Category: Uncategorized

Timing.

So, in an ideal world, Billy and I would have working on our little project voraciously for the last six months. But things didn’t really work out that way.

We bought the farmhouse and the barn together, as they are adjacent properties (though subdivided), and the previous owners didn’t want to sell them separately. When we did that, we basically tied up all of our renovation money in the house. So we had to sell the house before we could (afford to) start work on the barn. We listed it in May, and had a ton of interest right away (it’s an awesome house). Problem was, everyone who was interested had their own houses to sell. Contingent offers don’t move quickly. So we had to stay patient.

Fortunately, our real estate agent is a rockstar, and our patience has paid off! We have accepted an offer from a pretty great family who we think will be sweet neighbors. And we have a closing date…… so the countdown is on to 11/30.

full disclosure:

We didn’t come up with the blog idea.

Credit belongs to our real estate goddess, Katie Kennedy, of EveryHome Realty.  We found her by chance, but can now comfortably say that she’s the best real estate agent ever.
In the history of real estate.
(We promise.)

When everyone else was pushing us off or not returning our phone calls, Katie met us with enthusiasm and encouragement.  She has guided us through the process so far, which we’ve definitely needed (as ours is not the most conventional approach to buying a home).

And barn-blogging was her idea.
(She’d probably be better at it anyway.)
Katie knew that, at the very least, this whole process was going to make an interesting story, and what better way to tell it than on the internet.
She may have her own (far superior) blog, and if so, we promise to link to (or steal from) hers so you can get the good stuff.

here we go……

Alright, so here’s the Brazills attempt at blogging. 
See, many of our friends have turned to a blog to keep their network of loved ones up to date on what’s happening in their lives; it seems like most blogs were sparked by a momentous occasion (primarily the arrival of their first child). 

Well, this blog is the result of a momentous occasion, too.
But we’re not having a baby.

We’re having a barn.

Let me explain:

After I got a job in the Philly area, B and I began our real estate hunt.  We had this romantic idea of finding an old property and renovating it into our home…… and found what we were looking for right away: this gorgeous wood and stone bank barn on one acre in Media.  

But in pursuing the property, we hit one obstacle after another: we couldn’t get in touch with the listing agent, it was under contract (twice), the owners were also selling the adjacent house and didn’t want to sell the properties separately.  You name it, we faced it. 

But last month, we made an offer on both properties – the house and the barn.
And last week, it was accepted.

So it was July 2009 when we got ourselves into this mess.  
And now, 9 agonizing months later, we have an Agreement of Sale. 
We’re excited and exhausted. 

We basically carried the barn to term.
And it’s only the beginning.