Just 13 more days until the movers come to pack us up! Whew...the long wait is almost here! It's funny how long we've been thinking (and planning) for this day.
When I started this blog about 2 years ago, we had no idea where we were going to live or when we would change our work status. The one thing we always knew was that it didn't make sense for us to be on the East Coast if our girls were never coming back here to live. And that fact, coupled with the horrible traffic congestion and lack of living "open space" in this entire Washington DC metro area were the catalysts for our move.
When we first moved to Centreville, VA 20 years ago, this was a lovely forested area with what we were told would be a carefully planned, primarily single family community with amenities for senior citizens, too. Boy, were we duped! It turned into a townhouse community which is conducive to more frequent housing turnovers than if there were single family homes.
Twenty years ago there were about 30,000 residents of Centreville. Today, there are about 80,000 residents, most of the growth due to an influx of multicultural people. We've watched our neighborhood Christmas lights dwindle over the years to only a handful of families who now put up lights during the Christmas season now. Kind of sad.
It's no longer enjoyable to run out to the store or run to the mall on the weekends because the traffic is just like rush hour...sometimes worse! And, that's right here in Centreville and the surrounding towns. And, don't even think about getting on Interstate 95 sound or the 495 Beltway on the weekend! Ugh!
So, yes. We are quite ready to move...snow country and all!
We got word late last night that the final contingency (financial) on our house here in Centreville has been removed! The buyers worked out their loan/financial arrangements! So, we'll be signing the papers early on the 15th of April and heading out of town!
Just found out our neighbors, Connie and Ralph Gay, are putting their house on the market on April 15th! We've known them since Sara and their daughter, Michelle, were in the 6th grade together at London Town Elementary! So, it's been quite a long time. Not many long time owners left in the neighborhood...only two that I know of!
Well, the long awaited appraisal on our Centreville house is done and there is no problem! We haven't seen what it appraised for yet but it either equals or exceeds the price of the house! Yay! So, the buyers are finalizing their loan and we should have some paperwork by next Tuesday lifting the financing contingency. That's the last piece!
We may move up the closing to April 14th if the bank and buyer agree. Otherwise, we'll close on April 15th! Hard to believe we'll be out of here in less than a month! We still have a lot of work to do in this house and the new house. Just moving out and getting set up again is going to be quite a challenge!
Ah, yes, patience. Easy to say, hard to do! Especially when you're ready to do something but the technical details aren't quite finished yet. Just 18 more full time workdays left for me. Mark has just 10 left, I think.
Our time left in this house is rapidly coming to a close. Mark put it in perspective earlier today when he said, "In 6 more weeks, we'll be settling in to the new house"!
This has been a great house with lots of memories. In our new phase of life, we hope to create many more memories in our new home, too.
The appraisal was done today on our house here in Centreville. According to our realtor, we may not know the results for a week! That only gives the buyers one week to finalize all the financial arrangements!
We have the electrician coming in next Thursday to close out a couple small inspection items. Mark also has to make a toilet repair in the basement. After that, the last thing that will happen is a termite inspection which is requested by the buyers. (That shouldn't be an issue because we have had an inspection and treatment accomplished every year since we live nearby a wooded area!)
I guess we'll know where we stand on everything in a week...I just need to have patience! :)
It is so nerve wracking to have a couple of outstanding, unresolved items pertaining to the sale of both houses...and not knowing the outcome! The number one unknown is what our house is going to appraise for. If it doesn't appraise for the amount of the sale price, the buyers could walk away from the deal and take their earnest money with them. We certainly would hope they wouldn't do that and we would do what we could to ensure that didn't happen. We're not sure why the appraisal hasn't been scheduled yet. The buyers have to have their financial contract in place 25 days from the time we accepted their offer. That drop dead date is March 24th!
The second item we haven't gotten an answer on is the few items that were on the inspection report on the Colorado house that we've asked the sellers to resolve prior to us moving in. We're nervous that we didn't hear back right away because they've been real prompt on everything else. Again, this is something we could certainly negotiate with them but not knowing what their answer is makes us very nervous.
We are REALLY hoping nothing falls through particularly since we've worked out employment options, moving arrangements, etc. Stress! Stress! Stress!
I must have had selective memory about how hard it is to get ready for a move! I can imagine it will be almost as hard on the other end, receiving our household goods and then setting everything up again. I don't ever want to store as many things in an attic again as we had here. We accumulated so many "mementos" over the past 20 years and boy, are they heavy!
As difficult as it is, we are actually, dare I say, enjoying it? It is very exciting to think about discovering a new place, new people, and finding interesting things to do! That's one of the things I really liked about being in the military. Every few years, we got to move and experience a completely new community. We made new friends that have stayed with us over the years, cultivated new interests and hobbies, and helped enriched our daughter's lives by broadening their experiences. I'm so glad we are moving in a new direction once again.
We did it! We put an offer on a house in Fort Collins, Colorado last Friday and that night while we were out eating dinner with Sara, Zach and his parents, we found out it was accepted! It's bigger than our current house but Mark and I figured we have about 15 to 20 more years before we really need to downsize.
So, today Mark and I finally had the opportunity to tell our bosses. I asked John if I could telecommute from Colorado and work part time (10 to 20 hours per week). He said he would support that and then he talked to his boss, Chico who also supported it! So provided John Heller (Chico's boss) doesn't have a problem with it, I'll be able to continue working on my new project! Mark told George, too and George would like Mark to be a consultant for him! Again, this would be part time work because neither of us want to work full time.
We are so excited about this new adventure and opportunity! We'll close on the Centreville house on April 15th if all goes well and April 19th on the Fort Collins house. Our next big step here is getting a good Appraisal on this house. I REALLY hope it appraises for what we sold it for!
