The BIG Move

Back in May of last year we decided to let the house go. We could have tried a short sale, I could have gone back to work full time, Landon could have picked up more overtime, we could have sold the Jetta (to get rid of the payment), we could have rented out a room (the banks advise). But after much diliberation and advise from realtor friends, we realized it was a lost cause for us and stopped making payments. It came down to family being more important. And we were just so backwards in the house - for us it was more financially responsible to let it go. I'm in no way saying that I think everyone in this situation should forclose and start over, but I do think it is a necessary choice in many cases and was in ours.

We really didn't expect to be out on the 'street' so quickly. We've heard of people being in their house for 12 months or more after starting the proccess. I guess Fannie Mae thought our house was super special. That's right, Fannie Mae, who the government bailed out, bought our house with both houses on either side of ours for sale. I hope they have a lot of fun selling it. We were served with a letter dated December 29th on January 6th giving us until January 5th to get out. Fun. It was time for our plan to begin. A little sooner and quicker than I would have liked, but that's life.

Landon's parents have a mother in law suite and offered it to us for next to nothing a month. It wasn't quite ready for us and made the move and settling a lot more stressful, but it's getting there. The kitchen is now 98% finished and we've only got one box of stuff that goes on the bookshelves to upack. I'm debating whether or not to unpack it when I know we have another move in the near future. The space has it's own entry, a bathroom, living space with kitchen and room for a table and Rory's furniture, and a bedroom. It's separated from the rest of the house by the laundry room. It's really not that bad of a deal. It is a little close to the parents, but we're able to save money to get going on our own space and it's not permanent. I have to keep reminding myself of this.

So, we're saving money to get started on building a shop/living space on an acre of land we're buying from my aunt. If all goes to plan we should be moving in there 5-6 months from now. And after we're living payment free will be saving again to slowly build an actually home. It's going to be a rough road, but I know it's the right thing for us. Landon doesn't want to work at the railroad forever. I know that he would like to go to school someday and I would like to go back and get my masters. So many opportunities will be open to us without a huge mortgage - or any mortgage for that matter. It's nice to know that if all goes to plan, we will have an acre of land with a house and a shop on it in 5 years and NO monthly payment.

So this is where we're at right now and hopefully where we'll be going. It's been tough and I know it's just going to get harder. But, I also have no doubt that this has been the right choice for us and that this is what we should be doing. Keep us in your prayers and we'll keep you in ours.