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…
saVUryandsweet says
JAW ON THE FLOOR… seriously… Congrats on the new casa! Yay for stairs for Clara to scoot down just like at Granny’s house – woot woot!
Anne says
What?? I’m stunned! And all of a sudden it all makes perfect sense. I’ll be staying tuned to watch all the fun to come!
Paloma says
I was actually waiting for Ashton Kutcher to pop up at the end of this post, but I guess this is for real! Congrats!
Kathryn says
Oh. My. Word. Seriously, you guys must be the best secret-keepers EVER! And also the best multi-taskers ever, to get all the projects done at your current house AND be doing all kinds of (secret) work at your new place! It’s good to know I wasn’t the first to check my calendar and make sure it wasn’t April 1st when I saw your post show up on my Facebook feed! ;) Congrats on your gorgeous new place! Can’t wait to see the amazing transformation you carry out!
Angela says
EEEKKK…so excited for you!! Can. Not. Wait. to see everything unfold!
Dawn R says
Woo hoo! Congrats! I’m thrilled for your family AND for me, since I get to see more big changes! Wonderfulness!
Ashton says
OMG!!! Yay! So happy for you guys. Can’t wait to see all the beautiful things you will do with the place!
Carrie says
Wowza! Congrats! That house is gorgeous! Best of luck selling your house!
Amy says
Congratulations! I look forward to hearing all about your new adventure. :)
Crystal @ 29 Rue House says
OMG Congratulations you guys!!! This is so awesome and invokes a whole host of emotions in me (I’m weird).
I’m ready for this new adventure – let’s do this!!
Erin says
I’m so sad! But so happy for you guys! Congratulations and I can’t wait to see all the new projects that are about to come!
Andrea says
WOW! Funny, I was just thinking “they are kind of near the end of this house, now what will they do? Maybe rent and fix up another place? Or do consults for others?” So now we know! So excited for you all! And, unless we get some REALLY weird weather, you won’t have to drive a moving truck in the snow! ;)
YoungHouseLove says
THANK GOODNESS!
-John
ErinEvelyn says
This is delightful news!!! I am WAY more excited than Ariel even! Congrats Petersik family! Dream neighborhood (and staircase!), here you come!
YoungHouseLove says
Hahaha! I dunno, she had a smile practically plastered to her face the whole time.
-John
Lauren says
is it weird that john’s comment made me spit water? hilarious!
Dwana says
So happy for you! Congrats! I knew it wasn’t April Fools Day, but I looked at the date just to make sure this was a serious post. How wonderful.
Leigh Anne says
Petersiks for the win!! Love the way you guys think. And I am so there to help remove wallpaper. There’s something really cathartic about a mundane task that makes such a huge improvement. Well, to me, anyway, but I’m weird.
Christine- 15 Minute Beauty says
Wow! I fully admit that I was expecting this at some point (You seemed to be running out of rooms to renovate), but I was expecting another 6 months before seeing posts about house hunting. This sounds like it was meant to be for your family and I can’t wait to see how you renovate the new house! And I hope you’ll post about things you’ve already done there, like the roof repairs.
CONGRATS!!
Jenne says
Congratulations! WHAT a great opportunity!!!
And way to keep a secret, Petersiks! ;)
Wilma says
All I have to say is: CONGRATULATIONS! I can’t wait to follow your adventures in your new home!
Nicky says
Just the other day I was wondering (worrying) that you were going to actually run out of things to DO at this house…..what an exciting and unexpected development! Congratulations! Looking forward to seeing more!
Deb D. says
That’s huge! Congrats — we went from a ranch to a two story and have loved it (even though we loved the ranch, too). I think for us the biggest bonus has been having the living quarters upstairs and a guest room on the 1st floor. And the openness…..enjoy the next adventure! The house is beautiful!
Maureen @ The Parkland Project says
That is seriously amazing! So awesome for you two. I’ve been getting the itch as well and honestly have been looking at houses similar to his newest one. Congrats!!!!!! Sending lots of blog love.
Leah says
Congratulations! I love the continuation of the brick-front theme… it looks like a keeper! Care to share some home-buying good luck with another house hunter? ;) Or just some patience? Can’t wait to see the changes as they come!
YoungHouseLove says
Sending you all the luck we can! I think it’s just years of looking and trying to buy at the right time (we finally managed that, haha!). Now we just have to sell…
xo
s
Leah says
I feel so sad yet excited : / I love your current Casa : (
Chrissy says
Wow, I’m so shocked! Congratulations! Can’t wait to see how you fix up the new house.
Jennifer says
Congratulations!! I’m so exited for you guys. You guys work so SO hard and you deserve the best. I can’t wait to continue to watch you renovate a new home and make it yours.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks everyone! You’re all so sweet! We were bursting to tell you!
xo
s
Meredith @ Welcome to Heardmont says
Wow you guys! How exciting! I’m sure this post comes as a surprise to most of us, but I can totally relate. My husband and I also have our dream neighborhood all picked out and are just waiting for the right fixer-upper to hit the market. Can’t wait to see what you do with the new place, and good luck selling your current one!
Maureen says
Wow! Well, I am looking forward to seeing what you do with the place! It’s definitely a beautiful home!
Kim P. says
Yay!!! I’m so excited for your family. I can’t wait to see all of the wonderful things you will do to transform your be home. Congrats :-)
Traci says
Congratulations! Can’t wait to see all the details (and a floor plan) of the new place.
kaycee says
WOW! SO EXCITING! I think your redears are just as thrilled as you are!! You two will live on as the DIY queen & king forever!
Also, I’m sure if you did some kind of casting call for people to come help you prime & paint, it’d be done in a day lol.
Congratulations! I literally can’t wait to see what you do with your new home!
Kimberly says
Wow! Congratulations! It looks amazing and I can’t wait to follow all of the new projects!
Renee says
AHHH. All I can think about is how you just built that deck. I think I would spend every nice day out there until I moved.
Will you be recreating Clara’s big girl room in the new house with the same decor?
YoungHouseLove says
It’ll definitely all come with us but the walls since we love that room! But I think the new house is so different layout wise that so many things will get shifted around. It’ll be a new version of things, all of which are ours and we love. I think like how our first house and current house are different and have evolved, we expect this next house will do that as well :)
xo
s
Erin@VintageKC says
Can’t wait to watch how Clara reacts once you officially move. We’re looking to move and I’m nervous about taking our almost-3-year-old son out of the only place he’s ever known.
Lindsey R says
The comments on this post are going to be hitting record numbers today I’m sure!! What big news!!! WOW…..I totally thought it was an April Fools Joke 29 days late…but CONGRATS…love being a (virtual) part of your transitions!
Kim says
Whoa and whoa and whoa! Congrats. Any worries about buying a house without having this one sold? I ask because we want to move but want to find something good first-which means buying without selling our current house first, which is scary.
Mari-Anne says
WOW!! It looks like an amazing house!!
Can’t wait to see what you guys do with the place!!
amybeth says
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM SO EXCITED. lol. I had to call my husband at work. I think he thought I was announcing that I was pregnant with triplets from my tone of freakingoutnowayohmygoshsoexcited. lol Can’t wait to see the transformation.
Stevara says
My husband and I are looking for a house in the Richmond area. What sites did you all use? Or did you just rely on a realtor?
YoungHouseLove says
We just were casually looking at realtor.com occasionally (and craigslist.com) and dropping in on open houses, and just driving through the neighborhoods we loved on occasion. It was all casual and then we found this and jumped into hyperdrive!
xo
s
Stevara says
Thanks for the reply!
Beth says
a BIG congratulations to the petersiks! i love the colonial style (our home is a colonial) and i’m very excited to see everything you do! best wishes! xo
Thais Bessa says
WOW!
I swear I scrolled down to see if it wasn’t a late April Fools! :)
I can relate, we are moving houses now too, hoping to complete in 2-3 weeks. The main reason is to move to a better neighbourhood that has better schools as our daughter goes to proper school next year (how did that happen so fast?)
As selling market is not great here in the UK at the moment, we are going to rent out current house and use savings to buy the new one. Being landlords for the first time is also a bit scary!
Our current house was pretty much well finished when we got, so we did very little work here. But the new house… oh boy! It looks a lot like the snapshots you showed: a 1970’s nightmare of mismatched psychedelic carpets and wallpaper. It needs a LOT of work and an extension. Scary, especially because I am 5 months pregnant, but also exciting!
Good luck to you guys, can’t wait to follow this new journey!
PS: Have you thought about renting the current house out?
YoungHouseLove says
We thought about that but after talking to a few realtors they worried this had too much yard to maintain (most renters want an easier lot without maintenance).
xo
s
amber says
How exciting! What a surprise too! Congratulations!
Karen Lee says
Whaaaa????
I wasn’t expecting that but CONGRATULATIONS!
I can’t wait to see the makeovers!
So excited and happy for you!
Karen :)
Macy says
Congrats to you all. I hope you like transitioning to stairs! They get really old after a while. I can’t wait to see the journey. Looks like this might provide lots of material for book 2- DYI-ing a house from day 1… Can’t wait to see pics of the yard!
melissa says
Is it weird that this made me cry a little? Not happy tears, but sad you are leaving your current house tears. For the record, it wasn’t ugly cry sobbing, I am not THAT attached to your house. It’s fine, you can call it like you see it, it IS weird.
Hailey says
Yes, it is weird.
YoungHouseLove says
And sweet!
xo,
s
LauraC says
Congratulations!!!! It looks super cute, but then I’m partial to two story homes. Our stairs look just like yours, except, ahem, without the blue trim. ;) And the fact that our half wall is on the left, not the right. Looking forward to future posts!
Amanda says
Holy moly!
That interior is horrifically adorable (is that a thing?)…it’s like one of those dogs you see in a shelter that is so ugly it’s cute!
Can’t wait to see what you do with it! I’ve been dreaming of a house with stairs too–can you say LAUNDRY CHUTE?!
Sarah says
YAYY!!!!
I am thrilled for you guys!!! I cannot wait to see what unfolds over the next few years!
The house is gorgeous — Congratulations!!!
Morgan S. says
Just sent you an email. In the market for a beautiful Chesterfield home!
Laura Broder says
Congrats!!!!
Erin says
Woo hoo! Congrats you two. And kudos to John for throwing in the word “velociraptor.” I figured you two might start house hunting soon because you’d fixed just about everything in your current house. If you didn’t move you were going to have to start redoing everything. Esh!