Hello from our New Home!

After 5 years of tossing around the idea of moving, we’ve finally made the move. At first, we weren’t sure what we wanted. More land? More community? Then I couldn’t fathom moving while I was pregnant or had a baby. Next, I had my moral and logistical hang-ups: why should we go back into debt and pack up allllll our stuff just to move 1.5 miles? Why did we want more space when many people live in closer quarters? I have a real aversion to excess, and moving felt excessive in every way. But I had a light bulb moment in February that it wasn’t wrong to want more space in a family-oriented neighborhood, and when I mentioned this to Neil, his excitement revealed just how much he had wanted this all along.

He was right. Two weeks after our moving day, we haven’t had a moment of regret. Both the house and the neighborhood are great. Having more space is a welcome change, especially right now when everyone is home all the time, and trying to work. It’s much easier to keep the toddler away from the home-schooling. And there are more areas to play, which gives everyone the sense of a change of scenery. Our new yard is also about 30% bigger, if equally muddy. But with a porch, sun room, deck, and patio we have plenty of outdoor options as well.

The neighborhood vibe is also just what we were looking for. It’s very friendly, and although it’s a hard time to build community, we have been able to visit with a few neighborhood friends outdoors. As a bonus, we have a beautiful sunset view. Although we moved just over a mile, it feels like we’re in a different town. Yet moving such a short distance means we can still see our old neighbors any time. The kids don’t even have to switch schools (if they ever go back).

What’s making the whole thing seem like an even better idea is that we close on the sale of our old house today. Buying a new house is exciting, but selling one feels more worthy of celebration. Our proceeds will shrink our new mortgage once we recast our loan. A recast is basically like restarting your mortgage. Because it’s our second mortgage with the same company, one perk they offer is a free recast. It re-starts the amortization schedule, meaning you start paying the initially high ratio of interest to principle, but since we’ll only be a month into the loan, it won’t matter. This will allow us the flexibility of a smaller mortgage compared with applying the proceeds to the initial loan, which would accelerate amortization, but not change our monthly payment.

We originally planned to move first and list later. I’m so glad we didn’t. Though it was stressful to get the house ready while homeschooling, the market in our area has slowed somewhat.

This move has showed me that there are things–even expensive things–that are well worth the money. Our proximity to friends, along with how smoothly both transactions went, certainly seems like God’s hand. We are grateful for the resources and flexibility that afforded us this choice. 

Have you ever made a purchase–big or small–that was unnecessary, but so worth it?