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Sunday, January 15, 2023

Week 2: Seriously house hunting

I am focused this year on being even more intentional than usual in my daily life while continuing to appreciate the present.

MOVING?

The big question to answer with this move and any potential home is "Do we think we would be happier in that location and home over the next 15 years than we would be here?" One never knows for sure but we think the answer to the location at least is yes. Now to decide about a specific house.

We have selected a realtor near Berkeley and our son has screened two houses for us by doing extensive tours. Hubby is flying up on Tuesday to meet with the realtor and carefully view a house we are quite interested in. 

The main living space would be smaller than what we have now but there is somewhat usable finished basement space although the ceiling is lower than upstairs. Nice little yard, flat area that is very walkable to stores, restaurants and just to walk. Only a mile from our son's home.

This may happen sooner rather than later although it is hard to gauge how competitive the market is there right now. Right now I'm alternating between excited, hopeful and having second thoughts!!!

HEALTH: 

3 workout sessions. Miles walked outside was less than last week due to major storms moving through although the pup and I slogged through the downpours and puddles as necessary. 

I have successfully stopped taking over the counter allergy medicine every day which was a habit. Waiting for sneezing weather to start again.

HOME: 

The hopefully last of the plumbing work on this house is to be done on Monday. Then we will have to get the hole in the bedroom wall fixed. At least everything working well is a selling point!

Decluttering and upgrading status: 14 kitchen cupboards and 7 kitchen drawers done. Just 3 cupboards left and then on to cleaning the appliances, skylight, floor and laundry area

YTD:  44 items decluttered and 9 replaced with upgrades




10 comments:

  1. You are really moving along. Our basement roof is a bit lower than we would like, but Harvey has made a lovely place to watch television and do his puzzles. Just have to duck our heads in certain places.

    God bless.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the encouragement. I'm ok with the lower ceiling but my husband is concerned he will feel claustrophobic and it would be his drum practice room plus a TV room. It's up to him which is why he is going to see it in person.

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  2. I am exhausted and stressed thinking about moving. We moved everything out of my loft and it was too much like moving for my tastes. I can't wait to get everything put back together now that the new flooring is in. Being a mile from your son and his family would be very nice. And sounds like you have found a possible new home pretty quickly. I would like the fact that is it within walking distance of a number of things.
    Good work on the walking. And great work on the decluttering. I am going to declutter the things in my loft before putting it back together.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your new floors sound lovely! Enjoy and don't stress about the decluttering. We are pretty realistic about the housing market near Berkeley so even if we make an offer on this house it is likely to have competition. We'll see - the journey to moving may be a long one.

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  3. How exciting. Sometimes it just happens quickly and if it's the right house, go for it. Especially if you can afford to buy and then put your house on the market. Everything in walking distance is very nice. We can actually walk to our little store, post office, cafe but the problem is our hill (driveway) is like at a 45 degree angle, so I can get down but coming back up is a nono.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll post an update after he looks at it in person. If he doesn't feel it is right we will move on. Being able to walk to things is something we really enjoyed in the 2 homes we lived in the longest.

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  4. Basement/stairs in your 70s? I'd be sure I could live without that space permanently should stairs become an issue. Best of luck finding something that works and is affordable!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The stairs had very narrow treads - less width than our feet - so we are moving on having learned a lot about the market.

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  5. We solved the stairs problem a couple of years ago - remodeled our daylight basement to create an apartment for ourselves with easy access to the garage and the outside. We have a tenant living upstairs now - currently one of our grown children. In the FAR distant future we may be able to stay in our home and have a full-time caregiver living up there.

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