It was raining. The air was crisp and cool. Back in SoCal the temperatures were steadily climbing up over 100. Not here...not today. We were so full of anticipation. What would our new home town look like? Was it as lovely as the pictures we had seen? Where would we find "THE" house? We headed out in our rental truck. You need a truck when your looking for acreage. It's the only practical thing to do.
I remember coming over the hill just north of Hillsboro. My O my what a view. Rolling hills, dense trees broken up by pasture land and crops. It was almost magical. They sky was grey and the soft rain steadily feel. I was HOME. What a weird thought it was at the time but if felt natural, comfortable. Like putting on your favorite sweater.
We drove on headed for our temporary housing at the Quality Inn & Suites. (Picked this one because of Jerome. The reviews about his customer service skills made it an easy choice. You should stay there if you ever visit Waco, TX. Tell him the Gentry's sent you.) We settled in and looked for a place to have dinner and go over our strategy for the next day. It was game time. Time to start the search for the one. We knew it was out there but where? That night I had the best sleep in the biggest bed you ever did see. We could roll over twice and probably still not touch each other. Way to go Jerome, awesome choice of rooms!
Day 1 started at Magnolia Realty. Oh I can hear y'all now. The fixer upper folks? YES!!
I had been corresponding with Haley (Also amazing reviews! You really should read them before making any decision) for over a year. I knew she was the realtor for us when I found her on Instagram and saw a couple of videos of her pet turtles. She has a turtle named FAT AMY! How in the world could I not pick Haley? She was most assuredly the right person for the job at hand. Her reviews said just that
We chatted for a bit and got to know each other. She gave us some Magnolia coffee cups, which by the way is the perfect item to hold all my makeup brushes while we were staying at our temporary home with Jerome manning the front desk. Then we set out!! It was happening y'all! We were now on the hunt!! After seeing several houses that day. One of which I was almost sure something possibly illegal may or may not have happened inside those walls. Three houses, in three separate towns, all of them were not the ONE. I quickly began to realize that this task might just be a little more complicated than first anticipated. We parted for the day while they (Shelly was here as well. Also GREAT reviews) went back to their office to formulate a new plan of attack. We headed in search of a lunch.
Day 2 started early and in the rain with what was to be 6 houses to see. The forecast the night before called for rain. All. Day. Long. Hard rain, BIG rain. lots and lots of Rain. Not to worry...I came prepared. Aren't these the cutest?
We headed for Speegelville to see the first house on the list. NOPE!! we didn't even get out of the truck. We beat Haley there, so we called her and politely said...next. She obliged. We met up with her at a church nearby to follow on to the next destination. She looked worried and a little sad. The news she was about to give us was NOT what we wanted to hear. The six houses on the list to look at just 12 hours prior had quickly went to 4. Two of the houses sold overnight and sight unseen. Who does that?? Who buys a house before they've seen it, touched it or felt it's spirit? Apparently it was a "THING" happening in this area. Real Estate was a hot item and houses went quickly and for way more than asking. I began to panic!! As we headed to the second house (she assured us we would love this one), still with the rain pouring, she called us on the cell to say, this house had also just went "under contract". Two houses left!! We only had two houses left to see. We said a prayer and pushed on. The rain seemed to be coming down faster and harder than before but we were undeterred. She let us know that this particular one was in a very small town and had been vacant for some time. Wait what? Houses go quickly here you said. What's wrong with it? Why? What? Where? Questions began to flood my mind. But on we drove. We entered what seemed to be a small spot in the road. Something we were most familiar with back in Cali so that was perfectly fine. We turned into what seemed to be a residential neighborhood. Wait! She's knows we are looking for acreage? Where are we headed? Then down another street. This isn't happening right? And then as we rounded the small curve in the road...there it was!
Mister and I looked at each other in disbelief. How is this here? In this neighborhood? We can't afford this? It's way better than most everything else we had seen.
The land was beautiful. Everything that I had imagined in my mind was starting to be tangible. The trees, the rolling green pasture, the ranch style, single story house. It was all here. I could touch it and see it for the first time outside my mind.
We got out in the pouring rain and waited for Haley to let us in. .
We walked the house as she explained every detail. We looked at each other and said "this is it". We found our HOME. Isn't that just the best feeling! When you know in your heart you are home. God had this house, on this block, just for US!! Isn't He just something else? He's pretty fantastic if you ask me. Well him and my Mister. (God had him just for me as well). To be continued...
Love these....Keep 'em coming!
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