Moving Update
We had an open house on Saturday and three prospective buyers came by. That may seem like a low number, but I'm pretty happy with it. The weather was crappy and the open house was only from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. so odds are these were serious shoppers and not curious neighbors. In addition, we had a showing before the open house, which meant we had to step up our efforts to get things in order and get the heck out - the worse part of having your house up for sale. We also had another showing yesterday at 6:30. We're hoping that was someone who came by on Saturday and wanted a second look.
In all, we have had eight showings the past two weeks and the house has been on the market four weeks this week. Now we just need an offer. ANY offer. Well, not any offer, but a decent offer that we can use as a starting point with someone.
We're not in panic mode yet and still have some time, but ideally I want to have an offer by the time Jason leaves at the end of the month.
We've been scanning craigslist almost daily for rental properties and there are several really nice options. If we choose the rental route, we can get a house or town home similar to what we would buy. Ideally we would like to find something that we could rent the first year and then buy because the company is paying for a full move and I'd love it if we didn't have to pack up and unpack ourselves in a year. We haven't ruled out buying just yet, but I have a feeling we won't do it the first year. It will all depend on what happens with the sale of our home.
The university has arranged for Jason to live in an extended stay hotel the first month and it can be extended for up to four months if, God forbid, we don't sell our house in that time and Jillian and I stay here. However, if Jillian and I decide to move up there before we sell the house then they'll pay up to four months of rental for us as well.
I applied for a job with the March of Dimes doing a portion of what I do at my current job, a portion of what I did at the Opera and some of what I did when I worked for the baseball team. On paper I look like a perfect candidate, but who knows....I would work out of their Charlottesville satellite office coordinating special events, securing corporate donations and generating media interest. It looks like a great opportunity and it is for an organization whose work I support. I'm not quite as psyched about the opportunities at the university. If I choose that route it will purely be for the pay, which isn't what I want to do. I am also working on an application for the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which doesn't exactly excite me as much as the March of Dimes, but at least would be interesting work (they have two positions that fit my experience).
If, by chance, I get a job before we sell the house, then obviously Jillian and I will move and just leave the house empty. I really don't want to leave the house unsold, but we just have to do what we have to do....
My mom is coming for a week beginning Aug. 8. She has been planning this visit since before we knew we were moving. I have an event Aug. 11 and Jason would have been working that night due to a pre-season football game (ugh, is it that time already?), so she was going to come to watch Jillian. I won't be home until after midnight and I really didn't want to find a babysitter for that long. Anyway, it will be nice to have her here while Jason is gone. He already has plans to fly back here twice in August, so being apart shouldn't be too painful. Again, hopefully August will be the only month that we're not together.
Jason found out that he is eligible to enroll Jillian in the university child care program, which is fabulous. It's a bit pricy, but it's a great program. However, there are no available slots for at least a year. Jason just got the paperwork to fill out to get her on the list.
Anyway, that's about it on that front. I'm beginning to get more excited about the move and less sad about leaving here. I mean, I'm still sad to leave our great friends, but the initial feelings of dread have almost subsided. Also, one of our couple friends from church is from a town an hour or so away and they're there at least twice a year. Tim, the husband, told us that his best friend and his wife live in Charlottesville - the husband is in med school there - and he's going to get us in touch with them. That will be nice to have some sort of connection.
In all, we have had eight showings the past two weeks and the house has been on the market four weeks this week. Now we just need an offer. ANY offer. Well, not any offer, but a decent offer that we can use as a starting point with someone.
We're not in panic mode yet and still have some time, but ideally I want to have an offer by the time Jason leaves at the end of the month.
We've been scanning craigslist almost daily for rental properties and there are several really nice options. If we choose the rental route, we can get a house or town home similar to what we would buy. Ideally we would like to find something that we could rent the first year and then buy because the company is paying for a full move and I'd love it if we didn't have to pack up and unpack ourselves in a year. We haven't ruled out buying just yet, but I have a feeling we won't do it the first year. It will all depend on what happens with the sale of our home.
The university has arranged for Jason to live in an extended stay hotel the first month and it can be extended for up to four months if, God forbid, we don't sell our house in that time and Jillian and I stay here. However, if Jillian and I decide to move up there before we sell the house then they'll pay up to four months of rental for us as well.
I applied for a job with the March of Dimes doing a portion of what I do at my current job, a portion of what I did at the Opera and some of what I did when I worked for the baseball team. On paper I look like a perfect candidate, but who knows....I would work out of their Charlottesville satellite office coordinating special events, securing corporate donations and generating media interest. It looks like a great opportunity and it is for an organization whose work I support. I'm not quite as psyched about the opportunities at the university. If I choose that route it will purely be for the pay, which isn't what I want to do. I am also working on an application for the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which doesn't exactly excite me as much as the March of Dimes, but at least would be interesting work (they have two positions that fit my experience).
If, by chance, I get a job before we sell the house, then obviously Jillian and I will move and just leave the house empty. I really don't want to leave the house unsold, but we just have to do what we have to do....
My mom is coming for a week beginning Aug. 8. She has been planning this visit since before we knew we were moving. I have an event Aug. 11 and Jason would have been working that night due to a pre-season football game (ugh, is it that time already?), so she was going to come to watch Jillian. I won't be home until after midnight and I really didn't want to find a babysitter for that long. Anyway, it will be nice to have her here while Jason is gone. He already has plans to fly back here twice in August, so being apart shouldn't be too painful. Again, hopefully August will be the only month that we're not together.
Jason found out that he is eligible to enroll Jillian in the university child care program, which is fabulous. It's a bit pricy, but it's a great program. However, there are no available slots for at least a year. Jason just got the paperwork to fill out to get her on the list.
Anyway, that's about it on that front. I'm beginning to get more excited about the move and less sad about leaving here. I mean, I'm still sad to leave our great friends, but the initial feelings of dread have almost subsided. Also, one of our couple friends from church is from a town an hour or so away and they're there at least twice a year. Tim, the husband, told us that his best friend and his wife live in Charlottesville - the husband is in med school there - and he's going to get us in touch with them. That will be nice to have some sort of connection.