Mixing A Dream With Reality
This post is purely self serving because I need your help. I am currently on a whirlwind trip trying to find our next house. We are moving to Robins AFB in January, and right now is the best window for me to look for a house. I am fortunate enough that I was able to see these places in person since I know so many families buy sight unseen and not by choice. After seeing some of the houses I loved online in person, I am grateful that I didn't have to do that for this PCS because, man, some of those houses were weird.
That being said, I have 1.5 days to find a house. We looked at 14 today and will do another 4-5 tomorrow before heading out of town. It has been a crazy trip with very little sleep and one big decision to make. The verdict is still out on tomorrow's showings, but out of the 14 we saw today, there are three that I am deciding between. So, I just wanted to share how this process came to be and maybe get some help deciding what the right place to move into would be.
Moving to Robins is a dream come true. I have never been to this part of Georgia before, and I know almost nothing about it. But this move puts us just six short hours from my family rather than two plane rides away. On top of that, though, I had ambitions for the house we would move into. I had "non-negotiables" that I wanted to hit, and every house had some hits and misses. So my question now is, how do I decide what pieces will make this the most perfect dream come true? And how do I decide which ones to let go of because this isn't forever?
The reality is that we will only be in Georgia for three years. That's not very long in a house for it to grow in value, and the last thing we want is to end up in a bad financial position come the next PCS season. So, even though this may be a dream assignment, I needed to go into this process accepting that it wouldn't be my dream house. And I do think I managed those expectations better than I usually do, but now I am left with three houses and my head and heart at war over which to choose. I'm not going to link the actual listings because, frankly, I don't want anyone swooping in on my favorites, at least not for the next few days while I decide, but I will share the pros and cons of each.
Shenandoah
This house is weird, but in a good way, maybe. It has green carpet that I will most certainly rip out and peeling wallpaper in the kitchen and bathrooms that must be pulled off and repainted. But from my first look at it, I coined it as a "fairy tale cottage." It just has that vibe to me. It's only 15 minutes from the base and 15 minutes from our friends from Tinker, who are moving down with us (they bought a house in the ritzy part of town that we definitely can't afford). This house was on Zillow for three days and then quickly went pending. I assumed all hope was lost and had written it off. But when I landed in Wilmington to meet my mom, that house had popped back up, and at 15,000 less because the seller is ready to finish this process.
Pros: We are already on a price drop, and there might be more room to negotiate. I love the vibes. And it's close to the people I love in this area.
Cons: Needs new carpet and paint, which will be expensive things to do that won't necessarily increase the house's resale value. However, if I kept the green carpet, that would definitely make it harder to sell next time. It also has a laundry room in the garage, which I am unsure how I feel about, although my husband does most of our laundry anyway. And it may need some more serious repairs based on an inspection because it is an older home.
Idlewood
As soon as we pulled up to this house, we didn't even pull into the driveway because it was so steep. It definitely felt like a mountain house setting with how quickly it sloped down. I almost didn't go in to look because of that, but I've always said I wanted a mountain house, and that's part of the process. The house has so much natural light with these gorgeous floor-to-ceiling windows throughout. And because it's heading downwards on a hill, there isn't much glare from the sun. The backyard would be fantastic for my husband and all his eco-friendly plans. It's on half an acre that's been split into two by a fence with a connecting bridge so that there is the pretty well-trimmed portion of the grass, and on the other side is a much more natural space. Plus, the kitchen cabinets are green, and I thought they were gorgeous
Pros: Gorgeous! It's in a charming neighborhood. And when we walked into the house, we were notified that it had just dropped in price to be exactly what we were willing to pay (sounds like a sign to me)!
Cons: 35 minutes from the base, about the drive we make now, but 45 minutes from those close friends. It doesn't have my soaking tub, which was something I really wanted, and it would probably be a pretty hefty expense to put one in. It's a very steep driveway with a strange cement wall up half the slope. It's also at the very top of our price range
Byron
It's the only house that has my soaking tub. It has a massive primary bedroom and good-sized secondary bedrooms. But it's in a relatively new neighborhood, and we will most certainly end up having a house built in our backyard. The yard is small, and we would have to install a fence for all of my husband's gardening ideas. It's 25 minutes from the base and 30 minutes from our friends
Pros: It feels like the responsible house to take. It checks a lot of boxes and is within our budget.
Cons: I just got a text from our realtor that it has two offers that the owners will review on Friday, so I have to act fast, and now I feel like I'm in a competition for this house. And even though I liked it, definitely more than I thought I would, I didn't feel the same spark
So, do I go the responsible route or follow my heart? Do I give my husband the best backyard I can find that I like (there was one better, but frankly, I think it's a problem when I like the outside better than the inside since I spend zero time outdoors)? Do we go closest to our friends, or do we go further apart because we know that everyone will put in the effort to stay close? I'm making my official decision tomorrow. We will put an offer or offers in tomorrow night because I am ready to close the search and start the prep. But as someone learning to balance fast-paced military spouse life with chasing my dreams, this is a deciding point. So I welcome any and all advice on the decision! And perhaps the four houses tomorrow will blow me out of the water so that it isn’t even a decision anymore.