After a month of house hunting, we’ve decided to rent for now.
Our realtor connected us with a family who is renting us their parents’ home on a flexible basis. It’s located in a friendly neighborhood and has a big yard and a patio. I’m ecstatic to reunite with a kitchen, even if it’s borrowed. During the past month of hotel life, I’ve maintained a checklist of foods I want to cook as soon as I get a kitchen. Knoephla soup and buttermilk pie are at the top.
We never expected the market to be so hectic. We hear that many senior citizens are moving to Mason City to be close to it’s hospital. Homes sell before Realtors even list them online and there are always multiple offers. Sometimes sellers list homes but prefer to sell to family or friends, and sometimes sellers don’t actually want to sell at all. On our last unsuccessful bid, the other party offered over the list price in cash. How do you compete with that?
Renting will allow us to pursue a home at a more relaxed pace in which we only offer what we want to offer. Hopefully, we’ll have a better chance at landing a home as the season nears winter when less folks want to move.
Hotel life still prevents us from dining out during the work week, but I’ve gotten to explore my new community. Here are some snapshots of communities in northern Iowa and southern Minnesota.
Charles City, IA
Suspension Bridge crossing the Cedar River |
Reading Girl statue in Charles City’s central park. Cool, creepy or both? Why is she popping of the ground like that? Where’s her bottom half? |
Clear Lake, IA
Clear Lake dock on a hot and sunny July 3rd. |
Dows, IA
Dows is located about 30-minutes south of Mason City on I-35. There’s a large welcome center and restored blacksmith shop. According to TJs Great Places, Creme de la Creme is a nice place to stop for lunch and ice cream. The terrain is interspersed with little lakes. |
Sadly, I had no encounteres with Glory Dust. I’m not sure the statue is worthy of a detour, but you might as well stop by if you are visiting Cabella’s.
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