A Little (Surprising!) News
Almost exactly 2.5 years ago, we bought our current house.
It felt – in a hundred ways – like this house just fell into our laps, and I’ve been delighted by this house virtually every single day since we moved in.
I’ve loved the big yard, the open floor plan (very unusual in a 1950s house), the fun original details, my office, the mountain views, and a million other things.
We’ve loved updating it and making this house shine in the ways we knew it could from the first moment we walked through the door.
Truly, there was only one neighborhood in Utah that we would likely ever have considered leaving this house for.
Houses in this neighborhood RARELY go up for sale, so although Bart kept an eye on every real estate listing that came up and we’d gone through several different houses that HAD gone up, none of them had ever been at all compelling to us.
And then, one Saturday, in early February, Bart went for a run and when he got home, the first words out his mouth were “I’ve found a new house.”
He’d passed this house on his run and noticed a “For Sale by Owner” sign out front and the owner had happened to be outside and invited him in to see it.
That afternoon, our whole family went through and by the time we walked into the second room, I told Bart, “I’m sold.”
We made an offer that weekend, it was accepted that same day and we closed a few weeks later (the previous owners stayed on a few weeks past the close date while they wait for their new place to be ready, so we haven’t moved yet).
Once again, it felt like everything fell perfectly into place (the only downside being that we had literally JUST ordered expensive new exterior doors for our current house – they’re being installed next week! We probably wouldn’t have done SUCH nice doors if we’d known we’d be moving).
When I told my sister we’d bought a new house, she said “Will your new house need work? Or is it renovated?”
And the answer is. . . yes.
The previous owners have done quite a bit of work over the last decade but there is also a lot we’re planning to do to make it work better for our family.
It’s another 1950s home (actually a few years older than our current house) that had an addition put on in the 80s or so, so it has lots of good bones and also needs some updating. Apparently we are allergic to buying turn-key houses.
We’re so excited about making this house into our home and for a new chapter in our lives. Bart and I both love change and adventure (you don’t move 13 times in 16 years if you don’t like new experiences) and we’re both just over the moon that everything worked out so perfectly for this house to become ours.
It’ll also be hard to leave our current house that we’ve loved so much. We’ve made so many happy memories and spent so much time (especially this past year) here as a family and I couldn’t be more grateful for this magical home that really made Utah feel like home for us.
We’ll be listing it in a few weeks and I can only hope that whoever buys it loves it as much as we have.
In the meantime, I’m already dreaming of all the new experiences we’ll having in the new house (and ignoring how lousy it is to pack everything you own up and then unpack it again – even after this many times of doing it, I forget a little every time how MUCH work it is).
Congrats! We are serial movers, too. 🙂 It is indeed an adventure, and I wish you and your family all the best! Congrats again! 🙂
You are so positive to see the end and focus on that to get thru the muddle of moving! Love your insight ♥️
We move a lot, too! But we are currently building a custom home, so we are hoping it’s our last move ever! But, I LOVE moving – I love organizing the boxes, purging, re-organizing new houses, etc. People think I’m crazy, but I actually truly enjoy the process (we’ve even moved twice in about a 2-3 week notice!). Congratulations and I know you’ll make this house perfect for your family!
Janssen, I’m smiling so big for you! Especially over it being a LOCAL move instead of having to start over in a new state again.
YESSSSS – I’m so thrilled not to have to start over with all the things a new state requires.
Congratulations! Sounds like they are both great houses. Can’t wait to see the new one and what you do with it. Thanks for taking us along for the ride. 🙂
Ahhh! I love it! We’ve moved three times in 4 years so we might be in the same serial moving list. Can’t wait to see a new home and what you do with it!
Exciting news! Can’t wait for you to show us pics of your new home! I’ll live vicariously through you. Other people’s adventures make me happy. In the meantime, I’m over here raising my family in the house I was raised in 🙂 (we bought from my Mom).
That’s so fun!
What a fun adventure! We’ve started paying movers for our last few moves and it was worth the couple hundred bucks to be mentally checked out of that part of the process 10/10 recommend even if it’s in the same neighborhood … which we clearly know all about multiple homes in the same neighborhood haha 😂 excited for this new adventure for you guys!!
Yessssss – definitely using movers. We’ve done it the last three times and it’s been the best money I’ve ever spent.
Wow! Congrats! Excited to see your new space and good luck with the move.
Congratulations! I can’t wait to see the new place! My husband and I have never moved as a couple. Our next door neighbors of ten years just sold their house to move across town and are trying to tempt us to build on the lot next to them. It’s tempting!
Congratulations! Have so enjoyed seeing your current home updates and look forward to seeing your new home. Happy packing! Your blog is a favorite of mine even though I’m a ‘senior.
This sounds so much like our Indian Hills adventure. I hate packing too, but I always feel like the books love the change of pace. 😉 There’s always something magical about putting them back on their shelves. Happy New Home to you and yours!
One of the best feelings!
Congratulations! ! How exciting. Can’t wait to follow along on this new adventure!
So excited for you! I’m so shocked though because I know how much you loved this house!
Does moving in the US not come with huge costs, like it does in Canada? We just sold 2 properties and bought in BC, Canada and I said never again. Lawyer, land transfer tax, utility fees for connecting and disconnecting, mortgage disbursement etc etc etc cost us well over $20k. Can’t imagine doing that so many times over!
There are for sure a lot of costs associated with moving! But it’s always been worth it for us (also, this is only the fourth house we’ve bought – we’ve lived in a LOT of rentals over the years).
You’re so luck to have found something that worked so well for you in the current insanity that is the Utah housing market! We were super fortunate to find our place after a relatively short search of only 4-5 months or so, but my friend has been looking for a house from Davis County to as south as Utah County and hasn’t been able to secure anything because each house gets 40-50 offers. It’s so crazy! It’s a great time to be a seller, though!
Congratulations <3
It is MADNESS right now! I seriously can’t believe that things worked out so perfectly!
Haha this is awesome. We did the same thing recently too and love all the time 😅Our current home is on the market and trying to keep it clean with 3 little kids is going to end me! 🤣🤣 good luck to you all! I need to convince my husband to use movers this time….7th move in 8 years haha. Congrats to y’all!
I would LOVE to know more about how you guys choose a house. What kind of things do you look for in a home or neighborhood? We’re thinking about buying a house in the next year. We’re first timers and I feel so clueless!
Yay, how exciting for you and your family!!
Whoot Whoot! I am so thrilled for y’all! I know there will be a Naval wall/room… have you met you!?!??
Congratulations! Curious to see what the new one looks like. We are very much the opposite of you, we’ve lived in the same house for our whole 15 years of marriage! And I never want to move!
As someone who prides herself on keeping up with all the news, I cannot believe I missed this! (And hello, I’ve been following you FOREVER!). Congratulations! So excited for you all and can’t wait to see the new place.