SOLD!

We bought our first house when we moved to Arizona for medical school.  We bought it at just the right time, and for a fair price.  It was in a great location and right around the corner from our besties the Petersons.  A lot of memories were made there.  A lot of family milestones happened inside those walls.  It was a good started home for us.

But we all know what happened to the economy and the housing market.  And when it came time to move we knew we had to rent and not sell.  And so we've been landlords for the past 4+ years, to around 4 different renters.  It hasn't been fun or easy doing that long distance.  And it seemed unfair to be asking our friends to be helping us out so much.  But we did what we could because we knew it was the right thing to do.  We could afford to keep it so we needed too, even if it cost us a little. 

But then one day we had a real estate agent from that area show up at our church here in Florida while visiting family.  Of course PJ started talking to him and he said he knew he could sell our home for us.  We didn't really believe him but we really wanted to.   This fell at a time when, once again, our renter would be moving out in about a month. So we told him we'd give him a few weeks and see what happened.  Sure enough, he put the house on the market on a Thursday evening, and by bright and early Monday morning we had our first all-cash offer.  And then by later that afternoon we had another full-price offer.  In the end, we sold our first home for what we owed on it.  Everything went smoothly and we closed on time.  It was hard to think about the money that was lost on the down payment, the years of paying the mortgage, and the high fees for closing and real estate agent fees.  It wasn't exactly the investment we had hoped and planned on.  However, it was a relief to have that burden of debt and responsibility off or our shoulders, knowing we did it the right way.  A few days later we got the following email from the real estate agent...

Good morning Preston and Kelly!
We received word late yesterday that the sale is complete! The house recorded and you no longer own a home in Arizona.  Hopefully all is well for you. Please call me when you get this to confirm.
Thank you,
Rob

It was a bitter sweet moment.  Our first home... SOLD!