You all know I've been trying to move for FIVE long years. It's not that I'm incapable of actually packing boxes and moving. It's just impossible to move while being held prisoner in shackles by Wells Fargo. Our small condo is worth about 1/10th of what it was was when we bought it in 2006. It's served its purpose over the last few years, keeping us warm and cozy but like most people with kids, not having enough space is always an issue. To put in bluntly, when your husbands' tool box lives on the bedroom dresser - it's time to pack up and go.
When I was 27, I bought my first place - alone. I had $5000.00 to my name and with little debt and a decent job as a news writer I was able to walk into Coldwell Brokerage, hand over my last year's W2, a few pay stubs and purchase a 2 bedroom condo in an old mill building in Manchester. My mortgage was just under $400.00 per month, included heat and hot water and not far from downtown. Fast forward 2 years and I was pregnant with Cooper, Pete had of course moved in more than a toothbrush and things got a bit tight. When Cooper turned one, we decided to put the condo up for sale and move north to Franklin for a bigger and better house. The house on Edwards Street was adorable but the town, ahem - was not. Had we known about the vast number of crack heads and registered sex offenders, or the fact that if you are not a teacher, a cop, sell your own jelly or own a funeral home, there are no jobs.....we would have thought twice. Another life's lesson.
Just two years later in 2006 (and thank god before the housing market shit the bed) we put the Franklin house up for sale and decided to move back to Manchester. ("Hey look kids, Big Ben!") Our original plan was to live in the condo, save money for a down payment and finally buy our dream home. But much like the movie "UP", life is what's happening when you are making other plans. Cancer took Pete's mom in 2006, we had another son in 2007, Pete's job transferred him to Tennessee in 2008 and in 2009, the housing market tanked! 4 families in our condo complex up and moved. Neighbors went into foreclosure and our condo - which we have paid faithfully on every month for five years began losing value by the day. It was heartbreaking. Pete eventually moved back home after earning quite a bit of money for our new place, but as week's turned into months and months into years - it seemed like we were would never find a way out of the condo. That is, until now. But this house is another story.
