Well, we survived our whirlwind trip to Des Moines Iowa. We were pleasantly surprised at how beautiful it was. We were picturing a city rising up out of the flat corn fields. But the reality is that it is set in rolling hills and is quite scenic. We really loved the city and after 2 days of looking at homes and areas, we narrowed down where we would like to buy a home. We like Norwalk, which is just south of Des Moines, and we also like Des Moines South. Both of these areas are very peaceful, large yards, lots of trees, rolling landscapes.

We learned how to read the listings correctly - any square footage under ground level (as in basements, split levels, etc) are not listed. That cleared up a lot for us! We also learned that most of the older homes are 1 to 1 1/2 baths. To find a 2 bath home, you start paying for it with a much higher home price - at least in the areas we liked. And definitely forget having a large master bedroom. We have decided our game plan is to find a home with a basement where we can create a master suite complete with full bath and walk-in closet.

So now the focus is on getting our house sold. We have 2 options:
1. Go ahead with all the renovations/updates we had planned on and list our house by the end of April
2. Get bids from investment companies which pay cash for your home, renovate and resell them.

I am leaning towards the second option. We wouldn't have to sink any more money or effort into the home, we wouldn't have to try to keep our house in show condition with 2 kids, and the sell date can be predetermined. It would definitely be worth giving up some of the profits for the ease factor. (although not paying realtors commissions lessens that difference) We have in mind what our bottom line is for a cash price but we aren't going to disclose that figure and just take bids for our property. God has been paving the way so far and I believe that He is going to continue to amaze us with how easily things are going to fall into place.

Here's what I think is going to happen: (or should I say what God is going to make happen!)
We will sell our house to a professional house flipper and be living and working in Iowa by June.

Stay tuned to find out!

Posted in: moving, Slow Lane on Sunday, April 1, 2007 at at 12:16 AM