Should We Stay or Go?

This is what I posted on Facebook 4 years ago:

Well, it’s time to make it Facebook official! Our house is on the market and we are moving to New Braunfels this summer! God’s timing has been so evident throughout this process and although we are so sad to leave friends here, we are excited for our next adventure. And it will definitely be a change. We are buying a fixer upper that we can stay in for as long as we want. In our 17 years of marriage, we have always been on someone else’s timeline. It’s a freedom that we don’t even know what to do with but we are so thankful.

I’ll be honest and tell you that we still don’t know what to do with the freedom of never having to move. And while the thought of buying a fixer upper sounded so FUN, it has been stressful! So we are constantly asking ourselves if we want to move again. I’ve struggled to start this blog so many times because of the risk of being judged. Believe me, I hear, “what did you expect buying a house that was built in 1925, Kristen!?” in my own head most days. But what we are feeling about this house are real feelings and we’re trying our best with the decision that we made.

So, I’m hoping that writing this post and getting things out of my head will help with some clarity. The best way I know how to explain things is with a good ole pros and cons list.

Pros:

Definitely the neighbors!
Being downtown and so close to all of the activities that go on in this town
Easy access to most shops and places that I need to get to
I really do feel a sense of pride when we’ve been out on a walk and return to see our house around the corner
The work we’ve already put into it (back deck, kitchen, paint job)
It’s not a cookie cutter house
The yard

Cons:

No garage
No master bedroom suite
Laundry in the basement
Too close to I-35 and the noise/crime that it brings
Still so much work
No insulation! It gets SO hot in the summer
No spaces and areas for specific activities like crafting, gear storage,
Church lights
The house constantly moves so the doors don’t close properly-very annoying on a daily basis

I’m sure that I’m missing something but basically it comes down to the fact that we want more in a house but wish we could have it right here because the location is pretty awesome. It’s great for the downtown activities but also for resale value. It’s hard to justify moving to a different area and not having the same return on our investment. We’re pretty sure that whatever money we put in this house we will get back and probably more but that’s not the same in other areas of our town. And it would sell quickly!

So it sounds like and easy fix on paper, right? Put the money into it and enjoy it and then get it back when it is time to move again. I wish it was that simple. I’ve researched about putting an addition onto the house for a master suite + laundry room and the zoning records show that it wouldn’t be possible. I have no idea how to even start getting a variance and if I filed for one, we’d be out some money if it didn’t get approved. I’m thinking thousands, but again I have no idea. Also, do I even have the energy for this?! The list is LONG my friends of things that we need to do to this house to make it less stressful.

I’ll share more on that list later and how we even came upon this house. It wasn’t your typical house buying experience. I’ll also be sharing more about what we’ve already had to get done with this house and why it zapped my energy AND our pocketbooks.

Thanks for reading along. Now that I’ve written this, I think I know some next steps that I need to take. Step one is researching about a variance 😉