We had several scary hurdles we had to get through over the last month including selling our home since we were contingent buyers. We placed it on the market last Tuesday and within 3, count 'em 3 hours, we got the perfect offer! We accepted right away and are now going through the escrow process. That part was truly remarkable because our big fear was we'd get our new place and in this economy and housing market, not sell our old home and end up losing the new house. We are so grateful for our buyer!
The second major hurdle was to get the new place, we had placed our current house on the market in a leap of faith praying we were going to get the new house, which was on a first come, first serve basis and there were only 8 homes available (but really, only 3 that were in our price range that we wanted). The week leading up to the opening sales day was nerve-wracking. Neither of us slept very well and forget about appetites, we were both so nervous and could think of nothing else! We called every day at the suggestion of the Shea Home staff to check if anyone was lining up, and Thursday afternoon (mind you, TWO whole days before sales day!) there was somebody in line.
Rob was amazing, he dropped everything and hauled butt over there, he works only about 15 minutes away but by the time he got there he was already #3 in line! Quickly we were reassured, however, when we learned #1 and #2 wanted different homes than ours: it finally hit us, we got our house!!!! And now, we've got to camp out like the Beverly Hillbillies for 2 days in a super nice neighborhood. Wah wah wah.
It actually turned out to be such a fun process - we totally bonded with our new neighbors and we're thrilled to be living next to some great people...we really like them already and can't wait to get to know them during this whole process - how unique to get to know people even before you move in!
And, in the smooth-process fashion that has been this whole experience, we were completely saved Thursday night. The Shea VP came and rescued our butts by allowing us to go home - they could not, in good conscience, allow us all to camp out in the cold for 2 days and they asked a Shea employee to come hold everyone's spots in line and be the "keeper" of the sign-up list.
We were thrilled! Although, secretly, I think Rob and the other dudes were bummed - they'd all geared up to camp out and I think were actually really enjoying doing their "dude duty" for their wives....but several hours of camping out was plenty for this girl (not to mention I still had to work Friday, so I probably wouldn't have made it long Thursday night and would have had to bail and go home eventually).The Shea VP, Vanessa, was so sweet - she even brought us champagne to celebrate! Here's us with Vanessa (on the far right) and our new neighbors camped out outside of the sales office.
When we left, Rob and I drove over to our actual plot and walked around and took pictures. We love our patch o' dirt, it's OUR dirt!!!
We returned on Saturday morning when the houses went on sale, and it was such a fun and exciting process. Of course we'd already met and bonded with our 2 neighbors, and had met yet another one just as we were leaving Thursday night. Saturday we got to meet everybody else and it was really cool - and we're off and signing paperwork and giving away all our money! :)
And it's only just beginning! We're new homeowners and how fun we get to watch our beautiful house get built from the ground up!
Here's the first 5 homeowners together:
Our friends Karen and Alex came over right away to walk through the model and go see our new land...it's so special to be able to share this with people and I'd imagine we're not going to be talking about much else this entire year.
The coolest thing about all of this? We got our house Valentine's weekend which is our 14 anniversary (first date, first smooch!) AND also the same weekend we moved into THIS house 8 years ago! Clearly that's a great weekend for us, such a special significance. And as Rob pointed out, home is anywhere where we are together.
The new house is due to be done anywhere between October and December this year, so in the meantime we've got lots to do. We've already turned into packing maniacs and have to find movers and a rental in the next 2 weeks. No pressure.
But once we're in a cute little rental, we'll have nothing but time to visit our land and watch our dream house get built from the ground up! Stay tuned for frequently progress and updates. I think Rob's shirt says it all:
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