Wow, I can't imagine two more perfect sides to my internal argument about moving than the first 2 comments to yesterdays post. I'll stick to given handles in reference...
Fuzzy Tales expresses my desire to move to a better place. There are things I don't like here. Some of those things would be very difficult to fix and leveling the annoying english ivy-covered ridge is not a simple task. I can't get rid of the stairs to the basement, and some days I have to walk carefully down them. There is something that often gets stiff in my left knee at the bone. I want a house easier to get around in. I may only be 64, but I won't be getting any younger. The stairs will get more problematic in the next decade. That possible new house doesn't have to mean "fancier", just "more suited to me".
But Megan makes the argument in the other side of my head. I like much of where I am and I do not like change. I live on a dead end street, so there is little traffic. It is quiet here, and I like that. I am separated from one neighbor by a drainage easement and the orientation of our houses are relatively far apart. On the other side, the neighbor is practically non-existent, and that is fine with me.
I'm not not quite a hermit, but privacy is good. I'm friendly to talk to to and helpful when asked. But I'm reminded of something I read about Daniel Boone in the frontier days when he noticed smoke from the chimney of a new house across the valley and decided it was time to move because it was "getting crowded". There is a difference between "alone" and "lonely". I don't feel "lonely" here.
I expect I can find a place I would like slightly better than this one. And again, not bigger or fancier, just "better". But slightly more suited comes with a lot of effort. I have contacted a moving company to give me an estimate of "what you see is what you pack and move" and I have contacted a Buyer's Agent, who according to what I have read, represents ME in the house-buying process.
It will be interesting to see where this goes. I have to admit that, if I could just show someone the house and just say "move it" that would be a great relief (at a cost). I don't think I can do it on my own. Then I could choose how much to do on my own. And if I have an agent representing ME in a purchase, that takes a lot of worry off my mind too. What I've read about a Buyer Agent suggests that I would save more than the cost.
When I sat down at a table to sign the contract on this house there were 6 lawyers sitting at the other end just daring me to ask any questions. They knew what they were doing, and I didn't. They didn't want me to read the contract (I did anyway - mostly), and whenever I asked a question it was either "that's the law" or they all asked a bunch of questions back at me.
But there was was no one on MY side. I won't do that again! I will have an expert on MY side of the table who knows how to read the contract and who represents ME and not the seller.
I look forward to hearing from several moving company (highly rated ones from Angie's List). This move might actually happen sometime in the next year... After 27 years, I can hardly imagine it.
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Daffodils, Trash, And Old Electronics
I finally got about 3/4 of the daffodils planted. I have a front yard island bed surrounding the Saucer Magnolia tree and a 3' boulder ...
5 comments:
Buyer's agent...is that the same as an estate agent here in Canada, I wonder? I see TV ads where older couples want to downsize and they pay an estate agent to do it all, from selling the house to the move, etc. Sounds awfully good to me.
If you want to move, go for it. But do take the time to find the place that resonates with you.
For me, I would want QUIET and PRIVACY, things I don't have now. And space. OMC, I don't want to be living on top of other people, I hate it. I don't want to hear neighbours (adults and kids) screaming obscenities at each other and throwing things, etc. Oy!
And like you, I could do without the stairs (upstairs and into the basement), even though I'm "only" 50. LOL.
Good luck! I'm glad I started to follow your personal blog, I'll get to "see" what transpires as the months progress. :-)
Well, a Buyer's Agent is supposed to be on MY side of the purchase. The realtor (real estate agent) is on the seller's side).
We'll find out.
And one reason I want to move is that there are so many rentals across the street, and they tend to have screamers and throwers and people who are SURE all the neighbors want to hear THEIR music real loud.
A house with no stairs was our #1 thing when house hunting. I already have a bad back and we weren't getting any younger...so stairs were a deal breaker. It made things frustrating for our real estate agent (effectively a buyer's agent here...his job was to find us the right house and get the right price) but he did find us the house.
I hate the actual moving part, but I love the house hunt, and then being settled later. The cats...I don't think they were in favor of the whole process, though I'm pretty sure we've been forgiven now ;)
Thumper my friend, I sure thank you so much for that comment... It just so happens that a family member said the opposite just today. And it wasn't what I was hoping to hear.
Mark - last time we moved, we paid the removalists to come to the house and pack all but a few very precious things that my husband wanted to take responsibility for himself. Fantastic service - although I thought wrapping up an open packet of sugar that had been sitting on the kitchen bench, keeping it 'open', was a bit extreme - ie. perhaps they could have closed the packet first or asked me whether it was even intended to be packed in the first instance!
At that time, the removalist didn't offer an 'unpacking at the other end' service, although they do now. If it had been available, I would have happily paid for that too. There's so much happening at the time of a move, and my husband and I were both working full-time in big corporate jobs at that stage and didn't have much spare time or brain space to think about everything - so paying someone with loads of experience to handle aspects of the move was well worth it in my view.
The buyer's agent sounds like an excellent investment.
Megan
Sydney, Australia
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