God certainly moves in mysterious ways. And very often, surprising ways!
You see… we bought a house!
We certainly were not planning on moving, nor did we think a week ago that this was even a possibility for our family.
But, everything lined up. One thing after another, we found creative solutions to any obstacles we could think of. When it came time to submit our offer, we felt unshakeable peace with the outcome, whether we got the place or not.
You have to realize, we currently live in an amazing neighbourhood. It is the best street in the best neighbourhood in London. (IMHO, of course.) And I say this because our neighbours are the actual best. Over the last year, our immediate neighbours have been our LIFELINES. While we have been locked to our own homes and properties, being able to chat with our neighbours, standing on their own property a mere two meters away from ours, has saved every member of our family. It will be sad to no longer live alongside these incredible people.
So imagine our surprise when we found this property, and we began to fall in love with it. We visited once with our kids, and once on our own. We looked through the pictures dozens of times, and discussed endless possibilities for both the house and the property.
Last Friday, we made our offer. Three hours later, our offer was accepted!
The London real estate market has been unbelievably hot and active over the last year. People are moving to larger properties, and are willing to pay for move-in ready homes with yards. In fact, 2 to 4 bedroom homes in our neighbourhood have been selling for astonishing amounts over asking price, and in record time, with a record number of offers.
So believe me when I say it is a PURE MIRACLE that we were the only offer on this lovely home, and that we were able to get it for the asking price.
Once you catch your breath (I’m still catching mine!), I’m sure you want to know about the new house, too?
It’s a glorious old dame of a place. There are two old growth cedars in the front yard, and the original house was built around 1915. The previous owners took loving care of the home’s personality and details: chestnut millwork, original wood flooring, and original rope-pulley and leaded windows. There is also a three-story addition to the home, with three glorious floors of south facing windows. The home has a cool and shady front porch, a sunny wooden deck on the side that catches the morning light, and a concrete patio at the back. There is a hydrangea-lined path to the enormous pool, which is surrounded by lilac shrubs. Beyond that, a wide open grassy field, surrounding by generously spreading trees. In all, the lush property spans nearly two acres.
And the very, VERY best part? It’s in our current neighbourhood. We’re only moving 2 kilometres south!
We will be able to bike back to our favourite park to play with our current neighbours. We can walk to the same library in 20 minutes. We are already deeply connected to many other residents of Old South, so we already know people who live within a few blocks of our new home.
Our life is going to change in substantial and beautiful ways. We are moving from a street where I can hear my neighbours gardening as I type, to a property where my kids can run as far as they can and they won’t see another soul. We are moving from a home with a postage stamp sized back yard to a home with nearly two acres of garden and forest. We are moving from a home that fits our family perfectly to a home that is oversized and then some.
But we feel deep and abiding peace AND excitement about the next chapter of our family life.