This was the first house I ever bought. I was 37 years old, married, and had 2 kids – 7 and 11 and I had recently been transferred to Knoxville with my work. After living in Alabama for 16 years, we headed to the north of the South and started on our Tennessee adventure.
We were long-term renters. We became homeowners and Tennesseans at the same time. While living in that home, we saw a lot of life. My children had a childhood home and a stay-at-home dad. I had a great career and developed strong friendships. My husband passed away and we started over again in that house. My children graduated from high school. They moved out, came back, and moved out again. My grandson was born and came home to that house. So many wonderful memories.
I’m not sure when I decided to move. I grew up a military brat and it is normal for me to get the itch to move every few years. I had listed the home for sale once, in the middle of the housing crisis, and it did not sell. I had put some money into it – updating rooms, new appliances, painting, flooring, adding a sunroom. I loved the house but some things didn’t work for me anymore. So I reached out to our friend who is a Realtor and he was my guide through getting the home ready to list.
I started seeing homes with my Realtor and shared that I wanted a home about the same size that I had, with better useable space, a big kitchen with a pantry, and all on one level. Definitely one level. Or at least the master on the main floor. We started looking at new construction and I fell in love with a home. When we walked into the model, I fell in love. “This is it!” My Realtor laughed at me. It was twice the size of my current home, 2 stories, and all the bedrooms were upstairs. But the kitchen, eating area, and family room were so open and connected and there was a HUGE pantry. We always ended up in the kitchen so this was the perfect setup. I jumped in and signed the contract for the lot and to build.
As we went through the process of preparing to list (lots of cleanup – SO MUCH STUFF in 18 years) life happened. As my house went on the market, I had surgery. On the day I came home from the hospital, a raccoon got in through the roof and had babies in the wall behind my bathtub. In fact, I tried to stop a showing about 10 days in because “the guy” was coming to get the babies out and they had to cut out a very large piece of the wall in the dining room to get behind the bathtub. The people insisted so I let them move forward with their showing. Those are the people who ended up buying the house.
While my house was being built, I moved all of my stuff (still too much stuff) into two storage units and moved myself into a one-bedroom apartment in the complex where my daughter and grandson lived. It took about 7 months and I was reminded of all the reasons I hated living in an apartment. Mostly I hated the crazy people who live so close to you. But I knew it was temporary and I got to hang out with my sweet grandson.
I closed on the new house less than a week before Christmas. In part 2, I will share what it’s like to have a home built from scratch, from buying the lot, watching the build, and selecting the finishes to turning the key in your front door after closing.
Stay tuned for Part Two!
Tere Sells Homes 