OMG! We may buy another house!

[gja1000]

I literally can't believe this! The day before yesterday, Gary went to a little town about 7 miles from where we live now to check on a bobcat he had taken to the taxidermist for a friend. The houses in the addition where he went were built in 1985-1987. The lots are 1/2 acre. He saw a for sale sign on a home at the end of a cul de sac. The owner just happened to be leaving and he talked to her for a bit. He picked up a real estate flyer and came home and told me about it. He was so excited because of the big lot, LOTS of trees, backed up to a green belt, had a wood working shed out back, a loooooong driveway by the house for an RV and a boat, and many other "goodies".

Now, mind you these are ALL the things we have longed for, and we could have moved several times, but were not willing to pay the extra money to get those amenities, and usually the homes were way out of Austin, making my commute to work a nightmare.

Well, this location would take me approximately 10 extra minutes to work - no big deal. There is nothing special about the house, it is just fine, and I am not picky at all about where I live - so it is plenty nice for us. We'd have to rip out the carpet and fence one side of the yard, otherwise it is move-in ready. It is bigger than our original house, but smaller than our house now with the addition we built 8 years ago.

The yard is in terrible shape and there is no landscaping to speak of, except for lots of trees. But I love to do landscaping, so that doesn't bother me at all. The house is all brick, with vinyl siding on the gables, so that is nice, no future painting. Our present house is mostly all wood siding which we have to paint every few years. There's lots of big nice trees and the yard has lots of potential. We have both a boat and a travel trailer in storage ($$ every month). Both could be located at the acreage house (no more storage $$).

You know the best thing - the house is exactly the same price that we would ask for our house if we were selling it! It is like a trade up for the same price. I never thought I'd see such a thing. The real estate market is down as it is everywhere - and I guess people are just looking for shiny new houses - but that is not my thing. The sellers are retired and have built another home and they are half moved out and READY to sell. They have dropped the price by about $40,000, so it's a pretty good deal.

You know the kicker. My daughter and her husband have gotten a firm date for when her husband Bryan has to be in Houston for his new job, Feb. 2. Brooke will not go until May when Abigail's school is out. They are going to go ahead and put their house on the market in December - and will likely sell before May (hopefully). They had already talked about staying with us if the house sold. If (IF) we buy the acreage house, they could stay in our old house and we wouldn't be on top of each other. We will eventually sell the old house, but there is no rush. We can afford both house payments - I wouldn't want to do it forever, but we can for a while. The kids will probably make the payment for us while they are living here (if that happens). We could also rent the old house after the kids use it, and since I work at the university, I could probably get a visiting professor in for a year at a time (which would be better (hopefully) than random renters). I don't think I'd like to have rental property forever, but the house will be paid for in 2 years, so we might just keep it for income - who knows!

I think maybe this is fate, I'm not sure. It wasn't anything we were seeking, it just fell into our laps and it seems to be the right thing to do. Could we be that lucky???

[Janet]

Gayle it sounds wonderful and just what you were wanting. I say..."make it your own." It's not bad having a rental at all Gayle. We have just one and it is in town (Frankfort). It's pretty nice and we've owned it now for about 10 years and have only had two renters. The first kept it real nice and always paid the rent, but it was always a week late. They moved without telling us which left us no time to prepare for the added expense. Now we have a young couple and they are doing a great job of keeping it nice also. We always have to tell them we're coming for the rent or they'll forget...duh. Both.....our residence and the rental will be paid off in two years. I'm thinking it may be better for me to stick around till then...not sure.

I hope it will be an easy decision for you and that everything turns out the way you want.

[DianaB]

Gayle.....I say go for it!!!! It sounds like it's just perfect for you and Gary!!! You have thought everything out so well.......I bet you even know where you're putting your furniture!!! LOL How exciting!!!!

[Lindsey]

Gayle, it sounds like fate! That's a great idea to keep the current house for your daughter and her family. Do you have any pictures house? I love brick houses!

[DIANE W]

Gayle
It does sound like it is meant to be, I say go with your feelings and if it feels right - it usually IS......

Good luck, I would love to see pictures too.

[Blueyes]

Yep...DO IT!! It will give you something else to focus on besides your kids leaving It surely sounds like it was meant to be. If you can have both houses for awhile, there won't be pressure to get your things moved. How exciting!! What side of Austin is it on?