Saturday, May 05, 2012

Ta Daa!!!! Here's the House We Signed a Purchase Agerement on Yesterday...


Wednesday we looked at 8 houses and decided on this one for several reasons. First, it had a dining room big enough for our table which a few of the houses didn't have. Secondly, it didn't have too many stairs. For those of you who loved the Indiana house -- it was awesome but in order to do anything you had to climb a flight of stairs... In addition, it was right next to a powerplant and across the street from railroad tracks which wasn't bad for us -- but would have been bad for resale. Third, we wanted to be strategically located closer to a more urban and diverse area.

Our new church is on the line between Crystal and Robbinsdale and serves Robbinsdale, Crystal in New Hope. As is typical of most Cities, the urban and more diverse areas are in the center and the farther out you go the less diverse and more wealthy the population becomes. Most churches in the suburbs are doing a great job of serving those farthest from the city, but are not sure how to reach the other population in their area. This church, however, is very interested in reaching their community so the location of our home strategically states that we are as well -- and that we are interested in the people who are moving into the area. And finally, it was the cheapest of the bunch, which is interesting. The other contender (we had it narrowed down to the 40th Ave property and this one, was only 6 blocks from the church and about equal in many ways, but the price was 50,000 higher. We had qualified financially to buy the more expensive house but we chose otherwise and I'm kind of proud of us for that.

So, 5 blocks from Minneapolis is where we landed. The house was purchased in December at a very cheap price -- it would have been interesting to see what it looked like then. It has been completely remodeled and everything in it -- paint, carpet, flooring, appliances -- is brand new. It's gorgeous on the inside and while the yard and garage aren't much, they kind of fit into the neighborhood which makes me relieved. For the last 16 years we have lived in places where people REALLY cared a lot about their lawns and, as Bart says, they were raising grass, we were raising kids. It isn't really a good mix. Our lawn here right now is covered in dandelions... which isn't a problem for us but it does stand out in a neighborhood of people with near perfect lawns. There were lots of dandelions in our new neighborhood and for some reason this strangely comforts me.

I grew up in the City. I love the diversity of the people and the richness of the culture of the City. I'm excited about being back there.

Of course, I'm super super sad about leaving my friends and our church in Mankato, but I am not allowing myself to dwell on that part of things until I have to.

So, wanna see it?


View Larger Map



















If you really want to creep on us, you can check out everything about the house here. There is also a beautiful virtual tour here that shows some of the parks near the area.

We are excited about the changes that the newness of a home, a community and a church can be. It shakes us out of our comfort zone, but often that's just what we need.

We can't wait to have you over!!!





10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow. thats a really nice house! the inside is really beautiful. those cabinets are cool, they are really natural. it also looks like there is lots of light, which is good :)

can i ask some quesions?
does the fridge and stove and all those things come with the house? ..in the price? or you have to pay extra for them?

does the furniture come with house?

does the church pay for your house, since they make you move to another place?

like if you cant sell your other house, does the church pay for that until you do?

why do they move pastors from a church? doesnt that make the people upset if they connected with the pastor?

congrats on the new house. :)

jodilee0123 said...

Wow! This is beautiful! AND SO NEW! :) I LOVE the kitchen! HOW EXCITING!

MsMP said...

Welcome to the neighborhood! We will be neighbors :-) I'm at 46th/Russell Ave N.

Angela :-) said...

Wow! (To echo the other commenters.) The bedrooms look so big.

Angela :-)

Susan said...

It's beautiful!

Miz Kizzle said...

The house looks lovely. As for having a beautiful, lush, green lawn, it is right up there with driving a new car and regular church attendance on the middle-class suburban index of personal worthiness.

tashapork said...

see, there was a reason you didn't get the other house. I really do think that in situations like yours it can be better to buy than rent.
1. you don't have to worry about finding someplace else if you want to stay and they want you out when the lease is up
2. You have more freedom to adapt things to ways that work for you
3. If stuff gets the wear and tear that a well used home will, YOU can decide what to do about it.

LindaJean said...

Beautiful house! You are in my old stomping grounds :) I used to live over by the Crystal airport (back in high school) and the Old Guy is from New Hope. Our home church is Redeemer Lutheran in Robbinsdale (42nd and hwy 100) and my grandma's place up the road from you just off Noble Ave :) Wow been a long time since I was back there. I look forward to your new adventures in the suburbs :)

Claudia said...

In response to LTs comment: can i ask some quesions?

YES


does the fridge and stove and all those things come with the house? ..in the price? or you have to pay extra for them?

In this situation they came with the house and are included in the price.

does the furniture come with house?

No, the furniture either belongs to people still living there or they hire a company to put stuff in it so that it looks cool and then they take it all out and you move your stuff in.

does the church pay for your house, since they make you move to another place?

Churches either give us a parsonage (a church owned home) to live in for free or a monthly housing allowance. you can choose to rent or buy but if you buy, then it is your job to sell your home when you move.

like if you cant sell your other house, does the church pay for that until you do?

no :-)

why do they move pastors from a church? doesnt that make the people upset if they connected with the pastor?

Well, that's a good question. Yes, people are upset, but they are used to it in the United Methodist Church. Even though people feel a connection, it's more important for people to feel connected to one another than it is for them to be loyal to a pastor.

Lots of churches don't do things the way the UMC does -- but this is the way we do things as a denomination.

Jana said...

Cogratulations on your lovely new home! You are in our prayers as you go through this transition. We will miss all of you so much!