We're on the move!

The last month we've listed our house for sale and sold it in 9 days. Then came the stressful process of finding another home. Mrs. Bliss and I have mostly similar views on what we want in a home, and in this case what we hope to be our last home.

When I made a mental list of the things I wanted in a home I was surprised at how many of the things were not really related to the house itself:

• large mature trees
• close to schools and work
  
• inside New Circle Road
• nice usable yard
• flat driveway for a basketball goal (seriously, this is important to me.)
• rear entry garage

As for the actual house, all I personally cared about were actual needs:

• 4 bedrooms and the ability to make a 5th
• 2.5 baths
• a basement, finished or not

That was really all I wanted. Now, my wife had other ideas for inside requirements, but I could be totally flexible as long as most or all of the 6 external requirement were met. So we set about in finding something that would meet our needs to house 5 children and give us some outdoor space to keep them from going stir crazy.

Yesterday we got a signed contract on a home that met 5 of 6 of my external requirements and all 3 of the house needs. It has a front entry garage, but a beautiful new concrete driveway that is perfect for playing basketball.

Best of all, it is across the street from an elementary school (like, the crosswalk is 15 feet from our front door) and is directly across the street from a park with a playground, bike/walking trail and a baseball field. It was a home we KNEW we wanted as soon as we saw the location. As long as the house was marginally well constructed and modern, we were going to make an offer.

I won't post pictures yet, as we just signed the contract. Once we close, or at least get the inspection and appraisal behind us, I'll put up some more information. Needless to say, Mrs. Bliss and I really feel like we are getting the last residence we'll ever want.