Farewell to The Queen's Quarters
As I continue to play catch-up on sharing all the transitionary things that took place last year, I’m reminded just how packed with major life events it was! You can read about my 2024 year of transition HERE. But this transition was quite a significant one… I purchased another house! And by far, this is for sure my dream home, and my forever home. I love everything about it, and I’m hoping to be able to retire and enjoy it until they wheel me out! The Queen’s Quarters served me well for 6 years, and now hopefully it’s serving it’s new residents well.
Me with Peggie Simmons, Designated Broker and Owner of Realty Marketing Group
You’ve read posts where I mentioned Ms. Peggie Simmons a few times. Like HERE when I shared about why it is always better to buy than to rent, and HERE, where I shared how pivotal her instincts were in playing a role in my move decision back in 2018. You won’t find a more experienced and knowledgeable realtor; truly a master at what she does, always thinking outside the box and always, ALWAYS looking out for her clients. You can find her on LinkedIn HERE, and on Instagram HERE. I couldn’t have progressed this far in my real estate journey without her. My moves have everything to do with my trust in, and my relationship with, the best realtor I’ve come to know and love over the last 22 years. And so yes, you will see her in all the pictures displaying this journey because, one… she walks her clients through each process from the search to the closing, and beyond, (more on that a little later). And two… she’s now like family ya’ll 🙂 My cousin June calls me a serial house purchaser, lol, and though it may seem that way, each move was financially strategic. From my first home in 2007 to now, with each move, I was able to get more money for my sold home, affording me the opportunity to move into something better for my lifestyle each time.
“What’s a “Move-up” Buyer? It’s pretty normal for people to choose to move up in their home within 3 to 5 years. And that move-up can be anything from right-sizing, meaning the home may be a good size, but you want or need a different layout, down-sizing, change in location, or simply to have something newer.
How the Last Move Talk Began...
So what had happened was, lol… one day in August of 2023, when I was still in the throes of settling The Momster’s estate, I received this email from Ms. Peggie that just said: “Your new home! Can’t wait to show you these.” I wasn’t thinking about moving AT ALL. In fact, my thoughts were leaning more towards paying off my current mortgage and preparing for an early retirement, even though I wasn’t that crazy about that home, at least not enough to make it my forever home. I didn’t look at the attachment with the video of the models for a few days, and then I DID look, and loved what I saw. They were pricier than any home I’d ever purchased but my now angel Momster’s wish for me, was to settle into a new home that I absolutely loved and then find a way to retire, and her inheritance provided a way for that… the home part 🙂 Mom was a front row witness to the debacle that was “Building The Queen’s Quarters”. You can read about that horror HERE. While she liked how I made the home my sanctuary, she always felt it wasn’t good enough for me and wanted something better for me. It took forever for these new model homes Ms. Peggie was going to show me to open up, but I’d visited the virtual model so many times, I knew I was already falling in love. In January 2024, when I finally walked the model, it was solidified, and I signed the contract a few days later. I believe in investing in the right real estate, and I’m confident I made another excellent choice.
Let The Dreaming Begin...
I knew after my second home, that I didn’t ever want to move into a pre-existing home again. It was just too much work, and I didn’t want to move in on top of someone else’s essence. So this was my 5th home, and third venture into building and customizing a home. Now I must say, there was only so much customizing I could do because, as I shared in this post HERE, flooring, kitchens and bathrooms will derail a design budget quicker than you can say “house poor”, lol! I knew there were certain things I’d have to do after-build, and that was fine. And I knew there were some design dreams that would just have to remain dreams, at least for the foreseeable future. And because of a crazy market last year, I wasn’t able to sell my former home this go round, so I had to pivot the budget and carry on. I had a blast at the TriPointe Design Center, and loved working with Heather Porter and Mikayla Devereux. It was supposed to be the first 4-hour appointment of two, but they’re preparedness and expertise, coupled with my preparedness and knowledge of what I wanted and could afford, had us finished in just the one session. It wasn’t my first rodeo, so that helped.
AND… I had the best Construction Manager EVER! Dan was always on point with everything, and kept the construction site cleaner than I’ve seen any! And yes, I made everyone wear pink hard hats when we visited my lot site! As I stated earlier, you see Ms. Peggie in all these photos because like always, she “walked” me through each stage of the process, from beginning to end and beyond. From the first house, where I really knew NOTHING, and blew up her phone with so many questions, to now, where I feel like if she had to miss one phase I’d be ok, this has been so valuable to me. Here’s why she says she does it…
“Why be present for every stage of the process?”… There are things I’ve been able to identify as a real estate professional that the average buyer may not know to look for or point out during the contract signing, dry-wall walk-through; certainly a final walk-through, or a closing.
The Rough Side of The Mountain
Getting to closing on this home felt like going up the rough side of the mountain at times. I already shared in my “Transition to Reinvention” post how I lost my job right after I signed the contract, then my home didn’t sell, they changed rental income rules as it pertains to debt-to-income ratios, and then I had to change lenders…. Jesus! Finally, getting to closing in mid-November while battling food poisoning, YIKES, was horrible. I literally sat at the title company with a barf bag in my lap, feeling like I was gonna upchuck any moment! But through it all, I was amazed at how God just kept revealing Himself, and showing me how He’s always brought me through, not the way I thought or planned, but still, I made it. So… ya’ll know I name all my houses, right?
I’m so incredibly grateful for this blessing, and my heart is so full that it was made possible by the grace of God, and by the grace of a loving mother, and her dreams for her daughter. That said…
Introducing... Grace Manor
I’ve been busy bringing my dream home to life; taking these spaces from my mind to reality in my signature “it-doesn’t-have-to-cost-a-fortune” style. In the next week or so, I’ll start revealing spaces, beginning with my always favorite room in the house. I’m sure those of you who stop by the blog or my Instagram feed often can guess which room it is, wink wink 😉 For now, here’s a few sneak peaks of the house, and I’ll see you back here very soon! :)xo
