Making Big Moves

          

    When the time came to make the decision to sell or not to sell our home, I will tell you I was heartbroken. This was the first home I was able to purchase on my own and the home we started building our family in. I had always known in the back of my mind that this was not our forever home, however, I never thought I would sell it. I had always assumed I would entertain renting the house out as a whole or turning it into a duplex style rental since the way the basement was set up would have allowed us to do that. The home was not perfect for our needs but had a lot of potential. 

    When the time came to start researching lender options, we quickly realized based on the different banker's advisements, that keeping the house would no longer be a feasible option to be able to get approved for the type of loan and the amount we were looking for. I knew we would need to make compromises along the way. However, whatever we ended up purchasing for our homestead was also going to be our forever home. So, I did not want to over compromise so much that it would not appease all of our needs. I wanted to feel comfortable in my own home and feel free to do what felt fitting on my own land. So, we had made the decision to sell the house and use the money to pay off debts and use the rest on a down payment for the land.  

    Next Ryan, our realtor, helped us list the house. Let me tell you, things move fast in today's housing market. Me and Jake had to put our heads together quick and decide where we would live while we continued our search in making our dreams a reality. Some things discussed were living in an apartment, moving in with friends and family, tiny homes, and living on an all-year-round campground. Not one of these options felt right for us. Of course, all had their good qualities. We wanted to save money, and still have the ability to have our own space. We also did not know how much longer our search would continue to take. Therefore, we did not want to feel like we were putting our family in a spot where it eventually felt like we were intruding, though we know they would never intentionally make us feel that way. We are the kind of people that would rather do it ourselves and not have to ask for help. Needless to say, we are too stubborn for our own good. 

    With a lot of discussion and back and forth ultimately my husband and I chose to purchase a large 2-bedroom fifth wheel camper and park it on our family's property. This gave us some independence and the ability to come and go as we please without being too much of a disruption to anyone. We also had the luxuries of being able to use our families land and home for our important needs whenever needed. I liked the idea of having everything in one place. It was just convenient with my husband and I both still working full time jobs through the week. This choice was not decided upon lightly. Nevertheless, here we are and exited that we have been given the ability to continue being able to pursue our dream. Sometimes you have to do the hard things in life first to lead wherever God is taking you. I truly felt homesteading was what God was directing us towards. God had put this in my heart, so I was going to put my trust in him to provide a way. My next blog I will discuss how life is living in a camper. Stay tuned!