a clear out at the same time so I'll let you know when I do that.
In the meantime, I'll be saying bye bye.....but I'll be back :-)
Posts
Good luck in the search, Jayne. Moving and packing are two of the worst things to have to do, I do not envy you at all. Hopefully there is a quick and happy ending to all this madness soon. :-)
ReplyDeleteGood luck! I'm looking for a new house too and I know its a tough job. I wish you to find the perfect one Mini hugs
ReplyDeleteYou'll find another one you'll like even BETTER than the one you missed out on! Hey, up my way there are lots of houses for sale!!!
ReplyDeleteRemember location, location, location!
Hugs, Marsha
You'll be missed while you are away. Good luck in the home search. May your dream home be waiting for you!!!
ReplyDeleteJayne I have been thinking about you over the weekend and hoping everything was okay as I'd missed your blog posts. Good luck with the househunting and hope you two will soon be able to settle in your own place. I dont envy you the upheaval one little bit but will keep my fingers crossed things go smoothly !
ReplyDeletejulie xxxx
Jayne- I will be thinking of you and sending you all the good luck thoughts I can for your house search. I wish I lived closer- I would come help you out for sure. We moved quite a few times before we moved to the house we are in now, so I am pretty good at it. Remember if it gets too overwhelming you could just swing in here and do a post to vent to us :)
ReplyDeleteLots and lots of good thoughts and luck on a new home!!!!
Best wishes for your nest quest!
ReplyDeleteGood luck house hunting! When we were looking for a home 4 years ago, we went through much the same thing. The online photo would look really promising and then the reality would be vastly different. You will find something, I'm sure. We looked at a lot of houses until we found ours - and it wasn't perfect, but it was 'happy.'
ReplyDeleteWe too, are far away from family and all of our moves have been engineered by just the two of us!
I'll be thinking of you and crossing my fingers!
Life does get in the way of creating, doesn't it... Hope you find the perfect home for you soon. We'll all be here when and if you have time to come back and say "hello."
ReplyDeleteI'll keep an eye out on your Etsy shop. Never know what goodies may be there! :)
Blessings,
Kathi
:(. You will be missed terribly. Wonder if you have received the batch of cloths which I sent out last week, I think, or is it this week..shucks...losing track and losing my mind! CIAO for now and hear from you after you have settled down!
ReplyDeleteHouse hunting... exciting and exhausting. You'll find one, and it will have been worth all the running around. Good Luck and see you soon :D
ReplyDelete