A Change of Address

On March 17, 2006, I closed on my first house. Exactly five years later, I got and accepted an offer from someone wanting to rent that house on a long-term lease. The house has been on the market since November, and while showings had been steady, there just isn't much moving on the real estate market here. We played with some numbers and determined that renting out my house could be a very good option for us. Within 24 hours of listing it as a rental property, four people were interested in seeing it. 

The tenant wanted to move in very quickly, which meant I had to get my things out very quickly. Originally, we'd planned on having a POD delivered and then stored until we were ready to move it to the new house in a couple of months. With the uncertainty of whether we'd ever actually have that opportunity, we decided at the last minute to just rent a U-Haul and move my things into Don's basement. After all, I didn't have that much stuff. 

As it turns out, I have a lot of stuff. 

That's the second truckload. Don and our friend, John, had already unloaded the first truckload into Don's garage, living room, dining room, and den. This was after three carloads of stuff was dropped off at Goodwill.  Don's mom, Candy, was a HUGE help throughout day - making those Goodwill runs, cleaning out the refrigerator, scrubbing the bathrooms, and steam cleaning the carpets. Her being there easily took hours off the time I would've been at the house. I'm so grateful for her help! 

We were done before it was dark, and seeing the empty, clean house reminded me why I bought it in the first place. I'm so glad I have an excellent tenant moving in tomorrow. I have no doubt that it will be in good hands, and I'm optimistic that the rental scenario will be a positive thing. Here's to hoping it's the start of a string of good luck! We leave for Las Vegas in about 36 hours, so a little luck couldn't hurt!