The Big Surprise
Well, since we signed the contracts last night, I guess it is now official: we are selling our house. The market is so silly right now that we already have two different parties interested--simply by Meg spreading the word among our neighbors. We could potentially have an offer even before we publicly list the house (but I'm not counting on it). Regardless, we are going to be homeless soon, at least until we re-roost in Capital City.
Centex is building a small, 46-lot subdivision--named Nottingham Woods--near where we used to live, and which backs up and connects to one of Salem's most affluent neighborhoods, Cambridge (and the newer part of it). They build relatively cheap (but big) houses, so we're banking on their prices being low enough for us to get one of their "smaller" models, all the while reducing our debt in the process. We've yet to reserve our plot of land, but we know exactly which one it will be--and Michael is willing to camp out in front of their office for the night in order to be the first (possibly the only, too!) one to stake his claim.
Once we move, Michael will work from home some days (thanks to a dedicated office space in the new house, as well as a really nice and understanding boss), and take a shuttle the rest of the week (which his employer will mostly subsidize). For the record, it takes just as long--if not a few minutes less--to drive from Salem to Portland than to take the bus/train from Beaverton to Portland.
Because Centex has yet to finalize its pricing model for the neighborhood, we can't do anything at the moment but speculate what mid-$200's means (the only official Centex statement--but even that is possible to change)--we don't even really know if this will work for us or not. But since we plan to be the first ones in line and ready to buy a house, we expect to be the first one built, which we're wildly guessing could be ready by the end of the summer. And with the amount we stand to make from our house sell, we should be all right . . .
So where do we live in the meanwhile? Michael suggested moving into a nearby apartment, while putting some of our stuff in long-term storage; Meg thought it would be better and easier and cheaper to camp out in her parents' basement in Sherwood, while putting the majority of our stuff in long-term storage (the basement is fully furnished). Michael eventually warmed up to the idea, once he was reassured that the family wouldn't lose its independence to operate as they please, and he realized that we could save money to assemble an even larger down-payment, further reducing our long-term debt.
Centex is building a small, 46-lot subdivision--named Nottingham Woods--near where we used to live, and which backs up and connects to one of Salem's most affluent neighborhoods, Cambridge (and the newer part of it). They build relatively cheap (but big) houses, so we're banking on their prices being low enough for us to get one of their "smaller" models, all the while reducing our debt in the process. We've yet to reserve our plot of land, but we know exactly which one it will be--and Michael is willing to camp out in front of their office for the night in order to be the first (possibly the only, too!) one to stake his claim.
Once we move, Michael will work from home some days (thanks to a dedicated office space in the new house, as well as a really nice and understanding boss), and take a shuttle the rest of the week (which his employer will mostly subsidize). For the record, it takes just as long--if not a few minutes less--to drive from Salem to Portland than to take the bus/train from Beaverton to Portland.
Because Centex has yet to finalize its pricing model for the neighborhood, we can't do anything at the moment but speculate what mid-$200's means (the only official Centex statement--but even that is possible to change)--we don't even really know if this will work for us or not. But since we plan to be the first ones in line and ready to buy a house, we expect to be the first one built, which we're wildly guessing could be ready by the end of the summer. And with the amount we stand to make from our house sell, we should be all right . . .
So where do we live in the meanwhile? Michael suggested moving into a nearby apartment, while putting some of our stuff in long-term storage; Meg thought it would be better and easier and cheaper to camp out in her parents' basement in Sherwood, while putting the majority of our stuff in long-term storage (the basement is fully furnished). Michael eventually warmed up to the idea, once he was reassured that the family wouldn't lose its independence to operate as they please, and he realized that we could save money to assemble an even larger down-payment, further reducing our long-term debt.
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