New Place

It's been quite the time around here. Lots of struggles and work and effort, and it's been good. We have worked well together, and supported each other when one or the other lost courage.

Here's an email I sent to my two sisters last week:

HI guys,

I already mentioned this house to Michaela, but just wanted to let you both know -

We have found a house for us, and are in the process of buying it.

Termite inspection was yesterday, all clear. Later this week, we meet with plumber, electrician and builder on site.

It’s been a long and at times scary road, but we feel comfortable that we have made a good choice and hopefully the right choice.

We made two other offers on other houses in past months, but they were not accepted. Now we are SO glad!

We had hoped to stay in our county and branch, but prices have risen so much here, that we had to look further out.

This house is an Amish house and little farm. Like other Amish houses, it is sturdy and well-built, but has no plumbing or heating or electricity.

So all that will have to be added. It will take work and time, and we plan to do what we can (like painting) ourselves.

It has a small, cute grandparent house on the property, as if often the custom, and hopefully we can sell that and move it to another Amish location.

My favorite piece on the property is the barn. It smells really good of hay and animals, and has very nice wood inside. They have their goats, two horses and chickens in there now. But I know I can’t get caught up in “Bauernromantik” at the moment. There is too much work to be done, and too much at stake.

We’re looking at this project as a ‘fix and flip’ in two years. But of course we may stay longer.

The Amish owners, the Schwartz family, came way down from their original price, so we think it is a good deal, which is of course part of our “real estate plan”.

Eventually we would like to be in Utah part of the year, closer to the family since those who don’t already live there seem to come there regularly, but real estate prices are too high for us at the moment.

And here are their responses:

(Mich)  Wow. Je suis stupéfaite! Amazed. Bravo! Congratulations! You all are brave! Jake mentioned casually "my parents bought a house," and I jumped all over him, which house? the Amish house? tell me all about it!!! I wasn't quite sure if it was really so. Wow. Fabulous and scary at the same time. So many changes. A grand new adventure!!! We all want to come see it!!!  

And the house needs to go up on the geese!!!! wowza!

(Urs)  That's incredible news, congratulations, mazel tov!!!

It sounds like a really good decision (aside from the fact that the place sounds extremely romantic and cute).

I'm happy for you, and would love to see it one day!  

And here's what David had to say:

thanks mom for the updates.  good luck with the house stuff. maybe skip adding electricity and list the place on AirBnB as "the ultimate getaway for tech-dependent families"? digital detox is all the rage right now. put in a meditation room and the coastal elites will love it. 

And here's what Ursula said to that idea:

 Hey, put me number one on the list!!!

And Michaela:

and a room with yoga mats :) build it and they will come ...

And Dad:

Ask David if we should leave the two outhouses. To give a really authentic experience.

And I responded later: 

Yes, so many changes, that is true.

Sometimes at night I turn to John and say, Are we really doing this? Are we crazy?

Before we actually decided to do it, we both took turns being sleepless a night or two, and feeling scared.

But honestly, I have felt really good about this place, and actually pushed it a little from time to time.

We have to take the plunge sometime.

And we do both feel really good about it. Of course we did the numbers over and over again, and talked to people with experience and expertise, too.   [plus over a year of real estate inv. classes]