Taking the Big Break

With any luck, the house is sold!   In mid-June, after a heck of a lot of purging and cleaning, we left our sparse and sparkly home in the hands of our realtor and left town for a long weekend away with friends.   We thought disappearing was better than having to be kicked out of the house with each showing.   (Not to mention, with two boys, it is easier to keep the house clean when we aren’t around.)   Within those first three days and a few showings, we received a full price offer on the house!   We were beyond pleased.

But, as you know if you have bought or sold a house, that is just the beginning.   Then begins the process of the inspection, negotiations, bids, more negotiations, and appraisals while all parties make sure the house is what they expected.

Well, the good news is… as of today, that’s all done.  Agreements have been finalized, and the schedule is moving forward.  We were delighted to learn that the buyers don’t even want to move in before mid-August, and since we aren’t leaving until September 4^th, we asked if we could have a few more weeks to stay right up to the end.  They agreed!   This is great news as we can avoid moving twice and having to start living out of a suitcase any sooner than we have to.

Seriously though, perhaps the nicest part of this whole transaction (yes, when all is said and done it IS a transaction), is that we feel like the home is going to good people who will enjoy it and love it.  Selling a home isn’t just a business transaction as there is so much tied up emotionally for both sides.  After all, we have lived in our home for 14 years and this is all that our boys know.   For a long time, this home has been …  well, HOME.

Fortunately, as it turned out, the buyers had already embraced the neighborhood and the home before we had even returned from our weekend away.   They’d left a note for us telling us much they love the home, how they were excited to be able to walk to their jobs, how they looked forward to hiking in Tryon Creek State Park nearby, and how much they respected our decision to take this adventure with our boys.  In the letter, she summarized her feelings by saying “All this is to say we would be thrilled if you accept our offer.”

A full price offer to nice people who will take good care of our home?!   Well, OK.  🙂

In all seriousness, though, throughout all this crazy roller coaster of home sale emotion – both good and bad – I keep coming back to the letter from the buyers.  They told us about how they both had been giving opportunities to live abroad and how grateful they still were for those opportunities of adventure and growth.

And, to close, she wrote:

“As a personal note, we think your plans for the coming year are really cool…..   Your children will have experiences that they will treasure for life, and discover things they could never learn in school.  It’s a good thing that you are doing.  Sincerely, S&S”

Thanks, S&S.   We think so too!   I hope you find as much love and joy in the home as we have!