It's All a Game

So I've gotten a lot of input today about selling our home, finding a home, money, investing, strategies and mortgages. Some parents and friend have been pro this move, some con. I've heard both the optimistic or not. One thing's for sure,selling and buying a home is one big game. You need luck, sure. You need the guys to come along who will actually buy your place, but you also need game. List your home at just the right price, make sure it shows well, know how to barter, agent, no agent. Then it's just as tough to find a house you like and get a good price.

Luckily, our agent said today to my Mother (They're long time friends) that it is definitely a buyers market and that Jon and I can find some great deals if we can A.) sell our home or B.)afford the down payment on our new place and rent out or current house. That option B.) was actually quite interesting. A friend of mine said to me that it would be amazing if in just the two years we have lived here, we could manage to get more than we paid, given the current Detroit housing market. I took that amazing as like...amazing if it actually happened. But as our realtor pointed out, our house has a new roof, all new windows, new hardwood floors throughout, new a/C and furnace. It's in good shape AND we under paid anyway because we bought it from a friend who gave us a break. So, I'm hopeful. This move just might work somehow.

In the meantime, we took a drive by the street tonight. Exactly 1 mile from there to town. I could live with that. we still have that left over spoiled side that San Francisco gave us. We walked to the market to get fresh produce daily, went around the block for coffee, fabulous restaurants, entertainment and Golden Gate Park. Being in a walkable community means a ton to me. There is a nice little market, a dry cleaner, bank and pharmacy one street away from the house we will look at tomorrow. It would be fun to ride my bike up there for a snack like I did as a kid.
where was I? Oh yeah, we drove to that area and I swear, as Jon put it, it was like being in that movie "Ordinary People" but without depressed people. You know, nice suburban homes, Moms and kids, Dad's just home from the office, walking down the street or sitting on their front porches. It was really nice and gosh, you don't even know how much I hope this works.

But you know what? Jon said something really true this evening. We were getting ice cream at the local dairy queen and he said: "We really do have such a great life." (I'm knocking on wood right now) He's right and new house or not, that's not what really matters. What matters is hopefully life is good and that people are happy and healthy and together.