If Not Now, When? | #MoCoFixer

Remember that time last fall when we somewhat randomly bought a house? And not just any house – but a total fixer upper that is half the size of our current home?

That will forever be known as the day when the Cottens lost their damn minds.

I have kind of left everyone hanging on the status of #MoCoFixer. Mostly because, well, there hasn’t been much to say.

Until today.

I have mentioned before that we don’t live in the most happening of real estate markets. When we listed our house, we had no idea how long that For Sale sign would stay in our yard. A month? Six? A year? I’m not exaggerating in the slightest when I say there is a house two doors down from ours that has been on the market for 522 days.

FIVE HUNDRED AND TWENTY TWO DAYS.

It was a full month before we had our first showing on our home. Conveniently it was two days after we had hosted family Thanksgiving. That, my friends, was sarcasm. Mr. Cotten and I cleaned for a solid eight hours before that showing, only to be told “nice house, but no thanks.”

Flash forward another month to the day after Christmas (also known as my 29th birthday) when we received our second showing request. We again had just hosted TWO family Christmases in the days before,  and it literally looked like the North Pole had exploded in our living room.

I stood in my kitchen, cried, and called my mommy through tears to come help me.

Again, we were told “cool house but we’re not moving from our current city.”

We had 79 days to sell our current home before we had to close on #MoCoFixer. In those nearly three months, we only had two showings. Spoiler alert: this is how we became homeowners x 2 just before the new year.

On New Year’s Eve, we hosted a pajama party (and fully expected a showing request the next day – HA!). None of our friends, or even my sister, had seen our new home so we decided to take a field trip. I expected to hear a lot of, “what in the hell are you thinking?”

Instead, we drank champagne in the green bathtub, danced to the built-in radio on the kitchen walls, and imagined the dream home it will eventually become… because my girlfriends are awesome like that.

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Last weekend the planets aligned and the cosmos came together in our favor for once. We had not one, not two, but THREE showing requests in four days.

And because we are not around any major holidays right now, of course my three-year-old also had the stomach flu. In case you were wondering, that is ALSO not an ideal time to show your house to potential buyers.

But, God smiled down on us. Because this morning we officially have a purchase agreement. It took 98 days, and being double homeowners for 19 days, but we are moving!

#MOCOFIXER IS HAPPENING!

We have to be out of our current house in five weeks. I don’t have boxes. We have not touched a single thing in our new home. Today has been a frantic, “we need to call the contractor/bank/flooring store/paint store/tile guy/CRAP WE NEED TO HAVE A GARAGE SALE/etc.” But, guys. We’re doing it. This is real. And we’re blissfully ignoring all of the madness that is surely coming our way.

It’s exciting, and it’s scary. But if not now, when?*

Chip and Joanna, the Cottens are about to give you a run for your money. 😉

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UP NEXT: A “before” tour of #MoCoFixer. She’s a real beaut.

*Inspiration for today’s post title, in memory of an acquaintance who truly moved me.