Home Sweet Home

I've heard that having two mortgages while trying to sell a house can be extremely stressful and taxing on a marriage. It was nothing short of a miracle that we never had to experience this. When we went to the Sheriff's Auction on August 4th, we didn't believe we would actually win the house on which we planned to bid. When the unbelievable happened, we had to get our current home on the market as quickly as possible. In six weeks we had to get our master bath finished(it was still studs and subfloor), the house decluttered and clean, paint the entire main floor, stairs, and upstairs hallway, and still live as a family of 5 with 3 small children. We managed to get everything done, thanks to some wonderful parents. Then, we waited. We had one showing in two weeks. I was starting to feel extremely nervous. How could we afford two mortgages when I stay home? On the day our house was on the market for 3 weeks, we had another showing. They put in an offer! In this market! After countering a couple of times, we came to an agreement. They wanted us to be out by the end of October, if possible. After a few weeks of waiting and wondering about closing dates we were told we would tentatively close on November 13th. We planned to move on Nov. 7. On Wednesday, October 28, we were notified we would be closing on Friday, November 6. We had to move on a weekend in order to get help from friends, which meant we'd be moving on October 31. We now had two days to pack up the entire house, get a truck, and get some help from friends. Yikes! It was a frenzy of boxes and tape, but we managed. The only problem? We didn't yet own the house into which we were moving! Yes, we moved into a house that we didn't own. We were squatters. It was a very unsettling feeling. Nobody felt at home. Finally, after some pestering by my husband, we had a close date. We are now officially homeowners again. The house is lovely, although we're starting to refer to it as the money pit because of all the repairs we're having to do. But, we love the yard, we love the neighbors, and we're loving being home.