Is there a farmhouse in my future—finally?

After two-and-a-half years, today just may be The Day.

So began my update to you last Friday. (I never sent it.)

If you’re a regular friend here, you know Renaissance Man and I live in a wonderful old house in a small town in East Tennessee. It’s a house we rescued and restored, transforming it from an uninhabitable eyesore to a welcoming, arms-open part of our community. I told you the entire story.

Two-and-a-half years ago, we put a For Sale sign in the yard. It was time to upsize faith by downsizing life. I believed we were being obedient by refocusing. We had too many unused “treasures”.

Where your treasure is, there your heart is also…

And the update continued…

After many showings, lots of “oohs and aahs and if onlys”, and a handful of offers that fell through or never materialized, on Labor Day weekend, we received an offer.

We’ve looked for years for a house like yours. I love the smell of the old wood and the music of the creaking staircase. I love the warmth and love I felt in your home. . . .

Finally… the one I’ve been waiting for! The woman who just might have a case of old house love as bad as mine. Someone who can appreciate my beautiful old house like I do. Someone who would live in her, not turn her into student apartments (heaven forbid!) or a B&B in the middle of the neighborhood. Someone truly choosing to be the fourth owner and caretaker of our 1907 jewel.

But…

She and her husband had a house of their own to sell—and it wasn’t yet listed.  (Sigh) We accepted the offer and contingency with the understanding that our house would remain on the market. If we received another offer, they would have 48 hours to either drop the contingency (purchasing our house while still owning theirs) or give up their right to purchase.

Over the next month, as they prepared their home for sale, they also paid to have the inspection and appraisal done on our house. I even got a phone call from their title company working toward a closing date of November 8. All before their house was even on the market!

Risky? Bizarre? Could they actually purchase without having to sell? Is that why they’re already investing so much in our house?

Ironically, our home showings increased significantly.

As I sit here, I’m waiting on a phone call from our realtor. It’s 1:50 on Friday afternoon, and our house was shown twice this morning; one was a repeat to someone who, we now understand, is going to make an offer. Someone who supposedly doesn’t have to sell their house before buying ours. If we’re willing to accept it, the 48-hour first right of refusal will be offered to the woman whose heart beats like mine for this house.

Both of our worlds are about to change.

Will she and her husband drop the contingency and move forward? After two-and-a-half years of waiting, will we actually have a closing in just over three weeks—two of which we’re already scheduled to be out of town? (Deep, deep breath…)

Will we be one step closer—finally—to building our farmhouse at Wild Rose Farm? How easy will it be to find a house to rent in the interim?

By 4:30 on Friday, we had an offer but were waiting on the paperwork—and so we stepped away from everything and went to an auction. It’s a cheap (or not!) date night and something we’ve enjoyed doing together for many years.

But now it’s Sunday evening.

We countered the offer, and it was accepted (if we leave the washer and dryer). Tomorrow we’ll give the first “buyers” their 48-hour notice. By Wednesday, we should know who will be the next owners of our beloved home.

Honestly? I really hope it’s the first ones. I hope they can buy our house without selling theirs. I like the “feel” of their situation more than the second one, but, ultimately, we’re ready (sniff) to sell and move on. It’s time.

In the meantime, Life will go on. Renaissance Man will make a trip to Guatemala. I will hang out with Little Man and Little Sir for a few days. We will wait. We will choose to trust.

We sense that our lives are about to change drastically.

We pray for God’s best for all parties involved. We pray we will not get out in front of God in our eagerness to build, but that we will make wise decisions during a time of new beginnings.

How do I feel? Excited. Nervous. Confident. Unsure. . . .

Hopefully soon—finally!—I’ll be taking you along on the journey to build our farmhouse. Our Finally Farmhouse.

Stay tuned…

If you’d like to come along for the ride—from rent house and plan selection to actual construction and “dream come true”—sign up to get new posts delivered directly to your inbox.

By the way, you’re always welcome at My Place to Yours—no matter where I live!

Related posts:

WILL WE EVER BREAK GROUND ON OUR FINALLY FARMHOUSE? Switching gears {yet again} . . . but still moving forward SALVAGED TREASURES: New old finds for our Finally Farmhouse Our Finally Farmhouse — FINALLY! Things you probably expect to see in my Finally Farmhouse — but won’t!