47 Days Out: Found a Home for Our Eldest!

No doubt, any parents' concerns about moving abroad will have, "Are the kids alright?" at the top of their list.

Our eldest, Ethan, is 23, graduated from ASU in 2023, and has been with his girlfriend, Lilly, for over 6 years now.

They currently reside in a home his mother bought as an investment property near ASU; their lease is up July 31, as Ethan's younger brother, Zachary, will be moving into the home, along with some of his ASU compadres.

Like most twenty-somethings, Ethan and Lilly were dragging their feet a bit on starting their new home search, figuring they had, "plenty of time" when we first suggested they start the process in February.

Fast-forward to May, when they finally completed a mortgage pre-qualification and we were able to show them homes.

Having just started their careers, they don't have a huge budget, and it has been a struggle to find them something habitable, in a decent area, somewhat near where they are employed.

We showed them a stellar patio home June 1st that was totally remodeled and we knew would go fast - it was, hands down, the nicest home that had fit their criteria. We made an offer on it the first day on market, but as you might expect, an affordable, fully-remodeled, single-story patio home received multiple offers that day, and Ethan and Lilly were CRUSHED.

Defeated, we went out on another home tour, coming up with duds.

Then, we found a townhome not far from our current (for now) home, that has also been remodeled, with very similar finishes! It was priced a little out of their range...but has been on the market for five months. (Over-priced to start.) 

After some negotiations with the seller, and a revisiting of their finances with their lender, we were able to get an accepted offer! That's a HUGE weight off of all of our shoulders. Nathan and I were stressing that they were cutting it close time-wise. Ethan and Lilly were stressing that they would have to "settle" for something really rough. They have to move somewhere by July 31st, and since real estate is what is allowing us to semi-retire, the thought of them renting was unbearable. This condo is a great "foot in the door" to homeownership and equity for them! Plus we can't wait to get all of Ethan's lagging crap out of our garage, and pawn off some of our goods that won't be moving with us.

Now that we have them under contract, we need to get our home sold! And I have a whole new batch of paperwork, inspections, home warranties, and other transactional goodies on my plate. Strike one thing from the list, add eight more, it seems!