11/17/11
4:30 AM: The alarm goes off.
8:00 AM: Leave SLC.
4:00 PM: Arrive in Atlanta, Georgia
......the craziness begins.
I always thought looking for a home would be so fun. When you only have one weekend, it becomes less fun. We arrived in Atlanta last Thursday and hit the ground running. My cousin Aaron, and his wife Haley live in Atlanta and were so great to let us stay with them during our house hunting. They had already done their homework regarding schools, wards, and neighborhoods, which made our search much easier. We knew that we wanted to live near Aaron and Haley in Marietta, which is Northwest of Atlanta--now we just needed to find the right home for us. The first home we went to see belonged to a couple who previously lived in Aaron and Haley's ward. They raised all six of their kids in this home, but then moved to Phoenix two years ago for his job. Another couple from the ward has been renting the home ever since. The renters are in the process of moving, so their stuff was EVERYWHERE which made it difficult to get a good feel for the home. Plus, it was dark outside so we couldn't really see the yard.
The next morning we got up early to meet with our realtor. After HOURS of searching on the internet, I had sent him the listings of ten properties that we were interested in. The realtor was less than pleased when we made him put a stipulation in the paperwork that said he would not receive a commission if we opted to buy the home that was for-sale-by-owner; however, he still agreed to work with us and we were on our way.
The first home we looked at was a beautiful, white home on Mozelle Drive. We immediately fell in love with the home because of it's floor plan, and huge back yard. Every home we saw after didn't quite measure up to the Mozelle home. It was shocking to us how different the homes looked in real life as compared to the pictures on the internet. After a long day, all the homes began to blur together. We decided to go back to the Mozelle home, thinking that this was the home for us. When we pulled up, a yard maintenance crew had been there and blown all the leaves off the backyard. What we thought was a level, grassy backyard was actually an uneven dirt pit. On closer inspection, we also realized that the backyard sloped down to the back door that leads into the basement. There was evidence that the basement had flooded multiple times. What was most surprising to both Jordan and I was a complete void of spirit. All of a sudden I was full of doubt and anxiety. We left the realtor and drove to meet with our lender.
On the way back to Aaron and Haley's, I lost it. I was full of fear and doubt and felt a million miles away from home. Suddenly this "exciting adventure" felt scary and lonely. Worst of all, we had flown all the way out there and didn't feel good about ANY of the houses. I cried. Jordan listened. Then Jordan suggested that we go back to the first home we had looked at. I agreed, only because I could think of nothing better to do (and because we hadn't seen it in the light of day). We pulled up, and I walked into the backyard. It was a beautiful, large, level, grassy, fenced in backyard. Immediately I began to feel peace again. We asked the renter if we could walk through the home again and she said yes. The second time we walked through was a different experience. I was able to see past all the stuff and instead see the beauty of the home. I could picture myself in the kitchen and see Lucy playing in the backyard. Suddenly I felt an overwhelming flooding of the spirit confirming for me that this was the home that we should buy. All of the doubt and fear disappeared and I was left feeling excited and reenergized. Just then, Jordan's phone rang. It was the home owner calling to let us know that he wanted to sell the home to us for a GREAT price. In addition, he would pay for professional cleaning, any repairs that were needed, and $5000 in closing costs.
Talk about relief.
The home is 3200 square feet and has four bedrooms and two bathrooms. The website shows that it is only 1600 square feet, but they don't count basements in the square footage in Georgia. They remodeled the kitchen and living room a few years ago, and the basement is fully finished. It sits on 3/4 of an acre, and has huge shade trees in the backyard. We are thrilled. To see pictures, go here. The holes in the grass have been filled in, by the way. We'll need to do a few cosmetic things (e.g. get rid of the wallpaper borders in a couple of rooms), and we wish the master bedroom was bigger--but you can't have it all. We are under contract and going through the painful process of jumping through all the hoops required to purchase a home.
We spent the rest of the weekend exploring the area. We managed to find the church, grocery store, post office, temple, shopping areas, and a Trader Joe's near our home. On Saturday night we went to dinner with Aaron and Haley in downtown Atlanta. Now that I am more oriented I feel much better about the move.
The next morning was my 27th birthday. Twenty-seven??? Oh my. We had to get up at 4:00 AM to make our flight and spent a good portion of the day traveling. By the time we got home we were EXHAUSTED. Jordan's mom is the best, and had birthday dinner waiting for us that night. We made individual pizzas and had Earthquake cake for dessert. Maybe not my most exciting birthday, but it's okay. My birthday season is not over yet. Well, if you managed to make it this far, thanks for reading.
