contemplating a change...
Ben and I have been toying around with the idea of selling this house and purchasing another. Crazy talk, I know. You would think that we would be done and over the whole moving thing, right? And we are if you are talking about moving to a new community and starting over- that we have no interest in. Moving to a new house in our same community, though, doesn't scare me.
I feel like I should preface this by agreeing that our house is great. We would be just fine to stay right where we are for the next decade. We love our neighborhood so much that our neighbors would be the biggest reason we did not move. Our house is charming and light filled (a big deal for me) and full of character. I hope it does not come across as greedy by seeking more.
Our house is lacking in a few areas, though, and if we are thinking of staying put in this area until Katie is done with high school, it would be so great to try to find a home in the same community that could fit our needs just a bit better. First and foremost, it would be really great to have a bit more yard. We would also love to have space for our overnight guests that was not our living room couch. Another bedroom in the house would be ideal, or a bigger bedroom that the boys could share. A garage would be lovely as it is just about impossible to keep a carport neat and tidy. A master bathroom that was not also the main bathroom of the house would be so wonderful. A closet big enough that Ben did not have to keep his clothes down in the basement would be great. A hang out space for kids now that Gracie and Luke are getting older would be used all of the time.
Basically, if we could just pick up our house in Knoxville and transport it to Webster Groves, we'd be happy as can be.
We were lucky enough to get this house at a great price. Combine that with the improvements we've made to the home (off the top of my head: renovated both bathrooms, major landscaping, installed a walk- in pantry to the kitchen, installed a new HVAC system, painted the entire interior of the home and much of the exterior, put on a new front porch, added privacy screens to the back patio, and installed a carpet runner on the stairs) and the way houses are flying off the market in Webster Groves right now, we are fairly confident that we would make a bit of a profit if we were to find the right buyer for this home.
We've been keeping our eye on the market and watching when new houses come on the market. We've walked through a couple of Open Houses to see what our money would get us. Nothing we've seen so far seems worth the hassle and expense of a move, but we will keep watching. It is nice that for the first time ever, we are in no hurry with this potential move. We would be more than fine to stay right where we are, so if nothing presents itself, no problem. We've never had this luxury of time and choice before!
We walked through an Open House yesterday that was pretty interesting, but not good enough to jump on. It was a cool older house in a great area of Webster. Many of the huge expensive upgrades had been recently completed, but there were still plenty of places where we could see putting our own stamp on things. It had a wonderful yard. We took our time looking around, but ultimately left thinking that we couldn't picture ourselves living there. It was close to what we want, but not quite right. Again, the ability to be as picky as we want is a whole new concept for us.
As we keep open the possibility of moving, we have been continuing to work on this home. Ben has just about completed the upstairs bathroom project after retiling the floor, updating the walls with wanescotting, and installing a new sink, vanity, and toilet. It was not nearly as big of a project as the downstairs bathroom and only about 1/5 the cost, but one that makes a big difference in the space. I've been slowly painting the exterior of the house, at least the parts I can reach. We may still have to call in a painter for the top, but to keep the cost down, I am doing every inch that I can on my own. (I may have had a small heart attack when I got the estimate for painting our home!) We've had out eyes open to little fixes that need done too, like repairing a window sill that Bear chewed on, fixing a cracked window pane, and some paint touch ups. We know that even if we don't end up selling, these little things will only improve upon the house.
I also find myself wondering if anyone else- any new homeowner- could ever appreciate the changes you make to your home as you live there. Last weekend, for example, I spent HOURS painting the windows on the front porch. HOURS. I sewed double sided curtains for the french doors on the front patio so the fabric could be seen from the outside as well. I repainted the mailbox, installed a kick plate on the front door, upgraded the door bell, and spread mulch. I pulled some vine that had taken over a flower bed and planted some hydrangeas instead. I will forever have an appreciation for those little changes because I know the time and sweat that went into them. A new homeowner would not give them a second thought.
No new homeowner of this home could ever appreciate the pantry that Ben installed in the kitchen the same way that we do. They could never know that the built in that he created around the fridge came from an original kitchen cabinet from the 1920's that we've kept since living on Itaska Street. They could never know the hours I spent painting the kitchen cabinets and the family room windows and the back entry coat and shoe station white instead of the horrible orange wood that was originally in the house. And so on and so on.
(But, I also realize that we probably do not have enough appreciation for some of the upgrades done to this home before it was ours. Such is just human nature, I know.)
I feel like I should preface this by agreeing that our house is great. We would be just fine to stay right where we are for the next decade. We love our neighborhood so much that our neighbors would be the biggest reason we did not move. Our house is charming and light filled (a big deal for me) and full of character. I hope it does not come across as greedy by seeking more.
Our house is lacking in a few areas, though, and if we are thinking of staying put in this area until Katie is done with high school, it would be so great to try to find a home in the same community that could fit our needs just a bit better. First and foremost, it would be really great to have a bit more yard. We would also love to have space for our overnight guests that was not our living room couch. Another bedroom in the house would be ideal, or a bigger bedroom that the boys could share. A garage would be lovely as it is just about impossible to keep a carport neat and tidy. A master bathroom that was not also the main bathroom of the house would be so wonderful. A closet big enough that Ben did not have to keep his clothes down in the basement would be great. A hang out space for kids now that Gracie and Luke are getting older would be used all of the time.
Basically, if we could just pick up our house in Knoxville and transport it to Webster Groves, we'd be happy as can be.
We were lucky enough to get this house at a great price. Combine that with the improvements we've made to the home (off the top of my head: renovated both bathrooms, major landscaping, installed a walk- in pantry to the kitchen, installed a new HVAC system, painted the entire interior of the home and much of the exterior, put on a new front porch, added privacy screens to the back patio, and installed a carpet runner on the stairs) and the way houses are flying off the market in Webster Groves right now, we are fairly confident that we would make a bit of a profit if we were to find the right buyer for this home.
We've been keeping our eye on the market and watching when new houses come on the market. We've walked through a couple of Open Houses to see what our money would get us. Nothing we've seen so far seems worth the hassle and expense of a move, but we will keep watching. It is nice that for the first time ever, we are in no hurry with this potential move. We would be more than fine to stay right where we are, so if nothing presents itself, no problem. We've never had this luxury of time and choice before!
We walked through an Open House yesterday that was pretty interesting, but not good enough to jump on. It was a cool older house in a great area of Webster. Many of the huge expensive upgrades had been recently completed, but there were still plenty of places where we could see putting our own stamp on things. It had a wonderful yard. We took our time looking around, but ultimately left thinking that we couldn't picture ourselves living there. It was close to what we want, but not quite right. Again, the ability to be as picky as we want is a whole new concept for us.
As we keep open the possibility of moving, we have been continuing to work on this home. Ben has just about completed the upstairs bathroom project after retiling the floor, updating the walls with wanescotting, and installing a new sink, vanity, and toilet. It was not nearly as big of a project as the downstairs bathroom and only about 1/5 the cost, but one that makes a big difference in the space. I've been slowly painting the exterior of the house, at least the parts I can reach. We may still have to call in a painter for the top, but to keep the cost down, I am doing every inch that I can on my own. (I may have had a small heart attack when I got the estimate for painting our home!) We've had out eyes open to little fixes that need done too, like repairing a window sill that Bear chewed on, fixing a cracked window pane, and some paint touch ups. We know that even if we don't end up selling, these little things will only improve upon the house.
I also find myself wondering if anyone else- any new homeowner- could ever appreciate the changes you make to your home as you live there. Last weekend, for example, I spent HOURS painting the windows on the front porch. HOURS. I sewed double sided curtains for the french doors on the front patio so the fabric could be seen from the outside as well. I repainted the mailbox, installed a kick plate on the front door, upgraded the door bell, and spread mulch. I pulled some vine that had taken over a flower bed and planted some hydrangeas instead. I will forever have an appreciation for those little changes because I know the time and sweat that went into them. A new homeowner would not give them a second thought.
No new homeowner of this home could ever appreciate the pantry that Ben installed in the kitchen the same way that we do. They could never know that the built in that he created around the fridge came from an original kitchen cabinet from the 1920's that we've kept since living on Itaska Street. They could never know the hours I spent painting the kitchen cabinets and the family room windows and the back entry coat and shoe station white instead of the horrible orange wood that was originally in the house. And so on and so on.
(But, I also realize that we probably do not have enough appreciation for some of the upgrades done to this home before it was ours. Such is just human nature, I know.)
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