Sold!! Free at Last

Last updated on July 1st, 2016 at 04:21 pm

Throughout this journey that is our South America travel dream, there have been things that have been way harder to accomplish than expected and things that have been way easier. Selling our home was definitely one of the harder things.

YES, we sold our house!!!!!

After 2 years and 4 months on the market on November 12, 2013 we were finally free from the noose that was preventing us from getting on the road.

And I am just writing about it now?????

I think I am in shock that the house and all of the bills that went along with it are finally gone!

The deal came together very quickly, we jumped through hoops we never thought we would and accepted a price $175000 less than what we originally listed for.

So as I said, a lot harder than we thought.

Our travel budget is A LOT smaller than originally planned, but the travel will commence regardless. I believe sometimes you just have to change and change we have, ourselves and our travel plans.

On the flip side, it was a lot easier to finally say goodbye to the house we once loved so much. In the beginning, I worried selling it would be so hard I might not be able to let it go or Makai would be traumatized having to leave the only home he’s known. But after 2 long years and 4 even longer months hardly a tear was shed. A feeling of relief is ultimately what remained. It was a lot easier than I thought to lock the door and drive away, not looking back.

This was Rob and I with our dog Kiwi in 2005. We were building our dream home, planning for a future very different than the life we are so happy to live now.

Getting our house sold ended up being harder than we ever imagined and one thing ended up going a lot better, easier than I thought possible.

Living with Rob’s parents.

When we first left our house July 1st 2012, to work our home business and then leave on our adventure in the fall or early spring 2013 we were a bit anxious about having to invade Mom and Dad’s home. To live together longer than any visit we ever had, harmoniously. Then the house didn’t sell and we never left Mom and Dad’s. We thought we would stay with them for 6 months, max. It’s been 1 year 5 months now and I feel it will be a lot harder to leave their home than it was to leave mine.

Strangely, I am kind of glad the process was hard and long ( I do mean “Kind of”). Things definitely didn’t go like we thought they would, but we didn’t give up on the goal. We had to change and adapt ourselves and our finances, good practice for how it will be on the road. Rob and I both came out of it with a few grey hairs and some changed perspectives, but we are here, here with the house sold, a year and a bit later than we had planned for, but in the same place none the less. Here are some of the lessons from this house selling nightmare:

• Do some serious market research in your city and area of town before listing your house. Do not use your neighbors list price as your only guide. Be realistic, you may think your home is the best that doesn’t mean potential buyers will. Compare apples to apples and be honest with yourself.
•  If hiring an agent try to get personal referrals from friends, family or co- workers. Interview a few (or a bunch of) agents and trust your instincts, if you don’t believe what the agents telling you how is that agent going gain the trust of potential buyers and get your house sold? Not very effectively, believe me.
•  Be prepared to adjust your price if needed. Again stay up to date on the market research.
• And finally, maybe it’s just not the right time to sell. Explore your options: Could you rent your place? Pull your listing off the market and re list in a more favorable season? Do a small renovation make your place more attractive to buyers? Try to consider all options.

It’s been a long road with many twists and turns, switchbacks and dead ends, but we made it and are finally free at last! We have a lot less money but a lot more resolve and love and understanding for our family.

When I think back on the past 2 and a bit years I remember just before we left our home in Cranbrook to move to Calgary, the uncertainty and fear I felt. I can still hear Robs words “I thought you wanted to do this??”. He was scared too.

I remember all of the laughter and encouraging words, the tears, the fights, all of the amazing people we had the pleasure of meeting through this process. We physically have so much less, but I feel because of this time waiting we have so much more somehow. It’s been an intense process, transforming, terrifying, challenging. Free at last but it’s been the most fulfilling time in my life.