Moving?!?!?!

When Ed and I first moved back to North Carolina from Ohio, we bought a house halfway between Wilmington (where I work) and Myrtle Beach (where he used to work). Most of you know this…but I feel it’s a good way to start this post…so bear with me.

Last spring, Ed decided to change careers…he was tired of never being home, working late hours, etc…so he quit cooking in Myrtle Beach and became a manager in the Fresh Foods dept at Harris Teeter in Leland. Immediately after he started the new position, images of moving closer to Wilmington started swimming in my head. I started talking about it, I started selling our house in my head...I even asked people if they knew anyone that wanted to buy in our area! But Ed wasn’t as thrilled about this prospect and essentially told me to cool it. So I did. I stopped wishing for something else, and instead was content with the home we had, and resigned myself to driving 45 minutes to and from work (and church) all week long. It wasn’t so bad.

Last week, however, Ed and I were talking about grown-up stuff. You know…money, babies…stuff like that (and no, I’m not pregnant Ashley!). Suddenly he says, we need to sell our house and move to Leland. I thought he was messing with me, but nope! He’s ready to move!!!!!!!!! Can I get an amen??!!!

So…now images of moving closer to Wilmington are once again swimming in my head, but this time, it might actually happen! We want to move to Leland mainly because Ed works there, Edwin goes to daycare there, and I work just minutes from there. Plus, the taxes are way lower than New Hanover County. Anybody want to buy a house?? Or know someone who might? Here’s my little attempt at a sales pitch:

It's a 4bedroom/2bath house on 0.67 acres with a fenced in back-yard. It's bugging me because I can't remember the exact sq feet, but I think around 1500? We have a small front porch, but the back deck extends the length of the house. The master bedroom has a big walk-in closet, the master bath has double sinks, a stand-up shower, and a garden tub. The living room, dining room, and kitchen are all open....there's tons of counter space and a big pantry (for all of our grocery game winnings! haha). There's a laundry room, sliding doors leading out to the back deck.... We have central air/heat…um…what else?

I’ve already talked to a few people about realtor referrals…I’ve gotten quite a few names actually. Our first step is to sell a bunch of stuff that is taking up too much room in our house. And I think all of my tv-watching might finally pay off! When we still had cable, I loved watching the shows on HGTV or TLC or Discovery where they’d set up the home for selling (I think it’s called staging?). Anyway, I know that we need to take down all personal stuff, re-paint the rooms to look more neutral, basically detach ourselves from the home. I think I’ve already done that. Hee hee. Don’t get me wrong…I truly love our house. If it were possible (and not expensive), I’d just as soon pick the darn thing up and plop in down in Leland. But that’s not an option here, and I don’t feel like going all Wizard of Oz or anything.

Whew! Ok, here’s where you, my two or three blog readers, come in. Do you have any tips, hints, recommendations for selling a home? This is our first house, so we don’t have any experience in this crazy real estate world. Also, please pray for us. I want to keep a level head about all this…and I want to do God’s will. (I’ll admit, I’m hoping His will includes us in a new home in short order!) But I have a feeling I’m going to be learning some patience!