After weeks of disappointment, with nothing new coming on the market and nothing but dead ends on my creative thinking, I finally found a house -- through word of mouth! Yes, the house was not listed and was for sale by owner. My sister learned of the house through a co-worker in just a happenstance conversation. It turned out to be a really lovely and sweet little home, exactly what I'd been looking for. No compromises needed at all.
It's owned by a woman who is retiring and moving to the other end of the state to be near her daughter in her old age (like me). It's just four blocks from both of my sons who live in Foxboro. It's around 1400 square feet, on a quiet, tree-lined street on a cul-de-sac, in a neighborhood of homes about 14 years old. It has three bedrooms and two baths, a nice little yard with a shed and fully finished landscaping. The owner has added many nice features and the property is immaculate inside and out, ready to move in. The price she was asking was in the lower middle of my budget (perfect).
I viewed the house on Monday, made an offer on Thursday, and was accepted on Friday. Next week is due diligence, and we close on October 10th.
Just one issue: the woman is retiring in December and needs to work through December 1st. That means I can't move in until after the 1st. We actually gave her until the 8th as she works for a city and may have election duties if there are any issues with the special election in November. But her real hope is to move most of her things on Thanksgiving weekend, if she can and just keep a few things to get by until the first. I sure hope that can happen. She will pay weekly rent until she moves, so there is some incentive to move sooner.
Meanwhile, I am looking at another 10 weeks before I can occupy my new home. I've been living at my son's for 8 weeks now, and it has been very comfortable and nice for all of us. I help out with making dinner most nights, drive my grandson so and from school, doing some cleaning, and looking after the dogs (and being generous with paying "rent" and eating out). Frankie loves it here so much. He's become great friends with 2-year old lab Sophie. And my son Steve is Frankie's favorite person in the world, even before me! So it would all be fine for 10 more weeks, except for an unexpected complication.
My daughter in law's mother was planning to come from Brazil in December to fulfill her obligatory stay as a resident with green card now. However, when they found air fares to be thousands of dollars higher in November and December, they decided she needed to come the end of October. That means both mothers will be here for the full month of November plus a few days. The bedrooms are all taken, so some creative thinking has been going on.
One easy option would be for me to move to my daughter's house. But it's a 20-minute drive away and I really don't want to be that far away. We can use a pull-out style bed here in one of the non-bedrooms for overnight use, but we all disagree where that would go. I want it to be my bed and I would like it to be in the downstairs family room or little living room as it would save me the many trips up and down the stairs I'm now doing every day (difficult and painful). It would not be hard to keep it folded up and tidy during the day. But my son believes it's too cold at night downstairs and wants everyone to sleep on the upstairs bedroom level. He would put the other mother on the foldout in the office which is already crowded with three desks and office stuff. I don't want to see her have to sleep there. I really want to give up the nice bedroom I have now for the other mom, stash my stuff in the little living room that is used very little, and set up the pullout bed in the family room. I'm hoping I can convince my son. He's pretty stubborn about having his way in this.
So we haven't really resolved this part of it yet. And it's a relatively short period in the bigger scheme of things. It may tax some of our patience. But, at least we have options and I won't be homeless.
I do hate that my stuff remains in storage. And, although the monthly bill isn't large, the storage unit is an outdoor unit and I worry that bugs or spiders, and maybe even mice could get in and infest my belongings. There's no point worrying now, though, since the stuff has been there two months already and will be for two months more. Any critters able to get in are probably already there. I can only deal with that when the stuff gets moved to the new house.
Just to make things interesting, after months with just one really awful one-level home coming on the market in Foxboro, three houses came on the market within one day of my viewing the house I'm buying. But one house is smaller while close in price and not nearly as nice. Plus it backs onto a noisy school playground. The other two are bigger by 300 and 400 sq. ft., and around $40k more than I'm paying. While I would have considered the two larger homes under different circumstances, they would be at the very top end of my budget. I'm glad I found this just-right home at the just-right price. These listings only validate that my purchase price is a good one and my house is a very good choice.
Nothing is ever simple. There always have to be complications. But I'm very happy with this purchase and looking forward to moving in and living in my new home.
NOTE: The pictures I've posted are from an archived listing from 10 years ago. The trees behind and in front are now tall and provide much shade and privacy. Also, shutters, door, and garage door have been painted a soft sage green now. The kitchen has been upgraded with quartz countertops and new backsplash, and new concrete pad has been poured, and many other nice extras. The owner had not expected to be moving until a year ago when her daughter's family suddenly moved to southern Utah. I am the lucky recipient of the upgrades she made thinking she would be staying long-term.
