Dinner for One? Yes, please.

I started this blog four years ago to document my journey moving to a new area with a new love interest and the goal was to start a new life.  I was optimistic and with an adventurous spirit sold the home I loved, packed up and took off!

The Little Brown Cottage was purchased and I set about improving, designing and nesting.  I worked hard both in my career and in my personal life and I decided, for once in my life, to put much effort into finding a balance between the two.  Here are the photos of the finished project.

Situated on 8 acres this tiny home in the woods felt more like home than any other place I had ever lived.  The setting was beautiful!

New doors, new floors and a whole lot of painting later.  This home turned out so charming and warm!

While renovating this home, which I had thrown myself into, my new relationship was coming to an end.  I lived there several months after the breakup and continued to put the finishing touches on this adorable cottage in the woods.  Looking back, I think fondly of this place.  It was a magical place of self discovery.  I don't think of it as a place where my relationship fell apart, I think of it as rite of passage or a window to the beautiful place my heart would take me to today.

Goodbye to my Little Brown Cottage!

Girl Power!

The real estate market has been very challenging in the last five years.  With the rising number of foreclosures, short sales and sellers who have to come to the table with a check, the market for buyers, sellers and real estate professionals has become somewhat moody.  One of the biggest changes for me personally, is the relationship we have with the seller.  Before 2006, when the seller came to closing, he/she was very excited to pick up their check and move on to greener pasture.  They were great to work with when the buyer's lender or the buyer requested repairs because they were motivated to pick up the check.  In today's market, depending on a seller's situation, they may have purchased their home for more than the current buyer has offered.  So when they are approached with a repair request, it's like adding insult to injury for them.  "What more do they want from me?"

Real estate has been and remains today a long term investment.  Much like the stock market, it has fluctuated historically and home ownership is still the key to investment diversification.  Those who purchase homes, work on savings and investment will fair much better in their retirement years than those who do not.

There are opportunities in any real estate market, and the market we are experiencing right now is no exception to this rule.  The most encouraging trend that I have personally witnessed is the number of independent, young working women who have purchased homes.  They are hardworking and very thrifty savers.  These women have been very careful and prudent buyers who have purchased homes with loans at all time lows and if they remain in these homes for the next five years could impact the economy in very positive ways in the coming years.

Oh and yes, I have seen many single young bachelors make the move to purchasing homes instead of renting and waiting until they are married.  They too have been careful and prudent savers.  These young buyers are buying five maybe ten years sooner than my generation bought homes.

I'm very impressed with this Generation X!  And on that note, here is a photo of one of those proud young clients who purchased the most adorable cottage.  She is busy with landscape and is having a blast making it hers!

I am a Buyer's Agent for Kay Van Kampen in Ozark, Missouri.  Kay also happens to be my mother.  I love my career and love helping my clients find new homes and love, love how they make these homes their own!  I have some very talented clients.  I started this blog to share my story and my clients' stories as well as we all travel through life all looking for a place to call home.

My journey is much like that of my clients.  In a tough economy, many of my clients have reevaluated what is really important in life and many have downsized and then there are some who had the opportunity to take advantage of the market and bought homes that gave them new opportunities to expand and express themselves.

In 2006, I built this house.

This was my dream home.  I spent months planning and researching products and floor plans because both of my boys planned to attend college nearby and I wanted them to have the entire second floor to themselves and give them some much needed "adult" privacy but really wanted them to stay home.

I loved this kitchen!!! It was everything I wanted and so much more.  I went 20% over budget in this one room, but boy it really paid off.

I sold this home in 2008 when I divorced and even though I miss this home (not the exhusband), I was ready to find my "single and in my 40's home" that I could manage all by myself and I was really excited.  I had never shopped for a home that met just my requirements.

So I found this home.....1500 something sq. feet plenty big for just me!  Mom actually shopped with me and we both said "This is it!" at the same time!

Much smaller kitchen, much smaller bedrooms, but so much more manageable and the payment was much more reasonable. 

WELL......I didn't expect to meet Doug.  We have the best time together and we've both been through alot of the same things.....we're different....but we're the same in so many ways.  And now.....everything is better when we are together.  So I sold this home and officially live with my mother.  When this home went under contract, I had planned to move in with Doug who lived on his family's farm until we found "our" home.  Doug's family farm was hit by a tornado and he is now living in an RV.   So goes the story, so goes the beginning of this blog.  Our journey to find a home, and a place to share some of my client's talented renovations.