...that is the question.
Yesterday: We are not moving.
Today: We are moving!
Okay, we are having problems making up our minds here. Somedays we think we could live in our house. Other days I can not wait to put the for sale sign in our yard myself! Let's start with reasons for moving.
We have been in our home 8 years August 11! Wow, that time has flown by. We liked our home, for the most part, until just over 2 years ago when our neighborhood changed. Without getting into too many details, Chris and I thought people were mostly good people until we met our neighbors. Let's just say, we now struggle with 'Love your neighbor as yourself," rephrased from the 10 commandments. If our old neighbors lived next door, Chris and I may not be so deeply considering a move. When Chris decided we needed a hidden camera to keep tabs on the mysterious things occuring around our home, I decided perhaps it is time to move. Let's just say we live on a version of Wisteria Lane without the pretty people to look at. :)
Other reasons to move: we have outgrown our house! Have you seen our garage? (see picture below). 3 kids with all their toys, 2 cars, a workbench, 3-4 strollers, 3 trash cans for yard waste and trash, a lawn mower, snowblower and a motorcycle, etc, etc all in a 2 car garage. We have problems just getting in and out of our cars. Other reasons include: move closer to Chris' work (he drives 30 miles approximately 2 times a day to work. That is insane!).
Reasons to stay: There are few homes that are 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms with finished basements and big back yards. We would want at least what we have to move. We also would not want to change our house payment, so would move up with our equity. We have a nice finished basement, all rooms painted. We would add on a deck and possibly upgrade our kitchen in the next year or 2 if we stayed, then move onto upgrading the bathrooms upstairs. Our yard landscaping is extensive and would hate to have to do all that in another home. We would NEVER get the true value out of our home if we moved in this market. We also just installed a new air conditioner/furnace, new carpeting, new fence...for what? The new people to have when they move it? Also, to move our family of 5 sounds like a total nightmare to me. I have been dragging my feet until recently. Staying home and having to deal with the neighborhood issues more has helped Chris in his mission to move, and move closer to his work. I also would like Alivia to know where she would be starting school next year. And, for those of you that know where we live, we are close to everything...Walmart, Target, HyVee, an elementary school, a walking trail, a sprinkle park and a park all within walking distance practically! That will be very difficult to find in another home anywhere else.
A month or so ago we did go and look at a few homes. Seriously, listen to our requirements: 5 bedrooms or 4 bedrooms with a bonus room for an office, 4 bathrooms, finished walk-out basement, 1-2 years old at most, white woodwork, silver or dark hardware throughout, clean!! (I was amazed how people in high price points do not clean their homes that are on the market for sale!), sprinkler system, at least 3 car garage, a flat backyard, and the list goes on. Oh, and we do not want to spend more than we have in equity in our home. Meaning, we do not want our house payments to change. Our real estate agent wanted us to put our house up on the market, and I immediately said NO WAY! If our house sold we would be living in our cars for a long time because I am not sure the house we want exists.
So, what will tomorrow bring? To move or not to move? We have until spring to decide. Until then, the question remains, but we are leaning towards packing up and changing the scenery a bit.
No comments:
Post a Comment