Downsize Update

I previously wrote about our commitment to downsize. The decision to do so was made only after countless discussions on the pros and cons. Part of those pros and cons was whether to build a new house which was our eventual direction or buy an existing home. This writing is to give you an update as to where we stand.

Old House:

The summer of 2016 was all about getting the house ready for sale, listing the house for sale and holding numerous open houses. For about two months we had dozens of couples coming to those open houses or attending private showings. We eventually received an offer that both Cathy and I felt was fair and went on deposit with a sales contract. It was very rewarding knowing that all of our hard work was worthwhile. The repetitive cleaning and staging of the house so it would look perfect for the open house or private showing ended up with a contract. We thought that was the hard part. Now that we are facing an eventual closing date it is time to start packing the house.

We have not moved in 28 years so needless to say we are out of practice when it comes to packing the contents of a house. We were able to negotiate what to do with most of the furniture that we were not taking with us. That was a big deal because we had several rooms of furniture that we had to do something with. Cathy takes credit for making all that happen. I was merely the “yes” man.

New House:

There are so many things when building a new house that needs to be dealt with right down to the toilet paper holders. Nothing can be taken for granted. There have been countless on site meetings to make decisions or implement on the fly changes with construction or finishing touches. As the project has drawn to a close and what was once a conceptual design on a computer screen now is a finished project that has exceeded our expectations. There is an expression that the “devil is in the details”. That is so true when in the context of building a home. The design, the siding and roof shingles, windows and exterior doors, interior doors and trim work, cabinets, counters and surfaces, hardwood, tile and carpeting, paint colors, the elevations and site work, the landscaping and walkways, driveway and fencing, the mechanicals, light fixtures, plumbing fixtures and that is just to name a few of the items.

The stress of building is behind us and there will be months of settling in. It will take some time to figure out what wall switch operates which lights. When looking for something it now will be like an Easter egg hunt to figure out what cabinet or closet the item is in. All good problems for sure and the learning process will be fun and exciting.

There is not only the house that is new but learning and all the names and faces of our new neighbors. It is easy for them to remember us because we are the newbies. But for us, I want to hand out name tags. Again another good problem as we make new friends as we start this new chapter of our lives.

Here's to moving to Branford!!!!!!           Until The Next Tom’s Take…