So, funny story about the house below. We bought it and we’re moving in.
We know this news probably evokes a whole range of reactions. Excitement for new makeovers. Sadness for leaving our current house. Curiosity about all of the logistics. Confusion. Anger. The inexplicable urge to do The Carlton.
Starting this story requires rewinding seven years, back to our first house hunting experience in Richmond in the spring of 2006. We had just moved from New York City and Richmond real estate felt very spacious and very cheap by comparison. It made dreamers out of us. We checked out a bunch of neighborhoods, and fell for an awesome old area with nice big wooded lots, great schools, charming tree-lined streets, and kids on scooters.
But none of the sweet old character-filled houses in that neighborhood were in our price range, especially because the bank had no faith in us. The issue was not our savings, but the fact that I was less than 2 months into my new job and Sherry was just as deep into her career as a freelance copywriter. In the eyes of the bank, Sherry was unemployed since she was a newbie self employed person (even though she was earning more than me!) so I ended up being the only name on the loan – basically cutting our buying power in half. Goodbye dream neighborhood, hello this looker.
As deflating as that financial reality check was, it turned out to be one of the biggest blessings. Had we not been steered towards a fixer upper, we might not have ever started this blog or learned the advantage of buying a home that’s well within our means. By not stretching financially, we could stash away a lot more project money and build up our nest egg – because we hadn’t lost sight of that neighborhood we first fell for, we had just put that dream on hold.
Fast forward 4.5 years, past a new puppy, a wedding in the backyard, Clara’s birth, and me coming home to work full-time. Our beloved little 1,250 sq ft ranch (with only one full bathroom) was suddenly feeling cramped and we found ourselves house hunting again. Dream neighborhood here we come, right? Try again, compadre. This time I was the financial deadweight (having just left a salaried job six months earlier to come work at home – great timing, right?). So once again we found ourselves approved for something far below our actual mortgage-paying abilities thanks to the bank’s you-haven’t-done-this-self-employment-thing-long-enough-for-it-to-count doubt.
But it dropped another gem of a fixer upper in our laps. And this time we knew that an affordable needs-work home meant even more projects and more money squirreled away for our “maybe someday” neighborhood.
Now, I wouldn’t say we ever consciously thought of these homes as “stepping stones” or rungs on a property ladder that we were itching to climb. Even though we always loved that dream neighborhood from afar, Sherry was fully convinced our first house would be our “forever home” (we even have that statement on video). When we fall in love with a house, we fall hard. But the experience of outgrowing and leaving our first place made us realize that we enjoy the process of loving an old house back to life way too much to stop at just one.
So when we moved into this house, we went into things with a more open attitude. Knowing we’d soak up every second of living here (you know we’re nuts about the journey) but no longer making bold declarations like “we’ll stay here forever.” Admittedly, at halfway through year three of living here, the end came a bit sooner than we expected, but our time here since 2010 has been jam-packed. We’ve celebrated three Christmases in this house, created a book from start to finish here, and enjoyed countless Clara milestones (crawling, walking, talking, Gangnam Style-ing). So this place is by no means a blip on the timeline of our family history. It has been “home” through a heckova lot, which makes leaving it that much more bittersweet.
We just knew we didn’t want our current place to be our last fixer upper (it’s not only what we love to do, it’s our livelihood), so when we felt ourselves tackling the last few untouched rooms on our list we started casually keeping one eye open for a deal that could be a potential rental or even a future Casa Petersik. We’d occasionally flip through real estate listings and drop in on open houses. We always hoped that something would come up in our price range in that dream neighborhood so we could jump on it like a velociraptor, but after two house-hunting experiences that didn’t lead to us ending up there, we weren’t very confident.
And then it happened. Pretty much out of nowhere, we found the sweetest needs-lots-of-love home in that old charming neighborhood that we’ve driven through at least five times a year just to stare creepily since 2006. Yes, this is a seven-years-in-the-making house coup of ours. We would have loved to take you guys on the house hunting adventure with us like last time, but it all happened so fast and before we knew it we were closing on it.
And thanks to putting some of that saved-for-years cash down at closing, our new house’s mortgage amount is almost exactly the same as our current house’s – but our interest rate is even lower. We both spent closing day waiting for Ashton Kutcher to jump out and scream “you got punked!” but all went well and the house is officially ours. We’ve even had it long enough to fix some first-priority issues like a leaking roof, a broken furnace, and even hooked up the alarm system.
The house hasn’t been updated since it was built around 35 years ago, and knowing that its interior might scare off others trying to buy in a mostly turn-key community, the sellers priced it way under assessment. It was over $100,000 less than another house of the same size that was for sale down the street. A low-priced fixer upper in a neighborhood that we’ve dreamed about for almost a decade? Yes please. 70’s wallpaper, blue trim, lumpy carpet and all…
Beyond the price, neighborhood, and glaring need to be rescued – this place is perfect for us in so many other ways. It’s nearly the exact same size as our current place (huzzah, no more extra square feet to clean). The street is beautiful and quiet (perfect for someday teaching Clara to ride a bike). It’s still just as close to our family (maybe they can watch Clara while we strip wallpaper). And it presents us with so many new design challenges and opportunities that our minds are spinning with ideas. I mean, hello, we have stairs for the first time in seven years of home-ownership!
Perhaps the funniest thing is that at our age, my parents were moving into their third house, which was where they stayed for over three decades. So apparently it’s in the Petersik blood.
We know that you guys probably have dozens of questions – When are we moving in? (Don’t know yet) When can you see more pictures? (Soon) What does Clara think? (She already picked out her room… based on the closet size. Is she 16?) But this post would be ten thousand words if we tried to cover everything, so we’ll get to those things in time. We also have a few things to finish around here to get our current house sold (anyone interested?) so in an effort to keep our own minds focused on those to-dos, it won’t be all new house posts all the time. We’ll just be moving at our usual real-time pace and sharing a little bit of everything that’s happening (selling, packing, planning, moving, and diving into our new house adventure).
Did I mention these two are the most excited of all? Okay, three if you count Ariel.
We can’t wait to continue sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly with you guys. Seriously, who wants to come paint some mauve trim with us? And if there were a moral to this story, it’s patience. This is not “the house the book bought” (we still haven’t hit our royalty point), it’s the house that seven years of saving up and living within our means bought. Had we strained our wallets and gone for a larger or more turn-key house back in 2006, we probably would’ve had a very different financial path, and most certainly would have had a different career path. So even though we had to wait a while, it just makes this new chapter in our lives that much sweeter. Who knows, we might just stay there forever…
Dani says
How exciting! Congrats. I read the post with baited breath just in case it mentioned something about backing of on the blog (I dont think I’d cope with that) but YAY you’re not going anywhere! Well, you are. But not away from the computer. So yeah.
Can’t wait to see you fix up a house from A-Z, and to read about the selling process because we’ll be selling our first house later this year. And to read the next book all about it :D
Amy says
Congrats! I wondered how long it would be before you moved on to a new fixer upper :)
Jennifer says
The two previous homes were so picture-esc by the time you were done and moving on. This new home is beautiful…I can’t wait to see what you both come up with. My husband and I are currently house hunting, unfortunately we haven’t come across anything that fits our bill, yet! I’m so envious of your diamond in the rough. Congrats to you all.
Liz says
Congratulations!!!! Wishing you the very best on this new adventure. May your beautiful family continue to be as happy as they have been in the other two houses.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much Liz!
xo
s
melinda says
Cool! and congrats. What fun you will have in the next house! And what fun it was to read a post that was pretty unexpected and a happy surprise. Can’t wait to see what kind of projects evolve in the new place! Thanks for the great job you guys do, YHL and the family blog are always bright spots in my day.
Evin says
Congratulations! Carleton dancing for sure!
Caitlin @ That House on the Corner says
I am SOOOOO excited. Like, to be this excited that total strangers are moving is really kind of sad (although you don’t feel like strangers! I think this house is AMAZING and that you two will do amazing things here. Hello second book?!
YAY! Now I want to move!
Thanks for all the great blogging,
Caitlin
Taylor A. says
Okay, I am positively surprised! If I lived in Richmond, I’d buy your house in a heart beat (well, with my fiance’s approval). We are currently first-time home buyers/lookers & I actually love that you guys have moved around more than the average young family. It makes me feel better. We are looking for a small house now, and hoping that one day we’ll be able to upgrade if we need to. And we are planning to do a ton of DYI projects, since most of the houses here in the city of Atlanta need MAJOR work (thank God for a painter, electrician & carpenter in the family). Anyway, can’t wait to see what you guys do in the new home!!!!
Lee Ann says
So happy for all (4) of you and can’t wait to follow you on your new journey rehabbing your new home! :)
Carolyn says
So so so happy for you…you both deserve it
can’t wait to see how you attack a colonial!
Candi says
What! Whoa no way! I’m so excited!
ren says
Congrats Petersiks! So happy for you guys!
I think it’s such a great example to everyone, especially our generation, to live within your means and save money instead of expecting instant gratification.
Can’t wait to see your new projects!
Nikki W. says
YAY!!!! What a surprise! I’ve followed you guys daily for over 4 years. Couldn’t be more excited and happy for you! Can’t wait to see you tackle your future projects. Looks like there will be some big ones!! Are you not SO excited to create some stunning before/after’s?!?!
Anna See says
Wow! This is crazy-exciting! Can’t wait to follow your projects and progress! BTW, Margaret just said, “What, are they going to move like every month?” It’s hard to please 11 yr old girls. Remember that.
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahahaha, she’s hilarious! Tell her that Burger would move ever day if we let him. New things to sniff! Haha!
xo
s
Johanna P says
I’m really excited to see what you do with the new place. It is exactly the same age as the homes my husband and I are looking to purchase and renovate.
I keep viewing potential homes and petting the wallpaper. The more 80’s/90’s wallpaper, the better purchase price for us. Yessss my precious shiny pink wallpaper… You will be mine :D
Do you guys think that you’ve added a major difference to the value of te property? Has it been evaluated as much more than what you purchased it at? I don’t want to be rude by asking about money you’ve spent, I’m just curious about if you’ve added, say, 10% to your purchase cost?
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, we can’t wait to see what we can sell this for a spill all the details about how much we put in vs how much we got out (we did a post like that after selling our first house). Should be interesting to see what happens!
xo
s
Bethany says
Amazing! It is such a great time to buy and prices are only going up with summer coming! I bet you’re so thankful for biding your time and being wise with your finances. ;) I hope your home sells quickly. I’ll miss seeing pics of that cute place of yours but look forward to seeing how you’ll put your signature tough on your new place! Congratulations!
Suzette says
Congratulations! I loved reading about this and got so excited for you! Can’t wait to see how you bring this house into the 21st century :)
Jen says
Congratulations Petersiks!
Michelle@ A Healthy Mrs says
Eeeeeeeee so exciting! I love the brick exterior!
Can’t wait to see what you guys do with the place!
Catherine says
Congratulations!!! Can’t wait to hear more about it!!
Catherine says
This is going to be so much fun!
Please tell me that there’s textured wall paper that you’ll end up removing.. I really need a tutorial on that….. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hmmm… I don’t think any of it is textured, but there’s plenty of the smooth stuff to go around!
-John
carly says
I removed our textured wall paper with a clothes steamer!It took some, but it came off soooo easily!
Erin {Home Everyday} says
This is so sweet! You guys closed on your current house just days apart from when we closed on my house. I feel like we have been living our “house decor” journeys together. I love your current house as if I had painted those beams in the family room with you because I was painting my own walls at the time. However, I have to say I am so excited for what is to come. Congratulations on your new home and kudos for being patient.
Crystal Breen says
Congrats on the new home! I have to admit I’m a little teary eyed… after following along with all your projects for the last 2+ years there’s an odd emotional connection. Glad to see from other comments that I’m not the only one to feel this way!
Donna says
Congratulations! I cannot wait to see the new house remodel. I would buy your current home in a heartbeat, and offer a great deal for it with furniture and all. Good luck!
Steph Nelson says
I commented earlier but I was in a state of shock! And awe! :) I read through a bunch of pages of comments while doing some mind numbing tasks at work and want to make some observations!
1~How many Stephanies out there that are your readers? At least a 100!
2~Most dude posts I have ever seen!! HaHa
3~How do you leave the stuff you love so much behind? I have a home that I have been thinking of selling and moving to a bit smaller place but my problem is my yard! I am a gardener and there are a LOT of special memories attached to a number of plants and projects out there. I don’t know how to part with it/them/you know what I mean. Is it stupid to feel that way?
Congrats again on the new house. This one looks to be the most fixer upper that you guys have bought yet!
Hope you sold your current one to your first showing today!
Steph Nelson says
Oh, #4~ Your furniture so doesn’t go with any of that wallpaper!
YoungHouseLove says
Hahah!
xo
s
YoungHouseLove says
1. Totally! There are lots of Erins too!
2. Woot! Murkers in the house! (male lurkers = murkers)
3. We actually have a maple that we dig up and move with us everywhere we go (this is disclosed of course during selling process) because it was from John’s childhood home (a cutting from a big tree there) and his parents sold that after he lived there for 20 years, so it’s the last thing we have of that house :)
xo
s
Angela says
Haha, nobody can trust you guys now, we’re all checking for some punchline at the end! Seriously, such a surprise to check in this morning and read this. I’ve run through all the emotions. I’ve settled on crazy excited butterflies, like you would think it was my house I was buying. Congratulations!! Maybe you’ll be writing a real estate book next…haha. Can’t wait for more on this adventure. Congratulations again!
Izabela says
OK you guys. First I did scroll the post to see if this was a joke. Then, once I realized it wasn’t, I read the whole post. Lately I’ve been reading less here, and thinking to myself “geez another kitchen post?” Please don’t get me wrong. I adore you guys and your hard work. I am looking forward to new rooms and projects. Good luck :)
Nelle says
Speechless!!!! Massive congratulations guys!!! We have just sold our 3rd home! Now on the hunt for our 4th (& hopefully forever home!) things are different here in Australia though, our interest rates are huge & not whole lot on the market in our desired areas… Looks like we are moving back with the parents while we continue to hunt, Can’t wait to see what you do with this place, it looks amazing from the outside picture!
Angela says
Hi Nelle..Australian interest rates may be higher than some other countries, (our economy is not doing too badly by comparison) but they are certainly not huge. You can get a competitive rate for less than 6% which is pretty good for recent history. In the 80’s our interest rates hovered around 17%, that’s what I call huge. Good luck on finding your forever home, we are always looking as well, but as you say there is not a whole lot on the market in the right areas.
Jessica says
Your predicted my exact reaction. My immediate response was “Awwwwww”/sad face. I love your current home and have gotten attached to it in the past 2 years I’ve been following the blog. I then felt envious, because you’re new home looks so awesome! Although not actually in the market for a house, I love house shopping for fun online and it sounds like you got a fabulous deal! Finally, I got excited! Congratulations on your new journey! It’s going to be fantastic.
Shweta says
My jaw dropped! I might have forgotten to breathe too! But the shock-factor aside, this indeed is awesome news! I almost didn’t comment looking at over 2K comments here but I figured, its never a bad thing to show love :) May the new house bring you tons of happiness, satisfaction, good times and prosperity!
Christine says
I found your blog about a year ago and since then have managed to now catch up and read EVERYTHING, bought your book which I love, and followed all of your new posts with zeal. Of all of them I think this post both inspires me and excites me the most.
So totally happy for you both, and excited to see the house transformations as they happen instead of trying to frantically play a big catch up to figure out exactly where you started to get to the point you ended up with.
Also I find it really inspiring hearing about the way you got yourself into your dream neighbourhood. My husband and I had a nightmare time as we started looking for houses (we are convinced we are cursed because each time we start the big house buying process big disasters occur and we end up having to flag our plans after shelling out a fortune already in building reports and nearly 160 open homes) but we are nearly ready to start again (fingers crossed that fourth times a charm). It not only gives me hope that it will eventually happen, but that if we start with the house in need of some serious DIY we can eventually end up in a gorgeous home and neighbourhood.
SO can’t wait to see what you do with the new house.
Lauren says
This is wonderful news! Congratulations. :) Can’t wait to read all about it.
Jen says
WAHOOOOOOOOO!! Congrats to you all! This is so exciting and I know we are all waiting on the edge of our seats to see what you have up your sleeves! A bit sad to say goodbye to your current home, since you have done such an amazing job making it superfab, but this story makes me so super happy for what is to come! Excited to watch as you make this your dream home, kudos for following your hearts!
Much love!
Jen
Susan A. says
I so thought this was a joke! But I also get that the major projects in this house are almost done. So looking forward to these adventures! I am definitely hooked for more.
Gwen says
Why do all your houses look the same only bigger? You guys definitely have a type. Congrats! Can’t believe I almost started texting people the news like I know you. Instead I’m leaving a congratulations comment. Hehe!!
YoungHouseLove says
Richmond has a lot of houses that style and we seem to be drawn to them for some reason. Ha!
-John
Steph says
congratulations on the new house!! it’s gorgeous and I can’t wait to see the updates y’all make….
Beks says
That’s so exciting! I look forward to following your blog for a start to finish house! I just found you guys after Christmas, so this is really cool to be able to watch from the start of a new project!
Kate S. says
I am so excited! Those ‘before’ thumbnails are awesome – am I the only person who saw the blue trim and 70’s wallpaper and compulsively went, ‘U-G-L-Y, you ain’t got no alibi, you UGLAYYYY!’ :D Nothing like some drastic ‘befores’ to prime you for some fantastic ‘afters’. ;)
Ashley says
I never comment (although I read your blog regularly) but I just have to say THANK YOU. My husband and I won’t be buying a house for several more years but we LOVE to look. And I just found the PERFECT house for us. But it’s covered in blue. Complete with a blue bathroom. And to balance it out, a pink bathroom. And all I could think about was the endless possibilities that could happen! But, it’s not meant to be.
But since YOU’RE moving into a blue house, I can live vicariously through you! And you’ll update it better than I could anyhow. So, a special ‘thank you for moving,’ simply so that I don’t have to keep looking at houses we’re not going to buy! :)
Katie J. says
HOLY MOLY! I can’t believe it… but I can at the same time. I did notice you were crossing a lot of the list.. but I feel like you just moved in! Where does the time go? This is very exciting. So happy for you guys!
Kelly A says
I was thinking about your house and how much y’all have accomplished and it’s amazing how quickly your projects have been completed! Love that y’all are grabbing opportunities to live in the house of your dreams for your family.
Sometimes you fall in love with a new house and it’s a journey for sure!
Mari says
I stumbled across YHL less than a year ago and have been a committed fan since that fateful day! Initially I was broody and sad at the thought of you leaving your beautiful home. You guys always provide such an honest, loving look into what you’re doing that I became attached to that place right along with you. After the news sank in, I started to get excited. This is truly your passion, and I am so happy that you guys have the opportunity to do what you love in your dream neighborhood! And, as a new(ish) reader, I feel fortunate to be along for the ride on this one – from start to finish! Best wishes & CONGRATULATIONS!!
tara dawes says
That is awesome!!! I can’t wait to see the awesomeness of the new house unfold. I can’t imagine that your current house will sit on the market that long, the layout is amazing (seriously I lust after the layout) and it probably will show better than any other house in town.
Lisa says
I wish you the best of luck with your new home. Can’t wait to see the before and after pics. :)
Jodi says
This may sound totally crazy but I am more sad/surprised about you moving than I am about my own family! We put our house on the market and got an over asking price offer (actually 4 offers) on day 5. We move next week into a rental while we wait to purchase our dream home through private purchase next year. I was stunned when I read this today. I can’t wait to see what projects your new house will bring!
Carley says
Congratulations on your new house! I love seeing good things happen to good people!
Cassie says
Yay!! So exciting! Glad to see most everyone else is excited too! (I tried reading through all the comments but holy cow there’s a lot of them!) Can’t wait to see what you guys do with the new house! Congrats!!!!
Katie says
Congrats, guys!! Can you imagine the glee of the person that gets to buy your fab YHL house?? And even just tour with all your great furnishings?? Sooooo fun, hope you don’t get too many looky-loos just for that reason, though!! :)
Austin says
If I lived in Virginia I would totally come over and help paint, demo, remodel, and do whatever. Congratulations!
Carolyn says
so excited! what a cute house! and i can’t wait to see how it evolves as you guys make it super cute.