Do you have a vision of THAT house you’ve always dreamed of living in?
I do! — It’s a big, old farmhouse like this one.
Do you have the image of your dream house so ingrained in your brain that you can’t get it out even if you try — really hard?
I know the feeling.
Do you have an idea book with all the things you want to incorporate into your future dream house?
I’ve got one.
I even have a checklist of some of the amenities we want our dream house to include. Of course, this checklist comes after the obvious list of price, location, and a proper inspection 🙂
Some of the items on our list come standard in most farmhouses, but others — well, they’ve been more difficult to find (and believe me, we’ve been looking!)
We’ve been looking at old farmhouses for a few years already but none of them have come anywhere close to satisfying our Top Ten list. Either that, or they were way out of our price range 🙂
Maybe we were too picky, but when you’re searching for your dream house…you can’t just settle for ‘good enough’ can you? Plus, we really weren’t in any big hurry to leave our current home {we LOVE the location}.
However, last spring, I found a 120-year-old farmhouse that caught my attention — but it was too expensive {of course it was!}
I decided to contact our realtor friend, Tom Ellens, to see if he might have more information. He knows all about my farmhouse obsession and said he would call me if he was ever in the area.
A few months passed and even though this house was always in the back of my mind, I told myself to just forget about it; it could never happen. Plus I was basing my entire obsession with one less-than-stellar photo on Craigslist.
BUT — it was just so perfect!
Then in September, Tom called and said he would be in the area and we could walk through the house…
…we were smitten!
The house had SO much potential, it was in a great location, and it met EVERY SINGLE ONE of our Top Ten list!
BUT {and this is a big ‘but’}, it was still too expensive.
Tom told us if we really wanted the house, we should make a lower offer and see how the sellers reacted — we took his advice.
And the rest of the story is still a blur!
- Sep. 30 — They accepted our offer! {What? We were NOT expecting that}
- Oct. 1 — We put our home for sale-by-owner on Criagslist {probably should have done this earlier!}
- Oct. 2 & 3 — We had 3 different families come through our house
- Oct. 4 — All 3 families made an offer on our house {2 of which were higher than our asking price}
- Oct. 5 — We accepted one offer and got an earnest deposit
- Oct. 13 — We got a clear inspection on the farmhouse and gave our earnest deposit to the sellers
Um…I’m not excited or anything!
So, our house is not actually OUR house anymore, but we will still be living here until the end of the year.
And then — FINALLY — we will move into OUR farmhouse.
You know, the one with the big front porch, lots of room for entertaining, white siding, green shutters…
… 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a separate office area, a 2-stall garage, plus another 2-stall garage around the back…
… main floor laundry, an acre of land, a long drive way with a turnaround, and a heated out-building around the back!
Yup, that’s the one!
So, over the next few months {OK, maybe years} we’ll be going room-by-room, transforming this house into a home…
OUR home…
OUR Dream Home!
And we couldn’t be happier!
Cathy says
I don’t know why this tear jerked me a little. I guess it is just so nice to see dreams coming true!
Andrea says
Thanks Cathy,
we were SOOO excited to get our dream house too! And now we’re busy renovating it to make the inside look as lovely as the outside!!
Cathy says
I know how you feel. We are renovating our dream house too. Take it slow. Let the walls talk to you. Enjoy every moment.
The Gaertegang says
Congrats! I’m in amazement at how close our story’s are~~ We just purchased our dream house/property last week. We are staying here at our home while we do some work to the house and finish the basement then we are putting our house up for sale……I just came to your site tonight for the first time…I love it. I am reading all your posts about moving….hoping that your info will make the transisition for my family of six easier in the very near future!
BTW yes I have a binder also with my dream house….curtains, kitchens, furniture, landscaping, porches….ect I can’t wait to make each one of those dreams a reality…..oh we’re just smitten!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Andrea says
Wow…you got your dream home too! congrats 🙂
I know how amazing that feeling is, especially when you’ve been waiting so long. I’m so excited for you {even though we’ve never met!}
Looks like we’ll both be even busier than normal this holiday season!
Jeannine says
Thanks fo sharing your story. I can see how you have been blessed and the Lord was working in an amazing way in your life.
Becky says
That’s very exciting! Congratulation to you! My dream home list was quite a bit shorter:
1. No crawl space (I HATE spiders, and I lived in a rental house where the heater was in the crawl space – it was awful!)
2. Garage – 1 stall fine for me.
3. Fenced yard for my furbabies.
I love my home! And the bonus is that it is brick!
Holly F. says
Congratulations! I’m so happy for you! We just remodeled and moved into another house. Lots of work, but SO worth it! It has been wonderful for our family. I wish you the best! (Yes, I had an idea book too. It’s so fun to see ideas come to life!)
Tiffany @ No Ordinary Homestead says
Oh my gosh! This is so fantastic. And the house is BEAUTIFUL! Congratulations!!!
We don’t have a specific list written down, but we do hope to move back to the US in the next couple years and we have been looking and looking. Our biggest problem now is just deciding what STATE we even want to live in! I know, it’s crazy. But I am totally excited for you!!
Kristen @ JoyfullyThriving says
Oh, Andrea! How wonderfully exciting! Enjoy the time of making this new house your home!
Melanie:::Adorkable says
That is so incredible! What a blessing!! Congratulations!
I’m so glad I stopped over from Oh Amanda!
blessings
Melanie
@http://adorkable-me.blogspot.com
mandi@itscome2this says
Oh Andrea! Wow that is awesome!! God was definitely in all those details! And the house is beautiful! Can’t wait to see you go room to room!
Jennifer says
Wow! Congratulations! Maybe we should’ve listed our house on Craig’s list…I never would’ve thought of that…well, your new home looks amazing! I’m visiting from Oh Amanda’s today!
oh amanda says
Congratulations! How cool is that? And with the economy the way it is–having 2 offers on your house is a miracle! So excited for you!
a
heidi @ wonder woman wannabe says
wow! amAzing story! Congrats and enjoy!
~h
Andrea says
I am so happy for you! I can’t wait to see the progress you make on your charming new home!
Laurie says
Your dream home is beautiful and CONGRATS on making it a reality – awesome! You know, I’ve never had a dream home. I guess my dream home is wherever my family is. Enjoy your new home!
Andrea says
Laurie, I know lots of people who don’t have “dream homes” — so I think it’s GREAT that your dream home is with your family!
I guess I’ve alway just been a “house” person. I never cared much about cars, clothing, jobs, etc…just farm houses!!
Brenda (a farmgirl's dabbles) says
I am SOOOOOO happy for you! Your new house is lovely. I cannot wait to see how you make it yours!
Monette says
How exciting!Congratulations! It is so beautiful! I guess you are going to get busy and can’t wait to see pics.
Jen @ BigBinder says
That is amazing – and wonderful!! I’m so happy for you. Love it when Dreams Come True; especially when you made it happen by knowing what you wanted!!
Sarah's Deals says
How amazing! And great for you. By not settling and knowing what you wanted, you got it. Congrats and enjoy your dream home. Mine is still a ways off, but my list is starting today!