This time-frame will allow us to get moved before the heat becomes so unbearable that we can't hardly move and this time-frame also is going to hopefully make the land dry enough for construction traffic while we're building our small country starter home.
But, one item we will need to purchase the week we sell this house is another vehicle that is a gas saver for the extra miles Deputy Dave will be driving to and from work each week. It's less than one hour drive from Downtown Houston to our property in the county, so it's not that bad.
This starter country home will be built on one heck of a small budget. Deputy Dave told me tonight to start contacting reputable people in the Livingston area so that we can decide who will be building our shell home. We also have a lot of ground prepping to do before construction takes place, so the next few months will be valuable planning time and information gathering time so that we can get everthing lined up in an organized fashion.
I can't believe that we won't be in this house next summer. I am almost giddy. Just think...no more high utility bills to cool and heat a near 3,000 square foot home sitting straight beneath the Texas sun without any shade from trees. The home insurance for this house is over $3,000. per year and I sure won't miss that bill! Then, the taxes in this area are steep, so those will be a thing of the past as well. Especially because our land qualifies for an agricultural exemption.
The one thing I am also going to work on over the next few months is to buy the land next to us. We only have one spot of land adjoining us and if we bought it, we'd basically not have neighbors to our front, none to our back and none to the right nor to the left. It'd give us just a few more acres, not much, but enough to make fencing and penning animals all the easier. I sure hope that owner is ready to sell!
I'm kind of in a daze. Six months is not long at all. I suppose it's a good thing that the past few weeks have found me cleaning out every drawer, every closet, every storage box...all of it has been scrutinized and culled and reorganized because I know we will be moving. It's better for me to do it all now than to wait until it's moving time and be forced to re-pack it all up and pay for it to be moved, stored and to be hauled into the new country house. In fact, I'm having a garage sale this weekend. The more I can get rid of now, the less work I will have to do later.
If our daughter is not out of school yet, she will only have about a year left and we might help her with an apartment here in the area near the university. We'll have to see about that one. Then, we will always have a place for her to stay in our country home...the land she knows well since she grew up there since she was about ten years old. The town of Livingston she's known since she was a baby...Deputy Dave and I have either owned land or have traveled there since they were toddlers because it's been our most favorite, peaceful place to go.
Anyway, I am now going to be on a major countdown until April. I'll give it until the end of April...just to make sure the house sells. I do think this house will sell quickly because we installed some "bonus" luxury items such as a jacuzzi tub in the upstairs bathroom, hardwood flooring, Italian Porcelain flooring, new Frieze carpet, all new lighting, new sound system in the upstairs gameroom and a decked in attic space. Hopefully, someone will be attracted to all the money that will safe them when buying this house. It's a beauty.
I guess we'll see how potential buyers feel about us having chickens in the backyard! That will be interesting.
Country living ---- HERE I COME! The countdown starts this month and I am going to work my butt off to make this happen! We're going to be living in the WOODS. Eeek!
And yes, I am terrified!!!!!!!!!!!
In the blink of an eye, Deputy Dave and I going to be living in the country ya'll!!!!
10 comments:
Wow. Well, I do hope everything goes well for you.
And hopefully the buyers won't think the chickens come with the house!
Congratulations! I am so happy and excited (and a tiny bit jealous) for you. :)
Dream it, plan it, do it. You're almost there! I'm so happy for "y'all" and can't wait to read all about it.
Hi Lana - been right where you are, girl! We did the exact same thing. Anticipating is half the fun! We had a good-sized house, too, and have had to sell furniture, clean out (still need to go through some more junk to throw away), and have garage sales and craigslist things. It's a hassle - it's amazing how much crap one can accumulate in 30 years of being married! Get rid of everything you can. Don't give it a second thought. We have a little tin garage that is packed full here at the farm and over half of it's my daughter's stuff. We sold all our furniture on craigslist except for our bedroom furniture and it's in the tractor barn. I'm going to have to have some garage sales out here at the farm to git rid of more stuff! We are at the point in our lives that LESS is MORE! YEA! Excited for you, Lana - it's gonna be hectic but fun!
Linda --- It will happen for you too...I know it will. Just keep going out there whenever you get the chance so you can breathe in some country air and get back in line to handle more waiting. We both know what this is like. I just hope, with this economy, that our house sells fast so we are not stuck here all summer or indefinitely. We'll see.
Charade --- you KNOW how excited I am, plus I am equally scared. Sometimes I think...WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING? But, then I just think of our land and all that awaits us and I know exactly what we're doing.
Vickie --- The furniture thing...I am indeed thinking of furniture that needs to be sold. We might help our youngest move into an apartment after we sell this house and she will need a lot of furniture...we have lots and lots. But, I'm like you, I want to scale down, tremendously. Ten years ago, I had become critically ill...we had to sell our house and move in with my parents. I was in the hospital all the time and we needed to live with them so my kids could be with her...I literally sold most all of our furniture in garage sales. I kept the antique pieces, but sold all of our bedroom suits, our living room furniture and more. It was crazy. My neighbors thought I had lost it, but I know we couldn't be hauling that stuff around. The good thing is, Stefie will need a living room suit, she'll take her own beautiful bedroom suit with her, I'll give her a dining room table (we have 3) and she will have a beautiful apartment with beautiful furniture -- right off the bat. It sure didn't start out like that for Deputy Dave and I, but such is the path for those who have lovely inheritances. It makes me happy to be able to help her out.
Anyway, I am so ready, it's unbelievable, but we definitely have things to take care of and to get into line so we will know exactly what we are doing. I want to now start my formal written plan for moving, prepping the land, building, etc. so we can be organized and somewhat prepared.
And I'm sure I'll still be toting around boxes of precious items belonging to my daughters...unless I can get them to take it all. Not likely since they like for mommy to display it all still for when they come home to visit.
Exciting times!!! It's a reality now. Congrats!
Alex...Like I was telling Linda, it's so hard to wait. We make trips out there, then come back with ourselves better in line, mentally, so we can keep waiting a bit longer for the move. But, now that we have a tentative move date, I can see how quickly things are moving. I look around at this house and remember all of the loving, wonderful times we had here, but I know there can be NO COMPARISON to the incredible family times we'll have on our property together. For one thing, it's a fantastic place to one day be grand-parents...for us, that's not too far in the distance. But you are right, it is definitely exciting and it is definitely more of a reality now that we have our time-frame narrowed. I hope you are doing well! Sure am missing your regular intelligent, amusing, though-provoking posts!!!! Chop, Chop Alex! Get to it! Get those fingers to typing Mr. so I can mosey on over for a visit!
Lana :-)
Lana
Oh wow! Oh wow! I am so happy for you and excited and happy!!! I have been away form blogging for a bit and I come back to find this great and happy news!!!
I cant wait to read along as you begin to have so many cool and amazing things happen!!
Ill be thinking of you :-)
Yippeeeeeeeee ! Beth
Frugalmom --- thank you for sharing in our happiness! I can't wait either...the real lessons are starting to happen and it's all new territory for us!
Lana
Beth --- You described in one word EXACTLY how I feel inside!!!! :-)
Lana
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