Moving On

I just threw that key in the trash. It's been on my key ring longer than any other key. It's the key to my parents' house in McKinney... a house that's in the process of not being theirs anymore, as they've been signing papers for the past 8 minutes that transfer ownership to someone else. But more about that in a few.

After my sister and I graduated from high school and moved away from Van Buren, AR, my dad was transferred with his work from Fort Smith to Las Vegas, Nevada. A year or so later, my first husband and I moved from Siloam Springs to Las Vegas for his work. Several years later, my sister and her family relocated to Las Vegas from the OKC area.

In the mid-2000s, my family moved to north Texas for a job. A couple of years later, you guessed it, my parents also took advantage of the tail end of the real estate bubble in Vegas and moved to McKinney.  Soon after, literally a week before they were set to move to Colorado, my sister's family moved to a fairly nearby town.

Then in 2012, my sister's family and I moved to Austin (separated by a couple of weeks). It has taken four and a half years, but my parents decided to move to Temple to be within a more reasonable driving distance of their grandkids.

I might be wrong, but I feel like this is it for all of us. I feel like we're all here for the duration. My sister has two kids in early elementary at TSD, so they're tied to the town for at least a decade. That, plus my brother-in-law owns a local business. For us, we just bought a house. We want to be here at least until Mal grows up and we're old enough to be overwhelmed by the yard (which I feel will definitely happen). As for my parents, they picked a place close to a set of doctors with whom they feel comfortable, preparing for increased need as they age, should that arise. Oh, and they have friends in the area, too.

So, here's something kind of interesting about the lady who's buying my parents' house: First of all, they had multiple offers, including one from a developer. Even though that's often seen as a "sure thing," my parents went with a private offer, the first one they received (if I recall correctly). It's neat because the lady who's buying the house is a single mom and a nurse. She has a 5-year-old son who will love the neighborhood, the multiple playgrounds within walking distance, and the other kids who live there. I'm proud that my parents considered the well-being of their neighbors when they decided to take a chance on a private loan instead of going with an investor. I know, I know; I've been a renter, and I am not looking down on tenants. But in that area, they're having happen what happened in Las Vegas: big companies opening, people moving into town, developers buying stuff up to rent and/or flip, and the property values plummet. So now, everybody wins. I hope the nurse and her child have many happy times in the house and in the area.

Here's something I found shocking, though: The lady had written my parents a letter, and included a picture of her kid. She talked about how she could picture him running around in the yard, and how much they would enjoy the space. Have you ever written a letter like that when making an offer on a house? We have. We were told it helps your chances in the event of multiple offers. Well, guess what? My parents weren't shown the letter until after they'd made their decision! Yikes! Just something to keep in mind... just because YOUR Realtor has you do this, that doesn't guarantee that THEIR Realtor is going to show it to the sellers.

Anyway, it looks like this year my mom might get her wish to have the whole family at her house on Christmas. Moving on...