The mud is starting to dry out and I'm looking forward to that. One nice thing about a really frozen day in January, not much gets tracked in.
Our big news here is that we are starting to think about buying a bigger house. I found a few candidates online and we'll go look at a couple with a realtor on Thurs. a.m. Also, I arranged a storage unit (10' X 20') which I'll secure tomorrow so we can start making this house look salable.
It will be a massive ordeal to move, on many levels. First off, just the work involved: purging junk, cleaning up, cosmetic improvements indoors and out, packing, moving. That's daunting enough. Then the stress involved in the whole process. Scott and I have been through 6 moves together over the years and our differing styles tend to cause a bit of conflict. We've been in this house for 8 years, which is longer than any other, and we have two kids now. The kids will be a little unglued about the relocation, but I hope they'll settle in quickly. Then, there's all the stress about other people making decisions and taking actions over which we have no control. Banks, sellers, buyers, realtors. Negotiating about money, deadlines, closing dates, etc.
Every time we started to think about this stuff before it just seemed like it was easier to stay put. But we really need a house where our kids' rooms are big enough to hold their toys. I would like a family room, so our living room will be a little more civilized. I'd like to have space to accomodate my parents when they come to town. We like our lot and our immediate neighbors (mostly), but not enough to make a major wall-rearranging series of improvements and addition to this house. For less money than upgrading this house, we could trade up and get 2000 sq feet plus basement.
Over the years we've had so many linked questions that drove me nuts. If we thought we would stay here forever, we would rip out the unused chimney and gain a crucial 2' X 3' area of floor space in the kitchen. And remodel the kitchen. But, if we thought we would sell in a year, we would just try to facelift the appearance a bit without improving function. That sort of stuff. And it drove me nuts, because I never felt like I could tackle anything because we didn't have a longer term plan to work toward. So, it is a colossal relief to think that we've reached a decision to move. The only improvements we'll make are those that enhance the immediate salability. And the rest of it can be someone else's headache.
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