The Big Move, Part I
When I decided to make the move to Florida, I lived in this gorgeous, 4,000 foot, 3 story Victorian home in Maryland. Plus an attic, a cellar, a big shed and detached garage, on a half acre. Picture that, full of several generations of antiques, collectibles, and everything a family gathers over the years. My mom brought her mom’s estate when she moved to Maryland and moved in with me. So the idea of moving was no simple decision or spur of the moment whim. It was a very big deal, especially since I knew the house itself would need a lot of attention to be ready to sell, even though in general it was in great shape.
So we started going through all the boxes and tubs that were in the attic, the cellar, and various closets. I’m guessing at least 200 tubs. Beautiful antique glassware my grandmother had collected. Collectible dolls from my childhood. Antique quilts and linens that were my moms. My mom and I had to go through each and every one and decide what to do, because we agreed we were not moving it all, and, frankly, it wouldn’t get used in Florida! Especially if it had already spent 12 years in a tub in the cellar. So, we would sell some things on ebay, some on Craig’s list. We sent mountains of things to various charitable organizations. We had yard sales, gave things to neighbors. We did this for, I would say, at least a year.
Every time I thought we were getting ahead, I would find another big pocket of stuff, very good things, things with memories for us or that had mattered to my grandmother, etc. It was hard. Very hard. And of course I was working, mostly from home as a consultant, but still working, and trying to publish a book. And, in between, maybe trying to have a little bit of a life! When we got closer we had our real estate agent come by, who we had known for years, to give usa walk through on the house and what work to do. Her list was long and overwhelming. Refinish the floors, paint the porch. Make a variety of repairs. Do something about the drainage in the cellar, which was constantly damp. You know, just little details like that.
Thank God my best friend in the world is a contractor with a generous heart and unlimited skills, or that process would have bankrupted me. But we got it done, bit by bit, knowing that the inspection would only give us another list. Finally, finally, we got the house listed. I about killed myself staging it, making sure very detail was as good as it could be. The agent was really happy with how it presented.
By that time I had figured out that Florida was our next stop. So as soon as we got an offer, which fortunately happened right away (with such a huge house it could have sat on the market forever, we were worried about that), I made arrangements to go back to Florida and see about getting a house identified. Luckily, the offer on my house was very solid, so the bank wasn’t too nervous about the contingency, given all the repairs we had done and the amount we would be able to put down. All the ducks were in a row, so to speak. It was kind of a crap shoot, whether I would find a house I liked in just a day or two window. We spent all day looking, nothing good, then the agent found one more to check out…Bingo! We got a totally refurbished home with a pool. It cost half the amount I was selling for in Maryland!
Big sigh of relief. One would think that, at that point, the hard part was over. Little did we know, our adventures were just beginning!
