As many of you know, I sold the boat in December. A British family that lives in Virginia flew down here to look at it, made an immediate offer, and sailed it up north. They plan to eventually sail to Europe with their two boys, who are about the same ages as Max and Mason were when we moved on the boat. 🙂
And, now the house hunting has begun. We originally planned to move to Tennessee but that idea was nixed when I discovered that they require homeschoolers to fully vaccinate their children. Don’t bother sending me hate mail about that. I won’t read it. We have a vaccine-injured child. Years researching what happened, medication, and therapy for our child… That requirement by Tennessee made the entire state a no-go.
So, now we are looking at homes in Georgia. There are beautiful mountainous regions there as well and the folks are super friendly! We were in Georgia last week looking at some homes. We drove up there to specifically look at one house, but looked at two others as well, just in case.
House #1
I called this The Granny House. It was so staged with doilies, dolls, beautiful old furniture, and pink stuff that it looked like an antique store. Mentally erasing all of that from my mind, it looked like a really nice farm-style house. However, there wasn’t much acreage and the house was right next to the road.
House #2
We drove up, up, and up some more, to the top of a beautiful mountain, which was round at the top (see featured image for this post). I didn’t know the name of the mountain so I called it Mt. Boob. The views were absolutely breathtaking but the house was anything but. I kept telling Mason, “Picture this house with none of the clutter and junk in it.” He couldn’t do it. There was a stream running right through the yard, which was beautiful. But, the yard was also littered with junk. I KNEW the sellers wouldn’t be taking all of that stuff with them and that we’d have to hire people to haul away mounds of garbage. The clincher was the crack we found that went all the way through the chimney, and all the way up the chimney. There was also a large crack in a newly painted hallway upstairs. That house needs to be torn down.
House #3 – The house we drove to GA to see
We found out at 8:00 p.m. the night before that the owners were going to take the house off the market that night, and put it back up in a month. They would “not entertain any offers during that time.” That was really odd. Since we already had an appointment, and had driven 10 hours to get there, our realtor convinced them to let us see the house. It was beautiful, had the right acreage, and a pond on the property line. Our realtor told us to go ahead and make an offer, saying “money talks.” It was promptly rejected with no counter. Oh well. We weren’t supposed to buy that house for some reason.
We found a new house we like this week and, rather than needing to drive all the way up there again, the realtor offered a live video walk-through for us. It’s a beautiful home with plenty of land (we love gardening), but is already under a contingency/first right of refusal contract. The other “buyers” (I’ll call them the Smiths) have to sell their house first. The contract stipulates that, if the sellers get a better offer, the Smiths have the opportunity to match that offer if they still want the house. So, it’s a long shot but we made an offer.
I’m extremely weary of looking at homes online. I’m even more terrified of the prospect of moving AGAIN. But, it must be done. We can’t rent here forever and we really want to get out of the city. St. Petersburg has turned into a cesspool. I don’t even freak out anymore when I hear a gunshot at night. St. Pete wasn’t like this when we moved here. I can’t believe how fast it has gone downhill.
In the meantime, we’re hard at work! BookLocker is busier than ever and we are extremely thankful for that. Everybody is healthy and happy and we are continually counting our many blessings.
RELATED
- Pandemic, Riots, AND a Hurricane! WE’RE (temporarily) MOVING!!
- Yes, It’s True. We’re Selling the Boat 🙁
- We’re Moving to St. Pete! – Part I
- We’re Moving to St. Pete! – Part II
- Finally Received an Offer on Our House in Maine!
Angela Hoy lives on a mountain in North Georgia. She is the publisher of WritersWeekly.com, the President and CEO of BookLocker.com and AbuzzPress, and the author of 24 books.
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Angela is the creator of the Original 24-Hour Short Story Contest!
Learn more here: https://24hourshortstorycontest.com/
7.625 STRATEGIES IN EVERY BEST-SELLER - Revised and Expanded Edition
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I live in TN and love it. But I don’t have children at home and didn’t know about home schooling mandatory vaccination. I dont blame you. I was raised in Central West Georgia (don’t wanna go back) but Northern Georgia is beautiful and I just have a peaceful feeling when I drive through it to visit family. I’ll echo someone else, you’ll know your house when you find it. I did the two my husband and I bought, have lived in the second over 40 years. We had to wait with bated breath that someone else didn’t buy it before we sold our then house. Blessings to you.
Hello Ang!
Well, you are something! I live here in South Carolina, and let me tell you, everything has gone up in price, and you are in a seller’s market! Georgia, SC, and NC and much in between. Used to be you could get a decent house for around $150,000 those days gone. I do love the upper part of Georgia, but there are some affluent communities and very richy folks live up there with second homes and all. But, none the less, house hunting is not easy. I took a good six months here before I settled on a beautiful home. We rented, and I searched, and searched and searched. I had to find two homes for the price of one (had to get daughter and granddaughter on their own)! It all worked out for the good, and I know your house hunting will as well. Good luck and keep us informed!
Angela . . . .
What I’m about to mention is so obvious you might overlook it. Namely, and this is especially true with relatively isolated rural areas, make absolutely sure a specific location provides dependable internet services. Particularly for you, that could be a critical deal breaker. That said, don’t fret about what doesn’t work out. As someone has already mentioned, you’ll know when you’ve found the right house because it will “speak” to you. Here’s wishing you all the best in your search.
Angela
You would be surprised just how many wonderful mountain towns and homes are available in North Carolina. Additionally we have many beautiful lakes, ocean vacation spots and when you are up for a “big” city experience we have that also. Education, medical care, art and plain old country fun is always nearby.
And wineries are everywhere!!!
House hunting is weird. About 20 years ago, I took a job in Parkersburg, WV. We rented for about six months as we did the dance of old furnaces or roofs or bathrooms or….always something. We finally bought a 1917 (I think) 2 story 3 bedroom. One bedroom was really too tiny for a bed but made a marvelous home office.
The job itself created too much stress (I’d been freelancing articles and books for almost 35 years by that time). I had earlier gotten let go from a job in Lynchburg that I enjoyed, but…the job was based on work a couple sales types brought in and after the first, no more showed up. Back to freelancing). That was, if memory serves, about 1990. Or maybe a bit later.
I’m just not a corporate type.
I had done some touch up work in the WV house and we were able to bail and get a check for $1.38. Back to VA.
Our small home here is paid for, but needs a new septic system and well. So, though I retired in 2008, it’s back to the keyboard; physical limitations–a right knee replacement that started out infected and stayed that way through 19 or 20 surgeries. The conclusion was the loss of three inches of leg and a rod in place of a knee, which kicked the pee out of photojournalist.
That knocked me out of writing craft books, construction articles, and taking photos. If you’re shaky and stuck in a wheelchair you cannot operate things like table saws, drill presses and such. I haven’t been in the shop that Fran and I built, with a little help from our friends, back in the early to mid ’90s, in over four years now.
Veterans’ Affairs does my health care, but I don’t really want to say thanks for ruining my life.
Our house hunting found us right back where we started: rural Virginia.
Moral: be ready for damned near anything when house hunting.
Wow, Charles! God bless you!!! Virginia is beautiful!!!
Sending big healing hugs and prayers your way!!
Angela
Good luck with the house search. When the right one comes along, you’ll know it and you’ll get it. Patience.
Angela,
Don’t feel bad about your house hunting experience. My mother and I must have broken the record in 2005-07, a total of 195 homes viewed. I finally decided on building my own design.
A tip on house hunting – skip the kitchen and head for the basement first. Structural flaws at that level are reasons to walk immediately. If you survive the basement, check the breaker box. No breakers, only fuses? Assume the wiring is as old as King Tut and walk immediately. Wires aren’t rated to handle modern loads either. This is a fire hazard waiting to happen.
There are dozens of tips I could give – the list would give you a check-off that would speed you through house hunting — 30 minutes per house.
Thank you soooo much, Wendy!! This will help a LOT!!! 🙂
195 houses. Wow!!!
Big hugs,
Ang
I’m sure you probably already know this, but don’t just look at the house (the lipstick). Consider the other more important somewhat invisible parts such as the electric, heating, plumbing, and attic/basement space. That’s where a really good, experienced, and licensed home inspector comes in and always check references (more than 3).
Just my two-cents and knowledge about homes. Good luck with the hunt.
Re: houses, and taking the long view, you might think about a first-floor master bedroom. Really can make a difference. Also, of course, consider the age of the furnace, roof, and AC system in the price, but you know that.
Best to you in the hunt and journey.
El McMeen
We ARE looking for one with the master on the first floor. My knees aren’t getting any younger! 😉
Hugs,
Ang
Oh Ang! You have had such bad luck with houses in the past, why not just rent. Much easier to move when you want to without the hassle of selling a house first. No risk of a lemon that had hidden defects. No worries about maintenance. No real estate taxes.
I considered that but I’m really hoping and praying this will be my very last house. 🙂
Ang