Change in house!
Remember way back, about two years ago when I posted three consecutive blogs about all the change going on in my life? Or not. Turns out most of these anticipated changes ended up in the “not” column. Here’s my thinking from January, 2016:
. . . sometimes life hops madly in all directions and it’s hard to write about anything but what’s happening real-time on blog day.
Today is that kind of day.
A lot of it is stuff I don’t want to write about. There are too many unknowns. . . a “where do we move next” element. . . The realization that we’ve accomplished what we came to do in Prescott, WA, and that it’s time to move on.
Today is another one of those kind of days, except- -there’s been a major breakthrough! After two-plus years of searching we’ve finally resolved the “where do we move next” element. At last, we have succeeded in buying a house in Walla Walla, WA.
Come on, you’re thinking, how hard can that be? Mighty hard, I am here to tell you. Inventory is low in Walla Walla and there are plenty of buyers in Seattle who will snap up a new listing sight-unseen. Why? Because Seattle real estate prices are absolutely nuts right now! What better time to leverage your equity and buy a little place in Walla Walla, a place for long weekends and retirement, a place loaded with history that also boasts 100+ wineries within easy driving distance?
Real estate prices in Walla Walla have definitely risen since we started house hunting, but that isn’t the only unpleasant factor. These days, if you see a house you like you’d better make an offer that very day. We’ve seen plenty of places sell the first day they were listed.
We’ve looked at more than 30 houses, trying to find the right one for us, the dog and four cats. The four-leggeds have had it easy out here in Prescott, WA, lolling around on two acres, the neighbors within barking distance but not close enough to peer over the fence or raid your kibble dish. In the beginning we wanted a place on one acre for a buffer. It was all about our fear of living NEXT DOOR to other people again. Town, we knew, would be noisy compared to our rural existence. We made a couple of offers on places that were almost right. Fortunately, they fell through.
THE house went on the market March 26. We’d looked at another house that morning (in the company of our incredibly patient realtors), a nice place in a quiet neighborhood but the rooms were very small. With an “Oh, what the heck?” attitude we went to see the other house. THE house, as it turned out. Quiet street, .32 acres, the house built in 1948- -well made, well maintained, plenty of character. The four of us trooped around, upstairs and down, around the back yard with lots of raised beds, in and out of the outbuildings.
As at all good parties, we ended up in the kitchen: L-shaped, huge window with a bit of a Blue Mountains view, plenty of cupboards and counter space. The air was charged with the energy of something gone right. Strategy was laid for the offer. Documents were prepared and electronically signed. We waited, and . . .
The deed to our new Walla Walla home was transferred at 10 AM yesterday morning. There’s much to do before we move, particularly the construction of a cat-proof (fingers crossed) back yard fence. There’s also much to do getting our Prescott house spruced up for listing. A daunting amount of work will be done in the next month, punctuated by lapses into a stunned state when we realize that one big thing we’ve been working on has finally been accomplished.
We. Have. A. House.
Congrats on your new home!
Thanks, Cheri!