Okay, so the plans changed again...and again...and again. We finally got down here to Georgia in March and quickly found out that the current housing market would allow us to BUY a dream-like property for much less than it would cost us to build the house we designed. So Mike signed the paperwork this afternoon for what we HOPE to be our LAST home (for at least a decade or two!!!) This is the seventh home we've purchased since we were married 15 years ago. Mike's travels all over the world for work so as long as we are close to a major airport we can live anywhere. And now we will be just 25 miles directly south of the Atlanta airport.
Why go through the hassle and heartache of building when we can buy this for HALF of what it assessed for when it was built in 2006???
We weren't even "house shopping" when we mentioned to a Realtor we met that we would love for her to keep her eyes open for a country property with two houses on it so we could maybe live near Mike's brother and his wife. Just a week later she sent us the listing info on this property. We went to see it right away thinking we could grab it for a steal since it was a foreclosure that had been on the market for almost two years. We couldn't believe how perfect it was...like it was built just for us!
So...in our day of modern technology...we sent a text to Mike's brother and his wife. It was something like, "Hey, do you guys want to buy 7.5 acres with two houses on it with us?" Amazingly, they said they just might!
Of course, after being on the market for so long, the week we made our offer, two other people did as well. It was a stressful waiting game for a few weeks but here we are, almost 3 months later, joint owners of this beautiful property on Lake Horton in Fayetteville, Georgia. It's about 18 miles north of where we currently are. We rented our Williamson home to a nice family from here in Pike County and are packing up AGAIN. But just thinking about the beautiful view of our backyard will help make it easier:
The property is very deep and narrow but is right on the lake. There's no swimming allowed but electric motor boats or canoes & kayaks will be tons of fun!
The family who built the house must not have cooked much because the only thing missing from this amazing kitchen is a double oven...the small appliance under the counter on the right side looks like it may be a trash compactor but actually it's an ice maker! It will be well-used in our southern summers! It's set-up much like our Illinois kitchen with more space all around the island. There is a craft room/office for me AND a separate laundry room off of the kitchen. Mike's office is in the front corner of the house with a window that looks out to the driveway.
What a treat! A full-size fridge and freezer IN the kitchen. And space for our extra freezer in the craft room/office just off the kitchen. No more treks to the garage for frozen peas!
We bought our very first flat screen TV this morning that will be perfect for the spot reserved for it above the fireplace. Behind the fireplace wall is a game room. Our good friends here in GA are giving us the ping pong table they don't have room for any more. We will put our round oak table under the windows for games or puzzles the kids can leave out when they aren't done playing.
Front door. Not too exciting but the view to guests when we open it will go straight through the sliding door across the family room and right out to the lake. Nice!
This is a view of the back of Pete & Lisa's house.
My kids' favorite part is the basketball court although the previous owners took the hoop with them, we'll get one soon.
A view of the back of both houses. They are connected by a 30 ft enclosed breezeway. Another section of breezeway connects both houses to the garage.
This is the view from the balcony off the master bedroom. The play set also left with the previous owners but our kids are almost too big for one anyways and there is a huge park across the lake we can go to.
There are a total of 6 1/2 bathrooms in both houses and this is the ONLY bathtub (in the master bath.)
Maggie's room has it's own bathroom. The green walls are cute but don't go with the decor I've already been collecting for Maggie so it will have to go. Her bedroom has a "chocolate" theme with all pink & brown stuff. Maybe we'll post new photos when we get to that project. The "project" list is quite long but we'll get to it eventually....
We've got plenty of space for guests so you're welcome to visit any time. We're about half an hour south of the Atlanta airport about in the middle between I-85 & I-75. Georgia is so beautiful and we are enjoying being here. Having a little more space will be a treat and so much fun to entertain in and to decorate and shop for furniture bargains for...when I find the time!
Thank you to Pete & Lisa for sharing in this adventure with us. We look are sooooo excited to have such awesome neighbors!!! Love you guys!
We weren't even "house shopping" when we mentioned to a Realtor we met that we would love for her to keep her eyes open for a country property with two houses on it so we could maybe live near Mike's brother and his wife. Just a week later she sent us the listing info on this property. We went to see it right away thinking we could grab it for a steal since it was a foreclosure that had been on the market for almost two years. We couldn't believe how perfect it was...like it was built just for us!
So...in our day of modern technology...we sent a text to Mike's brother and his wife. It was something like, "Hey, do you guys want to buy 7.5 acres with two houses on it with us?" Amazingly, they said they just might!
Of course, after being on the market for so long, the week we made our offer, two other people did as well. It was a stressful waiting game for a few weeks but here we are, almost 3 months later, joint owners of this beautiful property on Lake Horton in Fayetteville, Georgia. It's about 18 miles north of where we currently are. We rented our Williamson home to a nice family from here in Pike County and are packing up AGAIN. But just thinking about the beautiful view of our backyard will help make it easier:
The property is very deep and narrow but is right on the lake. There's no swimming allowed but electric motor boats or canoes & kayaks will be tons of fun!
The family who built the house must not have cooked much because the only thing missing from this amazing kitchen is a double oven...the small appliance under the counter on the right side looks like it may be a trash compactor but actually it's an ice maker! It will be well-used in our southern summers! It's set-up much like our Illinois kitchen with more space all around the island. There is a craft room/office for me AND a separate laundry room off of the kitchen. Mike's office is in the front corner of the house with a window that looks out to the driveway.
What a treat! A full-size fridge and freezer IN the kitchen. And space for our extra freezer in the craft room/office just off the kitchen. No more treks to the garage for frozen peas!
We bought our very first flat screen TV this morning that will be perfect for the spot reserved for it above the fireplace. Behind the fireplace wall is a game room. Our good friends here in GA are giving us the ping pong table they don't have room for any more. We will put our round oak table under the windows for games or puzzles the kids can leave out when they aren't done playing.
Front door. Not too exciting but the view to guests when we open it will go straight through the sliding door across the family room and right out to the lake. Nice!
This is a view of the back of Pete & Lisa's house.
My kids' favorite part is the basketball court although the previous owners took the hoop with them, we'll get one soon.
A view of the back of both houses. They are connected by a 30 ft enclosed breezeway. Another section of breezeway connects both houses to the garage.
This is the view from the balcony off the master bedroom. The play set also left with the previous owners but our kids are almost too big for one anyways and there is a huge park across the lake we can go to.
There are a total of 6 1/2 bathrooms in both houses and this is the ONLY bathtub (in the master bath.)
Maggie's room has it's own bathroom. The green walls are cute but don't go with the decor I've already been collecting for Maggie so it will have to go. Her bedroom has a "chocolate" theme with all pink & brown stuff. Maybe we'll post new photos when we get to that project. The "project" list is quite long but we'll get to it eventually....
We've got plenty of space for guests so you're welcome to visit any time. We're about half an hour south of the Atlanta airport about in the middle between I-85 & I-75. Georgia is so beautiful and we are enjoying being here. Having a little more space will be a treat and so much fun to entertain in and to decorate and shop for furniture bargains for...when I find the time!
Thank you to Pete & Lisa for sharing in this adventure with us. We look are sooooo excited to have such awesome neighbors!!! Love you guys!
