Comments on: The Raw and Real Side of Moving When The Entire Internet Is Watching | Part 1

By: Jamie

Jamie — Mon, 28 Nov 2016 16:44:07 +0000

I used to work on the foreclosure side of Mortgage Default and honestly I love when somebody takes an old abused forclosed home and makes it beautiful. When we were searching about 3 yrs ago (and 4 years ago, it takes soooo long) we primarily only looked at foreclosures and short sales. You get more bang for your buck which is especially great when you have upper middle class wants on a middle class budget lol. I sincerely hope your search for your diamond isn’t as long and painful as ours was. I was thankfully prepared for all the unaccepted offers, outbiddings, and heartbreak, but I see so many people get discouraged and lost after losing out on just one or two offers. We lost out on 10!! In approximately an 8 month period! If I had allowed my fiancé to give up when he wanted we would still be renting an overpriced and poorly built townhouse.

By: Marie

Marie — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 10:45:17 +0000

Hi ! Just a quick word : do talk about money, please. It’s just irritating to me when well-known bloggers fail to mention that, yes, they did DIY their hearts out to get custom shelving at a portion of the retail cost etc etc BUT before that they spent a million to get the tall ceilings and the hardwood floors and the huge windows that they wanted… It just makes me hate my normal-sized windows and walls when I’m not told clearly what the dream house pictured on the blog costs. So please don’t be self conscious. You’re a hard working, talented family, whatever money you’re able to spend on a house, you’ve deserved it.

By: Becky

Becky — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 20:43:08 +0000

I love your stories! I agree with the contributor who mentioned privacy. Organize yourself and prepare every needful thing… you know… but don’t run faster… that is the trick with building. It can be such a marathon. We built our last house…not the one we live in now. I am glad I got to pick what I picked but it was A. LOT. of picking. It was exhausting with small babies. My babies are not so small now and when we moved across three states my good friend gave me the best advice. Buy a Neighborhood. And so we did. We bought a neighborhood we loved but not exactly a dream house. It is small but price wise, manageable. We have met so many amazing people in our neighborhood. The people have made it all worth the while. I have to say my neighbors are dear friends and that has made all the difference. I still have yet to paint over the basement’s colonial, nineties blue… and rip up the similar shade of carpet. So the pros of building the house is NONE O’ That.

By: Lindsey Van

Lindsey Van — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 17:26:42 +0000

So excited to see your journey!!!
& You can totally talk about money! We are looking into similar sq footage also & the price ranges out there are wide! Can’t wait to see what you find!

By: Kie

Kie — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 17:07:50 +0000

First, thank you for your candor. Too many fall into everything is wonderful and that is fine-sometimes but to be transparent is to offer a unique perspective that no one else can do. Money talk is touchy so I say speak of terms of three types of budgets. Offer input as to options for each tier. Give stage ideas i.e.; smalls changes now vs. total remodels from the beginning. Where lenders/lending are concerned give options for what is out there and types of things to avoid like overextended yourself based on gross income vs what really comes home. Lenders are guilty here. I saved for two years and really focused on what we wanted vs what we could afford. If we found something and knew we would have to overextend ourselves we passed on it. It's a hard choice when you think you're missing out on a good thing but in the long run if you can't afford to personalize it then all the fun goes out the window. We did finally a house that met our requirements and we LOVE it. It's 116 yr old farmhouse! We've done small remodeling for today and are saving for a big kitchen remodel as soon as we have enough to do it the way we want it. I love your posts and I admire you for being willing to share the whole process! Best of luck to you!

By: Nicole Taylor

Nicole Taylor — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 12:50:45 +0000

We’ve been meaning to get rid of our beige walls, ceilings, baseboards everything for 4 years and finally just did it. It is life changing! And it was so completely exhausting. I’m glad my husband didn’t leave me. But seriously brown ceilings????

By: Mallory @ Classy Clutter

Mallory @ Classy Clutter — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 03:50:06 +0000

Move to Prescott. The end. There are some killer craftsman dreams that you’d love! I’m just gonna start sending you listings til you move here. I love your face and finding/buying our house was the biggest emotional roller coaster of my life. Blllaaaahhhh…. You’ve got this.

By: Christine C

Christine C — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 15:02:44 +0000

We just moved into our 2nd home in April of this year. It was a builder spec home, so it wasn’t what I would have wanted or picked if I was building it, but I think that’s the majority of our situations. We don’t have what we want, so we are looking for ways to make it what we want (hence reading all your fabulous posts and ideas!!!!). I like that you don’t have the perfect spaces, so you make it work, just like we all do. It keeps you real, likable, and relatable (did I just make that word up?). But, no matter what your decision is, we’ll still be excited to share the journey with you. Personally, I think it’s more fun to see how you’ve become creative with space that is already there, but watching the process would be cool as well…just not something I think the majority of people will ever get to experience.
Thank you for always sharing and being real!!

By: Jeanene

Jeanene — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 03:58:29 +0000

In reply to julie.

I second the land buying and building on it request (not that is what you did) but if you have any experience with that……and I don’t mean buying land in a subdivision but more raw land covered in trees. Actually if anyone wants to pipe in on that it would be So helpful!!! how do you budget for running power, running water, clearing trees, prepping land…………?

By: Mary Wilding

Mary Wilding — Sun, 20 Nov 2016 16:05:40 +0000

Most of us love being flies on the wall while someone goes through a life changing process, and even share input on occasion…but that being said, bottom line–you have to do what’s right for you and your family. We all have unique situations and to pass judgment on other’s circumstances is not OK. Good luck! My husband and I are building a house. If you go that route, pick an awesome builder and it will be the experience of a lifetime!