763, it’s been an amazing 7 years. You will always be our first home, our first renovation, and the spark that started our love for real estate. You have provided us with a place of safety, shelter, laughter, tears, and amazing memories that will never be forgotten. We had our love hate relationship at times but overall you were our diamond in the rough. We are excited for the next journey in our lives and hope that the new owners admire your charm just as much as we did.
If you caught my instagram (@beautifully_candid) you might have seen that we just moved. This has been a bitter sweet moment for our family and so many mixed emotions we have felt over the past few weeks. Everything from feeling excited to the fear of the unknown.
The long and short of it is, we listed our house two years ago before we had our second nugget. This whole situation truly confirms that this real estate game is all about timing. Needless to say, the first time around our house didn’t sell. Fast forward to a different market and prime time spring listing and within 10 days we had two offers.
We were excited, shocked, nervous, and didn’t really know where we were going to go from there.
This isn’t something I’ve really mentioned before and mainly because of my own insecurities. We usually don’t talk about it often because when we do mention that one of our passions is real estate investment, people are either genuinely happy for us, or look at us like we have two heads and wonder how the heck we’ve been able to pull that off.
Sometimes I feel judged, and the need to sugar coat and down play the properties we do have. But I’m proud of them, and all of our hard work we’ve put into restoring these houses that have turned into beautiful homes for others to enjoy.
I find myself quickly explaining they’ve been short sales, or a deal too good to pass up, etc. I guess maybe I feel worried that people will think we are bragging or have these preconceived notions of us financially. Maybe it’s all in my head? I truly hope that’s the case.
Never the less, my husband and I have been investing in real estate for the past 4 years. We have several properties and are landlords to some great tenants. It isn’t always easy and we’ve definitely had to learn from our mistakes, but it’s something we enjoy. We hope to expand over the years and are continually looking at the bigger long term picture.
We are so blessed to be able to move into one of our rentals for the time being while we search for our long term home. Our wishlist is a little unconventional (anyone selling a farm assessed property in NJ, just putting it out there) so we understand this limits our inventory. We are staying hopeful and know that God has a plan and is preparing something for us that will work out great for our family.
For now, saying goodbye to our first home has been surreal. We look forward and are excited for what’s to come. I hope to be able to share more of our housing and real estate adventures and fill you in on some of our experiences.
