Love it or List it!

What a whirlwind of a couple of days we have had. We have been looking to sell our house for almost 5 years now. When we bought it we bought at the height of a boom, the availability of houses we could afford was slim, and we were looking to get something we could have renters in to help with the mortgage. Things have changed and now this house just doesn't suit us, however the market conditions haven't been that great and to sell we were always in a position where we would lose money on this house. Last year at this time our list price would have been around $250,000, well this year we listed it at $270,000. We did this Thursday night. Friday we had three showings, Saturday three more. By Saturday night we were staring down three offers and basically the house was selling for what we wanted to get for it. Score! But then we realized the other side of the coin, sure it's easy to sell in a market with so few homes available, but to buy is another whole story! Our choices were of course limited, and every property we looked at meant a compromise, even if we spent our entire budget. I don't think we slept all night weighing the options.

Here is our list of must haves:
-Open concept main floor
-Large master bedroom with ensuite
-2 spare bedrooms
-at least one more bathroom
-New build or less than 5 years old
-RV Parking
-Three car garage, or at the very least a 2 car with 2 separate doors
-South west side of town
-Under $450,000

Well, there is absolutely nothing that fits all those criteria. Specifically the garage requirement, a three car garage is as rare as a unicorn, at least in our price range. There was exactly one available, and the house that went with it just wasn't right. There was no RV parking, the master bath was disappointing, the living room was tiny. It just wasn't THE house. All the other options had the two car garage with one bay, we actually tried to get two vehicles in one, we failed. We had a restless night debating what we were willing to sacrifice on, and what we wanted to pay if we weren't getting all the things we wanted in a new house. It was disappointing.

There were however two more options, houses with three car garages in a part of town I had previously put my foot down and said were off the table because of their location. Behind Walmart and Home Depot, and a bunch of apartments and condos and in a virtual construction zone for the foreseeable future. They were only still on the market because the listings pictured a drawing of a two car garage and only way down the listing did it mention they added on a garage bay. The prices were great, the floorplans were great, could we get over where they were? So we went and gave them a chance, and of course loved the houses! They back on a park so there is no one right behind you, the garages are amazing, and after seeing other places and what was available it made the compromise on location more bearable. The master bedroom is on the back of the house, so maybe the construction won't wake me up on weekends?

So we put in an offer. Now to play the waiting game to let all the paperwork go through, conditions to be met on the sale of this place and the new one, a bunch of paperwork to sign and then we will move from cautiously optimistic to full on excited happy dance. We went back to take some photos of the place after we put in the offer.

Front of the house

Back from across the park

Back Corner, Kitchen windows on the corner with bedroom above, Dining room is in the bump out

Back door onto the future deck, livingroom window and fireplace, master bedroom window upstairs. 

Back bay door from the garage, perfect for parking a boat in the back yard.

Our Floorplan

So there you have it... big changes ahead. After all the conditions are lifted! oh the waiting game!

Project Time

I was going through my closet today, trying things on and discarding stuff into a donate pile when I got to the back of the closet... Well I think by this point in life most women have the same thing in the back of their closet as I do, the collection of dresses that were worn once and then never worn again. It has my prom dress and some brides maid's dresses, thankfully I got married in a sundress that I have since worn, otherwise that would be back there too. You know the dresses I am talking about, those once that when bought were surely accompanied by the phrase "after the (insert event) you can just shorten it and wear it again!". Which never happens. For me it's less laziness and more sentimental. It's hard to take scissors and revise that dress that was so perfect for that one special occasion! Also, maybe, just maybe, one day I will get that invite to something which requests the dress to be black tie formal, and that full length dress will once again have purpose.

This all brings me to my prom dress, buried deep in the closet. I tried it on and realized I will never wear it as it is now. I remember shortening the straps when I bought it because it was too low cut and cleavage was something that I didn't even have by age 17. Thankfully now at almost twice that age (how the heck?) I have both cleavage and hips that fit into that dress where they originally were intended to fit. I still love the color and the fabric and with some tweaking I actually would wear it on a night out, maybe on vacation, who knows. So I am going to do it, I am going to shorten the dress, use the extra material for new longer straps, and see what results! Some photos will help you get an idea:

This is the dress at it's current length and riding slightly high because of the straps

This is about where I will shorten it to, maybe a bit longer.

I am excited to once again flex my sewing muscles. I realize I forgot to take a photo of the blanket I gave my friend when she had her baby. Next time I am there I will have to steal a shot of it! Also, while I am reminiscing about prom dresses I thought I would share some old photo with you:

Dress back on it's big day

Best Buds

Prom Dates