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Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Houseless!! We are now Full Time RVers!

The day has finally come!!!!

After only 30 days on the market, we had gotten a very good cash offer on our home by May 1.  We set up a long term closing date to July 31 to the benefit of both the buyers and for us, the sellers.  And yes, today the day has come!

In the middle of all this, the bothersome knee of Steve's that he had injured at work wayyy back in March has not gotten any better, so the MRI that workman's comp finally allowed him to have last week shows that he has a fracture!  After a ridiculous amount of paperwork snafus and mis-communication, they are finally going ahead with getting Steve some medical help but we are made to use our own insurance... Workman's comp will decide if they should pay our insurance back or not later.  Four months since the injury of course.  Go figger!  He has been working every day on a broken knee!!!!   He will be seeing the arthroscopic surgeon on Thursday.  Even the brace the doctor wanted for Steve to wear now immediately, he won't even get till Thursday because it needs to be ordered.  arggghhhh    So he keeps icing it up at night , and hobbling around on it during the day, working as hard as ever.  Poor guy!  

So the largest portion of the work on the house was done early in the year, now we just had to clear it all out and disperse the items among our kids and friends and family members.  The last few days we cleaned and scrubbed and packed and hauled and bagged and loaded and worked our butts off!  

On Saturday morning, we hauled all of these totes of weaving supplies and materials to our son's house for storage.  Each tote's contents was photographed and then listed on the outside with a corresponding number.   Then everything was shrink wrapped with pallet wrapping film.


Then my Treasure Chest of most valuable things was also wrapped up...  

We hauled it all down to Green Bay and stowed it away at our son Dan's.  Thank you soooo much Heather and Dan for letting me store these things, as they are all important supplies to get woven or knitted up over the next year and it's much easier to just pick up one tote at a time to use up it's contents.

Whew.......  Sunday we had our grandson Jameson's fourth birthday party at Bay Beach Amusement Park in Green Bay, so very little packing or cleaning got done on Sunday.  I will do a blog post later about the party.

Yesterday (Monday) while Steve was at work, I finished up all the final cleaning and clearing out...  It was horribly hot and humid and miserable.  Not a lick of breeze.  I sweated my way through it alland literally mopped my way out the door and locked it... DONE!  

The main level area was all glowing and pristine...  (I removed the excess stuff on the counter after this pic was taken)




We even left logs in the fireplace (and an ample supply of firewood down below on the rack) for them to make a fire in their new home.



None of our kids wanted the king-sized handcrafted headboard that Steve made... it has a pine tree cutout that matches the shutters on the house. So we left it for the buyers, and they were quite happy to accept it! 


We also left them a bottle of cherry wine, made from the very cherries off the tree in their new yard!


My loom room looked SO STRANGE with all the looms and cones of yarn gone...  it seemed HUGE!   Hard to believe I had seven or eight looms at a time here and plenty of yarn and tools and completed inventory all around too.
The carpeting in this large room was quite stained and worn from all the looms and work being done.  But the buyers knew this in advance and we didn't replace this room prior to selling.  It was a "working studio area", but future owners might want to turn it back into the two original bedrooms it once was, so there really wasn't any sense to recarpet this area.


 Even our storage room was soooo empty! 

But everything found a new home, and we were happy with what we had chosen to keep in the motorhome.  I am still sorting and repacking and reevaluating a few items, but we are mostly set up with what we need.   By Sunday night, we were both exhausted and done with making decisions.




On Monday, all Steve had to do was come home and hop in the motorhome to drive it to the nearby city campgrounds, as I followed in our extra car.   We were only 2 blocks from where the closing would take place on Tuesday (today)

We showed up at 5 minutes to 1:00 to find the buyers anxiously waiting for the closing to occur.  In 15 short minutes, we went from Homeowners with a mortgage and insurance and taxes and utilities and upkeep to Houseless Debt Free Full Time RVers!!!!!  

Hugs all around as we finished our deals, and everything was a win-win for both the buyers and sellers.  I just LOVED when that happened in all the real estate deals I had conducted back in my years as a broker.  It's even better when it happens when to ourselves with our own properties!

A quick trip to the bank to deposit our proceeds... and then a fun filled evening with some of the kids and grandkids stopping by to celebrate.




Yes.... SOLD! 

And now it's time for bed...
in our motorhome

with visions of open roads before us, 
dancing in our heads!



.





41 comments:

  1. Congratulations! It only gets better from here.

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  2. YAY!!!
    Welcome to the club!! Also known as the affluent homeless. LOL! Not so affluent maybe, but happily homeless! Congratulations on your new lifestyle!! Now I hope Steve's knee gets healed up rapidly so he, too, can be comfortable in his new life! You both need to take some time just to rest up and catch your breath, like maybe take a little "vacation" in your motorhome. (~; ((Hugs!!))
    Terry

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  3. The thrill in your voice is coming through loud and clear in your written blog--you sound so excited and we are all happy for you!

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  4. Congratulations, Karen and Steve! What a happy day! Now, the dream begins in earnest, and oh the wondrous things ahead of you. I wish you every happiness as you explore this great country, together. :)

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  5. The house looks so different from when I was there! The new owners are going to love it! I am sure you are leaving it in good hands.

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  6. I'm so happy that the closing went off without a hitch it seems. I've never had that happen - there was always some little glitch for one side or another.

    Poor Steve - can't believe he's been so active with his knee in such a condition. Hope they can fix it soon.

    CONGRATULATIONS!

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  7. Wow congrats on the speedy closing without a hitch. I sure hope they get that knee fixed up quickly,,,, you now reside full time in a safari ...doesn't get much better than that now you both need a good rest you have been going straight out for months.

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  8. My heartfelt congratulations to you both. I enjoy your writing. Good luck!

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  9. We can't tell how happy you are to have reached your dream. ;c)

    Your day has come, congrats and may all your miles be joyful ones!

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  10. Congratulations, I am in awe, you two are so organized. Enjoy this new chapter in your lives.

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  11. Wow does the house look different!!! It's amazing!

    Now on with the new lifestyle! CONGRATS

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  12. How EXCITING!! I can feel the excitement with you. But I have to say... I wouldnt mind living in that cabin, either. That place looks awesome... and you sure left it nice for them.

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  13. Congrats Karen and Steve on being Houseless. Lessie (TARDIS)

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  14. Congratulations! All according to plan. As it should be.

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  15. Congratulations guys & I envy your future travels. Amazing how the house sale went off without a hitch & how great to have everyone so happy & satisfied in the end. All the best in your travels......and Steve's knee.

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  16. Oh, Karen and Steve, we are so, so happy for you!!! I remember well each milestone... Getting the house clean and empty, moving into the coach, getting the storage unit empty, and at last, after Richard's last day at work, and while we were still waiting for his partial plate to come it, driving 20 miles north to a State park to begin "life on the road." We just could not spend another day in the RV park where we had lived the last year that he worked.

    Yes, we were SO thrilled and have loved it ever since. So will you!

    Blessings & Shalom,
    Richard & iona, Baby Snooks, the dog & Jasper, the cranky old man cat
    Full timing RVers in a '95 Ivory Ed, 40' 300 Cummins DP pulling little green toad (2012 Ford Fiesta)

    http://wildgooservers.blogspot.com/

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  17. SO happy for you that it went off without a hitch! That must have been a little bit sad to leave such a beautiful home, but wait till you see what's in store for you! It is the most wonderful lifestyle to be able to go where you want to go, see what you want to see, and eat your way across America! haha. I just had to throw that in there. Hope Steve gets healed up quickly with his knee so you can HIKE! and BIKE! and have fun, too, while going down the road. Can't wait to hear where you go first! Wish I was there to give you a great big congratulatory hug! We'll hope to meet you some day ON THE ROAD!

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  18. Congratulations and welcome to the road! It's a great life; we wish you smooth roads and grand adventures.

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  19. Isn't it a relief to have that out of the way? Congratulations!

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  20. Now the Adventures begin! You both worked very hard to get here. Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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  21. Karen I am so happy for you and Steve and quite envious! I'm looking forward to reading of all your adventures to come. Sorry to hear about Steve's knee and I hope he heals fast. Hopefully we can meet somwhere in the future and share a campfire. If you need an overnite stop with 20 amp power when passing thru my driveway is yours. Not too far from I-39 and I-80 in northern Illinoize.(lol) Plenty of room for the doggers to run free and Miss Maggie would love their company!

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  22. Congratulations Karen and Steve. It's truly the beginning of your new life. I remember so well our closing date a year ago and how tired we became of making decisions. What to keep, what to sell, what to trash?

    Sorry to hear about Steve's knee.

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  23. I'm so glad that everything came together as it did. Both you and the new owners are getting to follow your dreams. Now you need to kick back and relax for a while - you must both be exhausted!

    I hope that Steve's knee heals very quickly. He is one tough guy!

    Kerri in AL :-)

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  24. So happy for you both. It's great to hear about a closing that went well. So many others have had sales fall thru! Looking forward to lots of fun adventures and family tails. Woof!

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  25. Am one of your blog followers. We left a home similar to yours and have been full-timing for 10 years! There are times when I miss our home in the mountains however we will never regret experiencing all that we have experienced in our travels. Good Luck--your adventure is just beginning...Bev Deem

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  26. as one of the many homeless on the road i would like to welcome you to our clan...

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  27. Are you still doing the "happy dance"? Glad that everything closed without any problems. Good luck to Steve on his knee repairs. Now relax and take a trip. You deserve it.

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  28. Happy Trails to you! It seems like yesterday that we did the same thing.... oh, it was almost yesterday.... it will be a month tomorrow! Seriously now, I am so happy for you two. Being house free is soooo good. Enjoy making plans then bringing those plans to action.

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  29. Well karen & Steve you 2 no longer have a small stick house. But you still have a Big backyard and your yard borders are Canada in the North, Pacific ocean in the West, Atlantic ocean on the East, Mexico & Gulf of mexico on the South. So I believe that you 2 still have a BIG BACK YARD. Hope you 2 enjoy full timing have good evening camp fires with lots of samores yum-yum. And Steve hope your knee gets feeling better soon. Cause ya know that you will have to keep in pace with your Better Half. And as we both know that that will be a full time job LOL. If ya ever come south on what used to be old RT. US-66 60 mi. south of Chi-town give me an e-mail cause there's 2 R V sites near us, Catch Ya Later (Shiloh)-Rick

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  30. You had a beautiful stix and bricks...but nothing like living on the road....Congrats!!! Cannot wait to hear of the adventures....

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  31. Congrats to you both and enjoy! Hope to be in your shoes someday.

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  32. A Whole New Different LIfe! Wishing the the best travels, the best scenery, the best of everything. Hope you enjoy the RVing life as much as we do.

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  33. I just found your blog, and I'm so happy for you! I'll be retiring in 4 years and will hit the road in a motorhome (not purchased yet) with 2 shelties. I'm going to scan through your older posts this weekend to get caught up. Any hints on traveling with dogs would be most appreciated. Enjoy your new life as a fulltimer!

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  34. Four of the sweetest words ever - debt free, full-timers!! :) Congrats. And enjoy.

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  35. I'm glad this part of your preparations are done but I think everyone is forgetting that you are not quite "hitting the road" yet until Steve retires. But once you get there, all the work of getting ready will already have been done. Will stayed tuned for the latest updates on Steve's knee and work issues.

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  36. Congratulations! I couldn't help but feel your excitement and also couldn't help but think about how excited the new homeowners must be after buying this gorgeous property! I'd love to read what they wrote in their blog today! Enjoy that new found freedom! (Grace, in Tucson)

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  37. WOW what a feeling it must be to finally take off. We are in the midst of planning...be next year watch out baby...we're hitting the road too. Now in the middle of sell, sell, sell... Be safe traveling and can't wait to follow along! ~cozygirl itsacozylife.blogspot.com

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