The Current Housing Crisis: What We Learned From Buying/Selling

 

(The opinions expressed in this post are based on my knowledge and experience as a frequent home buyer/seller, and are also based on having an MBA with experience in marketing analytics. I am not a real estate professional/broker etc.) 

My husband and I have purchased and sold several homes, during our 15 years together, and ultimately we made some smart choices, and some bad ones. If we had a crystal ball, and knew what the housing market was going to become, we would have purchased the largest home we could have afforded, and stayed put! The housing market pre-Covid (and during), was a very different beast, than the out of control monster it currently has become (and likely will stay). 

New House Tour

Many of you know, that Tyler and I purchased a new home in February of this year. Now that we have had some time to "make it our own", I wanted to do a house tour!

Living Room/Kitchen Remodel

A few months ago, we purchased a new home, and while we were very fortunate and grateful to have gotten it (the housing market is currently insane), there were a lot of things we needed to do, to make it our own.

DECIDING TO UPSIZE YOUR HOME (EVEN IF LIVING SMALL IS YOUR IDEAL)

 

Wondering if you should upsize your home? Sometimes upsizing is a true need, not a simple want.

My husband and I recently purchased a new home. We loved our cozy former home, but finally resigned ourselves to the fact that it just wasn't working for our large family. 

LIVING SMALL: WHAT IT MEANS

Some of you may have heard the term "Living Small", or this might be a new concept that you are just now hearing about. But what does "Living Small" really mean? 

Living Small-The Bathroom

 

Living Small-The Kid's Rooms

Shared Kids Room

Living Small-Our Room

I like our bedroom to feel like a cozy retreat, so I have a lot of soft lighting, and candles.

Country Chic Home Decor Tour

 As you all know, we purchased a new home back in April, and I decided our new home deserved some new decor! I also am always re-arranging furniture! It is not uncommon for my husband to return home from work, and find everything moved around! 

I have always leaned towards "Country Chic/Farmhouse" as my design style, because it's perfect for any size home, including smaller homes (like ours), and really creates a warm, cozy, homey feel. I also wanted to share this post with those who might want some ideas on home decor, that are also budget friendly. 

Living Small-Our Living Room

The living room is where we spend most of our time together as a family. We love having family movie nights, and snuggling under blankets, and just enjoying "togetherness".  Our previous living room was much larger, so we had to get creative with our furniture placement. I maximized the room space, by placing the sofa catty-cornered, and placing furniture behind it.

Living Small-Our Kitchen & Dining Room

Living Small-Series 2-Introduction

 

We recently decided to downsize, after purchasing a larger, more expensive home, and realizing it just did not align with our minimalist values. We moved from a 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 1600 sq.ft. home, to a 3 bedroom, 1 bath, 1040 sq.ft. home. I must say, I never really felt like myself in our bigger home. It felt cold, and just not very homey. The house payment also made me cringe.  When we purchased our current home, our mortgage payment decreased by $400/month! That is money we are saving for our babies, once they are grown! We are a family of five, and most people wonder how we make it work, and why living small appeals to us so much! So, I decided to do an updated "Living Small" series, showing how easy it is to make a smaller home work, for even a large family like ours. 

Our New Home

 

Anyone following my blog knows we (mostly me), had been plagued by "buyer's remorse" with our last home purchase. At the time, I had wanted to purchase a smaller, less expensive home, and my husband wanted to purchase a larger/more expensive home. I wanted him to be happy, so I went along with it. However, from day one, I just could not shake the "buyer's remorse". Knowing how much money we could be saving every month, especially with the current low mortgage interest rates, just filled my frugal heart with regret. The remorse literally kept me up at night! I just could not enjoy the house when it was causing me so much stress! 

Living Small- Our Kitchen

The kitchen was our biggest challenge! Very limited cabinet space, and no pantry, meant getting creative! I managed to find a pub table that would fit in our tiny kitchen, and the chairs sit under the table, saving space! 

Living Small-Our Livingroom

I love our cozy livingroom! This is where I spend most of my time, with Nolan, as it's gated off from the rest of the house, to allow him to roam and play in a controlled space.

LIVING SMALL- OUR BEDROOM

Both the bedrooms on the main level of the house are quite small. We have the larger of the two.

Living Small-Colton’s Bedroom

My 5 year old currently sleeps on the main level, next to our bedroom. My infant currently sleeps in our bedroom, but will eventually share this room with his older brother. I will have to switch the beds, to bunk beds, because there simply isn't room for two beds in this tiny room! For now, it's the perfect size, as it's not cluttered with items.

Living Small-Our Bathroom

Our bathroom is small, and there are five of us sharing it! However, we all tend to shower/bathe and get ready at different times of the day, so it's not really a problem! We have one free-standing storage area, where I keep our towels, and my makeup, and some toiletries. I do not keep extra products, only the items we need.