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Yes! You read that right. Finally! I can speak about what our life has really been like since January! Whew- this is going to be so freeing. Let me start from the beginning...
You read back here, here and here a bit about the search on a new home, the one we had we were quickly outgrowing so naturally, it was the right time. We first started looking for a new house that would be bigger, a bit upgraded and more our style. After about 2 months of looking, we came to the conclusion we are super picky so we would go the new build route if we wanted to get everything out of a house we desired.
In March, we signed a contract on a new house to be built which meant we had to list our current home for them to start building... so duh. We did just that and it sold within a week. We were so pumped because that meant the could "slot" our home to get started building it; one step closer!
Because of that, we were moving in with Andrew's parents for about 5 months (September time frame) until the new house was done and we would move in. Well, things started falling through with the new house and the sales team and the design team telling us different information. We prayed hard about this and felt in our hearts, this wasn't the route to take any longer so we voided our contract and prayed again about what our next step was.
After talking things through and looking at our budget, we opted to go the route of buying land and building a custom home (!!) which was so exciting for us knowing we would be able to make every detail a reflection of us. We didn't do this first off because we didn't realize we could afford it but it's actually cheaper than going with a new build!
April goes by looking for land... May goes by looking for land... we were quickly becoming defeated because with our requirements of a 1+ acre lot, sewer water and an area we could rezone to potentially subdivide, we just weren't finding anything that fell into those categories. We grew anxious about living in a home that wasn't ours while we continue to expand our family so we felt looking for a fixer upper would be a good option while we continued to look for land.
Why a fixer upper? The plan was to move into that within a month of purchasing, live in it while we found the perfect property and then sell as soon as our custom built home was ready to move in to. Easy enough... but not really. Arizona (or north phoenix really) has like zero fixer uppers on the market. We were finding the houses out there listed were listed at the same cost all comps were, nothing below with enough wiggle room to renovate meaning we were again, looking for a home that we couldn't make many changes to.
All during this time, we had met with our architect, had the new custom home drawn up and were ready to beginning building the second we found land. Which was still not happening.
June goes by looking for a home and the few we liked and put offers on immediately were already under contract by the time our offer got sent in. Ugh. Talk about an emotional roller coaster! So again, we were so defeated.
Until July 3rd.
We were browsing late that night and found what seemed to be the most perfect home for us. Exactly the square footage and requirements we "need" for our family plus a whole lot of wants that were checked off our list. Praise the Lord! Of course, we went and looked at it the second we could which was July 4th and put an offer in within an hour of seeing it.
We are still pinching ourselves it was accepted and we've closed but we are completely elated God has answered prayers on so many levels. We are doing a couple things this week before we move in next weekend to make it perfect for us: backyard landscaping, repainting and new carpet throughout.
I'm sure you're wondering now, are they still building custom? Yes! We absolutely are... we continue to look for the most ideal lot for us and as soon as we find it, we will buy and begin building the custom home. So although this new home may only be temporary.... it's so lovely and great for this time of life. I'm definitely excited for the chapter we're about to embark on!
I'm also teaming up with some amazing companies with the new house so I'm happy to share a lot of the blog will be home related coming Fall! Those types of posts always suck me in... like a black hole! Ha- I can't wait to share.
Thanks for following along our journey and encouraging us along the way. I'm always happy to share our personal life here with you beautiful souls- hope you're having a great weekend!
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