Phew, it has been a busy couple of days, and I imagine that things are just going to keep getting busier with the impending move and the start of my new job. Thank you all for the well wishes and messages of congratulations! All of our frantic finger and toe crossing paid off, didn't it?!
I received a few questions via comments and e-mail regarding the sale and move so I figured I would answer them here in case anyone else happened to be wondering the same thing.
So, how bad was the final outcome?
Well, despite our excitement of the condo selling, the financial outcome is still quite dismal, to put it very lightly. We're selling for $59,000 less than what we paid for it back in 2006. Guess who has to make up the difference of what is still owed? We're depleting our savings, dipping into our 401k's and borrowing extra money from Jon's student loans to make up for the money that we'll need at closing. Our fingers are still crossed that our condo will appraise for the sale price, a major concern in this continually dropping market.
Are you completely psyched, or just relieved?
I would say it's a combination of both, with a little more emphasis on the relief. It's sad to close this chapter of our lives, but it is also completely exhilarating knowing that our next home will be the one we bring our babies home to. But even more so, I'm just completely relieved that we can turn the page and start anew and that it happened so quickly.
So do you get to go house hunting for a two bedroom now?
Nope. Actually, if we were just looking for one more bedroom than what we currently have, we wouldn't be moving. Since we intend to live in our next home for a long(ish) time, we want it to have enough bedrooms for the 2-3 kids we plan on having so that we don't find ourselves in this situation of outgrowing our home again. Sadly, house hunting is on hold for now. (see next question)
Are you still planning to live with your parents for a while or are you going to buy soon since your house sold so quickly?
Unfortunately (and fortunately), we are still planning to live with my parents for about six months to make up a good chunk of the money that we are losing. We are very appreciative that we have this option, so thank you, Mom and Dad, for welcoming us with open arms! It's actually good timing, too, as my dad recently had a total knee replacement so we'll be around to help with the yard work and other things that need doing.
We're going to start looking for a home late this summer, though I can't help but browse the Maryland market now. I'm a sucker for looking at pretty things I can't have! One good thing that we have going for us is that we're moving from one of the most expensive real estate markets in the country to a much more affordable market. We'll be able to get a four bedroom home for what we paid for our one bedroom condo. Kind of sickening when you think about it!
Since we go to settlement on a Thursday, we're moving out the weekend before (April 18th) and already have our U-Haul reserved and ready to go. We've both been collecting boxes at work and have a lovely stack of them in our dining room. The actual moving shouldn't be too bad since a) we already moved a lot of our stuff out prior to putting it on the market and b) we live on the first floor so there are no stairs to climb. So that's another relief.
Overall, even though our fingers are still crossed and we've barely exhaled at all, we are just so eager and enthusiastic for the next steps in our incredible journey together. Thanks for sharing it with us :)
