Originally Posted by Jolly Good (Post 13102928)

We had our realtor come by yesterday and she is taking pictures next week and then our house will officially be up for sale. After 33 years of life in Texas we are moving away.
As of now destination is a little unknown. A road trip is planned soon and then decisions will be made.

At last we can start to make retirement plans ( just 2 years late!):lol:

Originally Posted by Jolly Good (Post 13102928)

We had our realtor come by yesterday and she is taking pictures next week and then our house will officially be up for sale. After 33 years of life in Texas we are moving away.
As of now destination is a little unknown. A road trip is planned soon and then decisions will be made.

At last we can start to make retirement plans ( just 2 years late!):lol:

Originally Posted by Lion in Winter (Post 13102933)

New adventures - the best thing every. Just keep going forward :)

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...b9496cc514.jpg

Originally Posted by spouse of scouse (Post 13102936)

That sounds wonderful! You can put all the crap of the last couple of years behind you and be free as a bird for a while. I hope you'll have internet on this road trip, we can have a sticky beak follow along :D

Originally Posted by Jolly Good (Post 13102940)

... I'll post pictures of our travels:thumbup:

Originally Posted by Jolly Good (Post 13102928)

We had our realtor come by yesterday and she is taking pictures next week and then our house will officially be up for sale. After 33 years of life in Texas we are moving away.
As of now destination is a little unknown. A road trip is planned soon and then decisions will be made.

At last we can start to make retirement plans ( just 2 years late!):lol:

Originally Posted by BristolUK (Post 13102985)

Originally Posted by BuckinghamshireBoy (Post 13102990)

Oh yes!

;)

Originally Posted by BEVS (Post 13103052)

Fabulous news. So pleased for you guys.

Originally Posted by Jolly Good (Post 13102928)

We had our realtor come by yesterday and she is taking pictures next week and then our house will officially be up for sale. After 33 years of life in Texas we are moving away.
As of now destination is a little unknown. A road trip is planned soon and then decisions will be made.

At last we can start to make retirement plans ( just 2 years late!):lol:

Originally Posted by ddsrph (Post 13103256)

Unless you have a definite state in mind to retire in take a look at Tennessee. Decent climate and relatively low cost of living. If you end up anywhere Lynchburg in your travels look us up.

Originally Posted by ddsrph (Post 13103256)

Unless you have a definite state in mind to retire in take a look at Tennessee. Decent climate and relatively low cost of living. If you end up anywhere Lynchburg in your travels look us up.

Originally Posted by SultanOfSwing (Post 13103294)

If you make enough from the sale of your house to have cash in reserve for whatever rainy days may be in store, renting (or even buying) an RV and travelling all over would be incredibly cool.

Or there's always going back to the UK :p



As much as I love the idea of retiring to Wisconsin (snow notwithstanding, but if I'm not working and have enough books I can stay inside for a while in winter), Tennessee is on my list as far as regional climates go to retire to. Though it would be quite funny to go to North Carolina and annoy Pulaski in person ...

Originally Posted by Jolly Good (Post 13103299)

At some point we will return to Tennessee. Our road trip a few years back included Tennessee but we didn't have enough time to stop for long. Will definitely let you know when we are that way again.


RV traveling doesn't really appeal to me but we are certainly going to move around more. Our plan is too also spend longer back in the UK as well.

We are just hoping our house sells quickly:fingerscrossed:

Our daughter and son in law put their house on the market just yesterday and the realtor has shown it 5 times today already!!
So we are hopeful.

We did do a road trip to North Carolina and I loved it. We stayed in a place called Maggie's Valley mostly because there is a huge motorcycle museum there but it was a lovely little town. I would love to go back there.I wonder if Pulaski lives near by?:lol:

Originally Posted by SultanOfSwing (Post 13103309)

Your house probably will sell quickly. Houses don't tend to stay on the market for long at the moment, at least not round here anyway.

NC does sound and look nice from what I know. It gets a high score right out of the gate for the comparative lack of snow.

Originally Posted by Jolly Good (Post 13104040)

Today we had a Garage Sale after a clear out of both our house and our daughters house. It took me from Wednesday until late Friday evening to sort it and price it and at 6.30 this morning we started to set everything up outside under our carport. At 7.30 we had our first customers and the last one at 4.30 this afternoon. What is left is being donated, books to the library, toys to Head Start, clothes to the local Women's Center.
It was a tiring long day but it felt good to get rid of so much un- needed "stuff". And less to pack up when we sell!

First steps of many to our new adventure!

Oh and the money we made will go towards our road trip:thumbsup:

Originally Posted by Jolly Good (Post 13104040)

Today we had a Garage Sale after a clear out of both our house and our daughters house

Originally Posted by BristolUK (Post 13104130)

I had been wondering about doing something like that if/when we were to downsize or whatever.

I don't think I could face the work now. I remember something in the UK about "house clearance". I found this on wiki

I can't find anything like it for Canada. Plenty of google results but they're not house clearance.

I now wonder if it might work just contacting second hand stores, charities and so on, saying "come and have a look, disconnect and take what you want."

Or maybe hold a bidding thing like that TV show "Storage Wars." :lol:

Originally Posted by Rete (Post 13103908)

How absolutely wonderful and fun. Explore that oyster and find the pearl of your dreams. Have a fantastic adventure.

Originally Posted by old.sparkles (Post 13104041)

Sounds like a busy few days for you all.

Fingers crossed all your plans go smoothly :)

Originally Posted by Jolly Good (Post 13104136)

Well considering our flooding issue almost five years ago and all the things that were destroyed at that time I was amazed at how much " stuff" we had accumulated since then!

Originally Posted by Jolly Good (Post 13103299)

...
RV traveling doesn't really appeal to me but we are certainly going to move around more. Our plan is too also spend longer back in the UK as well.

Originally Posted by Jolly Good (Post 13103299)

...

We are just hoping our house sells quickly:fingerscrossed:

Our daughter and son in law put their house on the market just yesterday and the realtor has shown it 5 times today already!!
So we are hopeful.

Originally Posted by Jolly Good (Post 13103506)

My daughter just called. Third day of their house on the market and they have a cash offer of over $30k of the asking price. She is in shock right now:lol:

Originally Posted by BristolUK (Post 13104150)

It's incredible how stuff mounts up.
We've had three major multi-bag clothing donations and still have too much, including a few shirts still in their original packaging that I had sent over with a few other things in 2005.
When my MIL moved to join us in 2011 she brought six appliances with her. :ohmy: Admittedly we made use of the fridge and freezer and in time replaced a dishwasher and oven with hers, but the washer and dryer are still out in the garage with some other cabinets and there's a ton of stuff down in the basement.

I've sold or given away an oven, sofas, chairs, computer desks, bed but I still have nightmares about having everything packed up and unloaded even if we moved somewhere that had room for it. :eek:

Honestly I'd love to have an empty home to move into and start all over again. That was half the fun in moving here; picturing new stuff in a new home.

Originally Posted by Steerpike (Post 13104416)

RV traveling doesn't appeal to me one bit either! I want a real shower, proper toilet, big bed, proximity to restaurants ... all offered by a typical hotel or motel!



I met with my realtor two weeks ago to discuss selling my place in AZ. She suggested I sell furnished, as it would appeal to potential snowbirds and fetch a higher price. I signed the contract with her, and within a week I had a cash offer $30k over asking (and we asked what I thought was a ridiculous amount), and that was without listing on MLS! I could have probably got more by listing, and entertaining multiple offers, but I chose the path of less stress and accepted the offer. Selling furnished made moving real easy, and I was out of there last week! Easiest move I've ever made! For now, I'm going to hang out in CA permanently, which suits me fine. It's expensive to live in CA, but the climate, geography/terrain, and food options make it a hard one to beat.


Selling my place furnished was a wonderfully liberating experience. I not only included the furniture, but 'almost everything' - pots, pans, artwork, tools in the garage, bedding, towels, 'office supplies' in the drawers, monitors on the desk, TVs, etc etc. Knowing I got more money in the deal by selling it that way offset the usual anxiety over the 'cost' issues of giving or throwing stuff away. For example - I really wanted to pack my toaster oven because it was very functional and still in good condition, but - I can buy a new one for $100 or so, and I got a bunch of money in the sale, and leaving it for the buyer means it's not going to waste. So all I took out were box-loads of clothes, photo albums, etc. It still amounted to about 40 boxes, which are now sitting in a 5' x 10' storage facility (a LOT went to Goodwill, and the electronics recycling facility).

Originally Posted by Jolly Good (Post 13106656)

Today we are officially up for sale!

:fingerscrossed:

Originally Posted by Jolly Good (Post 13106656)

Today we are officially up for sale!

:fingerscrossed:

Originally Posted by Steerpike (Post 13106736)

OK, it's been a day - you should have some offers by now :) . Have you set a date for 'consideration of offers'? That seems to be the current practice around my neck of the woods - set a date for offers, and get everyone to submit by that date. Really sharpens the offers!

Originally Posted by Jolly Good (Post 13106656)

Today we are officially up for sale!

:fingerscrossed:

Originally Posted by spouse of scouse (Post 13106746)

Here's to a quick sale at the price you're after! :drinkwine:

Originally Posted by Jolly Good (Post 13107201)

We spent the weekend at our daughter's and the house was viewed 5 times. There are now 5 more booked for tonight and tomorrow so we are off out again soon for supper and a wander around the park!

No offers yet but :fingerscrossed:..

Originally Posted by Steerpike (Post 13107238)

We sold a house in CA in 2017, and it took about a month (market wasn't so hot back then!). We found new and exciting places to go 'hang out', like the local library, the food court at the local mall (where we would take our laptops and work, as well as eat), and of course extended lunches at our favorite restaurants. All in all, it wasn't so bad. Keeping the house in a state where we could leave on a moment's notice was much harder ... I would say we are at the 'messy' end of the scale (meticulously clean, but not at all tidy!).

Originally Posted by Jolly Good (Post 13107201)

We spent the weekend at our daughter's and the house was viewed 5 times. There are now 5 more booked for tonight and tomorrow so we are off out again soon for supper and a wander around the park!

No offers yet but :fingerscrossed:..

Originally Posted by Jolly Good (Post 13112944)

Up date:

Bloody house hasn't sold yet. It is a combination of flood issues ( high flood insurance needed) and living in the highest property tax town of our county with very few amenities. And yet again we are spending the day out somewhere while agents keep showing it but no acceptable offer yet. Although we did drop the price this week!

There is other stuff going on in our lives right now that make me kind of glad we haven't sold yet ( I'll update that in another thread) but I'm just ready for not being so unsettled right now!

Hopefully price drop will help this weekend:fingerscrossed:

Originally Posted by Steerpike (Post 13113067)

Best wishes for a quick sale soon! High property taxes - can you say what your percentage is, and how it compares to the other towns? I seem to recall, Texas has no state income tax so has to make up for it with higher property taxes perhaps?

Originally Posted by Jolly Good (Post 13116683)

We are a very small town, population is less than 2000. Our property taxes are higher than our next town of 20,000. This may not be high compared to other states but when you can move just 7 miles and halve your property tax it makes life harder to sell your house! ( sorry not good at explaining this)

On another note, and I hope I am not jinxing myself,we have just accepted an offer and sale is pending! Closing should be June 24th.

Finally we can start our new adventure. We even have a destination now. But more about that later:fingerscrossed:

Originally Posted by Jolly Good (Post 13116683)

We are a very small town, population is less than 2000. Our property taxes are higher than our next town of 20,000. This may not be high compared to other states but when you can move just 7 miles and halve your property tax it makes life harder to sell your house! ( sorry not good at explaining this)

On another note, and I hope I am not jinxing myself,we have just accepted an offer and sale is pending! Closing should be June 24th.

Finally we can start our new adventure. We even have a destination now. But more about that later:fingerscrossed: