To Downsize or not to Downsize,That is the Question

With eyes of delusion we began our home hunting excursion in February with dreams of living in a home on the range with expansive mountain views, our own well, a large home, and acreage.  (well mostly this was Dwayne’s dream but I stick by his side during his illusions of grandeur)  As the housing market tightened our stress levels increased we found ourselves changing gears as home prices began to surge and the home supply dwindled.  We asked ourselves what do we really need verses what we wanted. 

1.    A less expensive home that isn’t upside down $75,000

2.   A place for Dwayne’s precious boat

3.   A pool

4.   A good neighborhood that people still have pride in ownership

5.   No HOA fees

6.   Location that is reasonable located between our families and ex’s

So we searched high and low.  And then we searched some more with all the searching leaving us irritable and drained.  We realized that with less price means less house.  Our Anthem home is about 1900 square feet and now we are looking at homes in the 1500 square feet range. I haven’t lived in anything that small in over 10 years.  Space wise, my first townhome on 43^rd and Northern was just 1100 square feet, then there was the house in El Mirage which was 1900 square feet, then the house in Waddell which was over 3500 square feet and now the Anthem home.  What I’ve learned is BIGGER is not better.  Bigger means working yourself do death to pay for a space you are never home to enjoy.  Bigger means your family is disconnected.  Bigger means more home to clean.  Bigger means you buy more stuff you don’t need.  Bigger just isn’t better, it’s a waste.  It took me about 10 years to realize this and now we are getting back to basics.  When I recall my years I spent growing up, the memories were not about how big my bedroom was (10x9 feet), it was about family vacations or playing in our backyard, swimming in our doe boy pool and riding my bike up and down our cul-de-sac street with all my friends.

This brings me back to our current situation, another offer on the board with hopes it will beat out the dozen other offers made on this modest 1547 square foot home on 39^th ave. and Union hills with a pool and a RV gate.  The home is a short sell which means we wait, and wait, then wait a bit more.  We are both utterly exhausted from the emotional roller coaster and just want it to be over so we can move on with our lives (literally).