Housing update December 2025

If you have been sleeping under a rock, you might have missed that we are moving again! Our house has been on the market since the end of May. We were under contract in two days. We were actively house hunting, but then the buyer had "a change of heart" and backed out. We stopped packing and stopped looking for a house. Fast forward until around August, and our house went back under contract. I started packing again, and we stared looking for a house again. This time, the couple decided they were getting divorced and backed out of the contract. Things are different here in Ohio, we did not get the earnest money from either of them. What we did get was hesitation for our house since it had bounced back onto the market after being under contract twice. People get leery and don't understand why, and start wondering what is wrong with the house.

Anyway, fast forward again, and our house is under contract and we close on Tuesday, December 16th! We have looked and looked for a house, but none were meeting our needs. Plus, we would have had to put everything we get from the sell of our current house, plus quite a few thousand more, on a down payment. Matt said it would be in our best interest to go into a rental. I said, no, no, no, absolutely not! There is SUCH a stigma for renters! Matt said, but we can be debt free for Christmas, hmmm, still no. Well, I walked away from the conversation, started thinking about it and praying about it, and I agreed with him that it is the right decision, even though it might not be easiest decision. We love having our own house and being able to do whatever we want to it without asking for permission. We have really tried harder this year to be make wise decisions. We want to be wise stewards of what God has given us, and we want the financial freedom to help others (even if it starts at home with helping Kayla and Elijah financially). 

There is a stigma with people who rent. Unfortunately, even the people who rent their houses out have a stigma (not all, but most). You would not believe some of the houses we have seen that people wanted $2500-$3000 a month to rent that were trashy! Holes in walls, or closets. Doors missing from closets. Carpet stained. Houses stinking! The worst was the land lord who showed us a house that had trash piled in the kitchen! The downstairs bathroom looked like a porta john that hadn't been cleaned in 6 months! The house was very dirty, one of the doors was literally falling down, and when Matt asked what maintenance they still planned to do, it was "not much." I was embarrassed for the lady! The house was awful.

We have found a house to rent that is a bit more than we really wanted to pay for a rental, but it is super nice. The people have done a fabulous job with everything. It looks nice, it was clean when we looked at it, it had all the proper doors, carpet only on the stairs, a nice backyard, a long driveway. Most of the floors are marble, so Elijah calls it the "Singapore house." Our apartment in Singapore had mostly marble floors that looked exactly like these. We loved Singapore and and we hope this house will be as good to us, and that we will make many happy memories here. Matt calls it the marble palace, and Kayla calls it a "prison cell," LOL. She has only seen it in pictures and some of the windows have wooden shutters, and for some reason it makes her think of a prison! 

We are happy with our decision. We chose to sign an 18-month lease instead of 12-months so we are not moving again next Christmas. We will be debt free for Christmas, which is huge. We KNOW we will have to replace Matt's van next year, and this will give us the financial freedom to do so without having to worry about it. We are planning to save and continue to look for the right house, praying for God's
timing. Most people are not supportive of our decision. They see it as a step back, or a step down. And, it's hard when people are not supportive. But, I get it. It's not what I wanted, it's not what Kayla and Elijah wanted, and it's really not what Matt wanted either, but it is the right decision for now. We are going to make the most of it. We are moving next Friday,  December 19th. Please pray that all goes smoothly.

Some more positives about renting this particular house:

😊It is only 7 minutes from our current house, so we really don't have to learn a new area

😊 it is 5 minutes closer to my work, making my commute under 20 minutes

😊it is closer to Matt's work

😊we will be able to put more down on our next house, making our house payments smaller

😊it is a quieter neighborhood, and will have less traffic going down the streets at night

😊we are able to get in sooner, rather than later

"To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen." Philippians 4:20

 "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17