Less House More Home


We sold our house in Athens, GA July 2014. We've been renting in Beaufort, SC since July 2013. When we moved here we had intentions of buying eventually. Maybe not right away, but eventually a "forever" home. We tried to buy our neighbor's house in December to help them out because they had already been stationed somewhere else. I had just returned to teaching so my salary had increased. The house appraised for less than what they were asking so we could only get a loan for the appraisal amount. They were asking $200,000. The house is over 2,000 square feet, two story, private back yard, no mature trees, large and open. We ended up renting it from the neighbors since we gave our current landlord a notice so we needed a place to live.

We are kind of glad we had the opportunity to "try out" the house before we purchased. We have found that we do not care for two-story houses right now. The kids do fine with stairs so that isn't a concern. We joke about getting a loft apartment because the kids are always in our bedroom and bathroom, wherever we are. Phong is the only one that uses the upstairs. Maybe when the kids are older we would appreciate separate floors and make more use of it. The kids will occasionally go upstairs and entertain themselves, but they are still at the point that we have to play with them.

We started looking at houses with our realtor again. We were all over the place with size and price range!

We were considering a 600 square foot house, defined as a tiny house. The day we were supposed to see it there was a cash offer made...


Then we saw a 1,600 square foot home in Mossy Oaks a couple times, made an offer and counteroffers, but ultimately didn't have peace about it so we walked away. There were many things we liked about it- older and Bohemian, 4-bedrooms, large, mature backyard, close to schools, private, etc.


Then we found this great deal and made an appointment to see a 2,900 square foot house with a 5- bedrooms, swimming pool and marsh view. In the mean time, we saw another house first and fell in love with it so never saw this one. Good thing, because that was more house than we needed.

We got a babysitter on a Sunday afternoon (3/20) and had a 4:00pm appointment. It was a little weird because the tenants were home and the house was full of their stuff. After walking through, Joseph and I met outside and we both said, "I like it." at the same time. We had to make an offer that night because there were two other offers and the seller was making a decision the next day. Our offer included what the seller had it listed for, plus money for closing costs, and money for the roof to be replaced so we could get a loan.

The seller accepted our offer and we signed the contract. Closing is set for May 9th and I am EXCITED! I like that the house is small and it will be easy to decorate Bohemian.  It has a cool screened in porch, a fire pit, a car port, 2-bedrooms and 1.5 baths and a little over 1,000 square feet. It is a brick home and it was cheap! It is in the Mossy Oaks area near work and schools. We can make it ours!

We are not moving over there until Phong has flown out because he's already moved with us once in December and the house is only large enough for our little family. The kids will share a bedroom and we will mostly use the same bathroom. There are large trees for our Swurfer swing and our neighbor is a greeter and usher in our church. (oh, and our babysitter is right around the corner...)

For some reason there is a stigma with wealth and the size of your house. It is like you are expected to show society how much you make by the number of bedrooms and square footage of the house you live in. Joseph and I make good money, but the money that isn't spent on an expensive mortgage can be spent on hobbies, trips, and personalizing the home to fit the hora we are trying to establish. A smaller house forces you to be closer. Eventually, we will use this property as an investment and rent it out as the kids get older and they need private rooms and we host exchange students again.

As for now, we will be back as our family of 4, with no pets or exchange students. The kids start a new school and I am excited about this next chapter!

R

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