The Great Escape has Begun

jbolt

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Having lived in the San Francisco Bay Area all my life I have seen this area change dramatically over the years and not for the better. I commute 60 miles each way to work and back and over the past 13 years my commute time has doubled or more. There are just too many people here and more are coming. Other than marry the right woman the smartest thing I've done was buy a house when I was 23. Had I waited much longer it would have become near impossible to afford to live here.

My wife knows how desperate I am to get out of here but has been reluctant to commit to moving. Back in March her cousin in Oregon called and said the house next door was up for sale. To my surprise she wanted to take a look. By the time we could get up there it already had an accepted offer but hat got my foot in the door and we have been actively looking ever since. Over the past months we have made several trips up to the area to look at homes but just were not finding what we wanted.

This past week a home came up for sale that hit all the marks we were looking for and at a price that was too good to be true. We wondered what was wrong with it but had to look anyway. The day before we could go we had a previously scheduled appointment to have our dog spayed and our two children are away for a month so my wife would have to stay home with her. To add to it at the time the main route Highway 5 was closed due to the wildfires in Norther California. I decided to make the trip alone on Saturday anyway.

I left at 5 am and by the time I got to where the road closures were it was now open but the smoke was as thick as dense fog and lasted for 60 miles. I made the trip up in seven hours. The house and property were exactly what we were looking for. Stick built, not manufactured. 3 bed 2 bath with attached 2-car garage and laundry in the house. On acreage with privacy. The interior is dated but extremely well cared for. Heating, cooling, water heater and well system have all been updated recently. Owned by a sweet 90 year old lady. The property also has a 12' x 34' storage shed with concrete floor and electricity AND (drum roll please) a 28' x 36" shop with 12' ceilings, concrete floor and electrical!

I called the wife and she agreed we should put in an offer that day. The listing agent happens to be in the same office as my agent so my agent had a leg up on how to best present an offer that would make it easy for the owner to accept. By the time we submitted the offer there were already three other offers with another coming. Real estate in southern Oregon is nothing like the bay area so I put my faith in my agent to do the best for us as I would have probably over bid. I was on edge we would get out bid.

We got the call on Sunday afternoon that our offer had been accepted and we are now currently in escrow. We should take possession in the third week of August. We don't plan to move until the yougin's are out of college which is another three years so in the mean time we will rent the house and then update the interior before we move in. The shop and storage shed won't be part of the rental so it will give me time to get the shop insulated, the interior finished and electrical laid out the way I want.

I haven't been this excited in a long time and will be counting the days!!!!!!
 
Good luck, moving sucks. But the right property makes it worth while. Its great that you have the time to plan it all out.

Congrats.
 
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Cool man, a fellow Mt. Viewan with similar ideas.. I was thinking Port Orford or slightly inland, lot of nice properties on Zillow
Mark
 
Congratulations Jay, that's great!

. The property also has a 12' x 34' storage shed with concrete floor and electricity AND (drum roll please) a 28' x 36" shop with 12' ceilings, concrete floor and electrical!

Incredible. I bet you're already arranging your equipment in that space in your mind.

Smart that you got some time to get things figured out.

Oregon , eh? So I guess you'll be re-reading posts about preventing rust.

-brino
 
Jay, sounds like you got yourself a great new place.

BTW moving is fun when you're making a great move which sounds like you are.

Look forward to following along and seeing some pictures of the new shop once you start making progress on it.

David.
 
Good luck, moving sucks. But the right property makes it worth while. Its great that you have the time to plan it all out.

Congrats.

We've moved once and I had a fourth the amount of stuff I have now. The good thing is we will be able to move over time and not have to do it all at once.

Cool man, a fellow Mt. Viewan with similar ideas.. I was thinking Port Orford or slightly inland, lot of nice properties on Zillow
Mark

Ha! you know my pain. I have not been in the Port Orford area. We chose the Grants Pass area due to my wifes last remaining family who we are close to and it is still within driving distance of our current home which we plan to keep and rent once we move.

Congratulations Jay, that's great!

Incredible. I bet you're already arranging your equipment in that space in your mind.

Smart that you got some time to get things figured out.

Oregon , eh? So I guess you'll be re-reading posts about preventing rust.

-brino

Yeah I was thinking about the rust issue. The current owners late husbands wood working equipment were still in the shop and they looked to be in good shape despite the shop not being insulated. Average rain is around 30 inches so it may not be too bad.

We plan on spending some time at the house over the Labor day weekend. I plan on measuring the house and shop so I can start planning.



Jay, sounds like you got yourself a great new place.

BTW moving is fun when you're making a great move which sounds like you are.

Look forward to following along and seeing some pictures of the new shop once you start making progress on it.

David.

I'm absolutely looking forward to it but now I'm committed to finishing all the deferred maintenance on this home so that will keep me busy in the mean time.
 
Good for you!! And your wife. Sounds like you have a solid plan. Moving can be a lot of work but with your excitement can actually be something to look forward to. As you know my wife and I moved three months ago. We worked our butts off getting ready to move and unpacking when we got here. It was a very satisfying experience. I'm certain your move into your new house will be as satisfying as was ours.

I wish you well.
 
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Congrats! I would love to live in San Francisco, but it is just too expensive.
 
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