Pages

▼

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

The Maddest March Ever by Alison Henderson


What does March Madness mean to me? Well, it doesn’t mean basketball, that’s for sure. I’ve been an anti-fan of basketball since junior high school gym class. Too much back and forth, back and forth. Gave me a headache then, and I’ve never developed a taste for the sport in the intervening years.

No. The cause of my maddest March ever isn’t basketball, it’s real estate. Last month, we made an offer on a new house in Carmel, CA, so we can escape the brutality of Minnesota winters, and I’m up to my pointy little ears in the details necessary to make that purchase happen. We bought the house before selling our home in Minnesota because we needed to know where we would be living in order to know what to bring with us. Also, we happened across an affordable house in the perfect location and had to act fast.

A couple of weeks later, we were lucky enough to sell our Minnesota house for more than we expected without ever putting it on the market. Yippee! Unfortunately, there is a gap of about three weeks between the date we have to close on our new house and the date we’re scheduled to close on our current house. The banking crisis that accompanied the Great Recession apparently rang the death knoll for the entire concept of the bridge loan or swing loan, so I’ve been beating my head against the wall putting things in place to make the transaction work. I think I’ve got it licked, but the whole situation has magnified my love/hate relationship with money. I’ll breathe a huge sigh of relief when the entire thing is wrapped up and we’ve made the move.

So, if you want to see a shining example of March Madness, just stop by my house. I’ll be swinging from the trees any day now!

Alison
www.alisonhenderson.com
http://alisonhenderson.blogspot.com
at

7 comments:

  1. JenaGalifanyMarch 5, 2013 at 5:10 AM

    Alison;

    Sorry you have to work so hard to get out here, but welcome to California. I hope you find the move well worth it!

    JG

    ReplyDelete
  2. Margo HoornstraMarch 5, 2013 at 8:13 AM

    But isn't that the interesting part about these life changing events? Figuring out how to make it work. After spending two weeks in Arizona to get away from this brutal Michigan winter, we're starting to get that same move to warmer weather bug. Thanks for showing it can be done.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Alison HendersonMarch 5, 2013 at 10:29 AM

    Thanks, Jena. My mother always told me anything worth having is worth working hard for, so I just stay focused on the goal. What part of the state do you live in?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Alison HendersonMarch 5, 2013 at 10:30 AM

    Margo, there's something about passing a "certain age" that causes snow to lose much of its appeal, isn't there?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jannine GallantMarch 5, 2013 at 11:10 AM

    A vision of you swinging from the trees gave me a chuckle. Think of it this way, we have some really, really big trees to swing from once you get to CA. LOL I'm pulling for you, Alison. Two bad you can't just click your heels together like Dorothy and be done with it!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Alison HendersonMarch 5, 2013 at 11:40 AM

    It won't be long now, Jannine. We expect to arrive in the Golden State April 3rd. I do love the idea of the ruby slipper, though. After all, I'm originally from Kansas!

    ReplyDelete
  7. JenaGalifanyMarch 5, 2013 at 10:59 PM

    I'm in NELAC, short for North East Los Angeles County. I live in the high desert about an hour away from Los Angeles. I believe it is a couple of hours drive from Carmel. =)

    ReplyDelete