a lifestyle blog

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Why We Moved

If you have been following along with my Instagram stories you may have listened to me talk about us selling our home we built three years ago. Since then I have received so many questions as to why we're moving, what made us move, etc. So I decided to dedicate a post just for your questions!



In June 2016 we moved into what we thought was our forever home in Coventry, RI. Since then we have been through IVF, a frozen embryo treatment, a very hard pregnancy, the birth of our amazing daughter Grace, and sadly a miscarriage. We had been jokingly throwing around the idea of moving for quite a while, but after my miscarriage I was ready for a change. 

We hadn't been happy with our neighborhood or location for a while and with the concerns of where our town was going financially, if you're local and watch the news you know exactly what we're talking about. That was our main reason to list the house. Everything that came after was just huge added bonus!

I want to make it clear to anyone considering selling their home to pay off debt, this was not an over night decision or the main factor as to why we sold, but obviously a huge bonus. We looked into what our mortgage was, what we could list it for, how much we could potentially walk away with, etc. This type of decision is life changing and we wanted to make sure it made sense for our family and our future.

Our house ended up selling in three days and we just closed on July, 19th. We are currently renting a two bedroom, two bath apartment to give us time to figure out where we want to live. Choosing to downsize is giving us the opportunity to be super super picky and not have to rush into buying a house!

Now lets get to your questions from the Instagram stories poll I did a few weeks ago....

 

Were you really sad to leave your house?

When we first started getting the house ready for our open house I did cry in my closet LOL! Not because I was saying goodbye to a beautiful house, I was crying because I was nervous about this huge decision. I'm not someone that takes risks, so I had a moment of weakness and then literally 10 minutes later I was completely fine. I haven't cried or second guessed our decision since.

 

Does your family & friends understand?

Yes & No. At first some people in our lives didn't really get it. We got the whole "why would you sell such a beautiful home." "Oh poor Grace, she won't have her playroom." Once we went into more detail about our decision people started to understand and even admire our ambition.

 

Did you ever receive negative comments about the move? How did you deal with that?

From followers? Nope. Not one. I did receive an overwhelming amount of praise and love though. You all are amazing.

From people in our lives? Yes and at first I was annoyed and mad for about the first day lol. Then I realized I do not care what other people think. There are certain people in my life that I turn to for advice, but at the end of the day this is our life and Joe, Grace, and I are the ones that have to live it everyday. If someone doesn't understand our decision and how it will be better in the long run than that's their problem.

 

How big is your new place? Is it significantly smaller than the house?

With our finished basement our house was 2600 sqft, in my opinion too big. I couldn't keep up with the day to day of taking care of Grace, working, and keeping it clean. I know you can say oh please, so many moms do it and I totally get it, but that's not the life I want to live and that's okay too. I don't want to spend my free time cleaning instead of playing and making memories. AND don't forget, I have Grace 24/7, she doesn't go to daycare and I still have to work. While that's my decision, it's still a lot to juggle.

Our new place is 981 sqft, I would say that's a huge difference. So far cleaning has been an absolute breeze and I'm excited to enjoy the small space for the next year. It's very cozy.

 

Are you actively looking for a new house?

Yes. We're hoping predictions are right and the market will be going down over the next year! We do look every week to see what's out there and drive by homes to see the neighborhood and town. We are being extremely picky this time around and want a specific style home. If something absolutely perfect comes up within the next year we have no problem breaking our lease to purchase it.

 

How has Grace been with the transition?

To be honest I don't even know if she's realized. We haven't had any problems with her playing here or sleeping (hope I didn't just jinx us!!) Lily is the one I think is feeling it the most, my poor girl. She's a good size dog, 75lbs, so she's just trying to find her place. The one thing I do feel bad about is her not having that big fenced in yard for her to roam around in. So today she is actually at doggie daycare and we plan to bring her more often than we were before.

 

How much money did you make from selling your house? What did you pay off?

We made enough money to pay all our student loans and save some. What we have left is my new car payment. We paid Joe's newer truck off this past February so we're happy with one car payment and plan to pay it off within the next year. To be transparent we had roughly $56,000 in student loans.

To put it into perspective, Joe had a student loan that was around $19,000 with a variable interest rate that kept going up. We actually took out a second mortgage on our house because we had the equity to completely pay off this loan and get a better interest rate. When we took out the loan the interest rate on his student loan was 12.5%, so absurd is that?! When we got the second mortgage it brought the interest rate down to 4%. This loan is now paid in full!

 

How does the whole process work? Do you get the money right away?

At the closing we reviewed all documents stating what our mortgage pay offs were and how much we would receive after. Once the closing was recorded by the attorney's office at town hall, which was that day, we were able to go pick up the check to deposit. 

Since we had two mortgages, even though one was originally a student loan, we received the remaining balance after those two balances were paid in full. We then took that money and paid the rest of our loans.

 

How did you fit all your things into the apartment?

Well, we didn't! Our bedroom and Grace's bedroom are pretty much the same size as the hosue so everything fit. We do have a small storage unit 10x10 for $75/month that has my Christmas decor, the guest bedroom mattress and frame, and my kitchen table. These are all things I will use in our new home and didn't want to sell so it was worth it to me to store.

I also have donated and sold so much stuff! As soon as the house went on the market I went on a frenzy and sold a ton. My entire dining room set, which we originally bought used I sold for $500. That's what we originally paid for it hahaha! We also sold our sectional, patio furniture, baby items, and miscellaneous things. It's amazing what people will buy and how it adds up quickly. I ended up making over $2,000.

 

What type of house are you looking for?

So we are more focused on the area and lot. We're not opposed to paying higher taxes as long as we feel like we're getting something for it, ie. a good school system, close to highway, etc. The actual house is kind of secondary to us. 

We do want a ranch style home, preferably a walk out, but are not opposed to something that needs work. We really like older homes that we can renovate. One of my big things I love is double front doors that you see on older homes in our area! I think they're classic and beautiful. 


I hope this post answered all your questions you have been wanting answered! Thank you so much for taking the time to follow along and read, it really means so much.

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