About five years ago we placed our house on Grand Point Drive up “for sale by owner”. We had purchased a condo just outside Traverse City and considered moving to the Grand Traverse Resort Community. We remodeled a third story walk-up that proved to be too much climbing for me. I had recently completed knee surgery and was starting to have trouble with my other knee. Ruth remodeled the kitchen, selected carpet, upgraded tile throughout, did some painting, and we hired a couple of guys to tackle the necessary carpentry work. In the end we sold the six month experiment for $25,000 more than we bought it and stayed at the lake.
We placed 11572 up for sale the following summer with a local relator. I agreed to pay a 7% commission if we received a full price offer. Anything less would result in a 6% commission. Within a week we received an offer for $10 less than our asking price from a “doctor” in Afghanistan. We accepted, but we discovered the offer was a scam that would have resulted in the real-estate company being on the hook for several thousand dollars. The listing ran out after sixty days and we took it off the market.
Each time we considered a move to a condo, first Traverse City and then someplace closer to David’s family. Being closer means it will be easier to attend Brady and Eva’s events. We’re only in Michigan for half the year and want to take in as much time with the kids as possible. We explored our options but never could agree on a relocation plan until now.
About two weeks ago we took a look at the area known as Canadian Lakes. It sits between Mt. Pleasant and Big Rapids. One of the first friends I made when I arrived in Addison lived not far from the cottage we rented on Round Lake during our transition from Kalamazoo. Shortly after we moved into our Lake LeAnn home, Dave moved his family across the bay from our house. They lived there for a few years and our kids became playmates. While he was in the area, Dave and I established a DBA (doing business as) for a business we called MAJED. The business was named after our combined five children, Michael, Amanda, Jessy, Elizabeth, and David. We remodeled two houses, made a few dollars, and stopped working together when he and his wife separated.
We kept in touch. Ruth and I introduced him to his second wife and served as their maid of honor and best man. Dave’s new family lived in a couple of locations in Michigan and later he moved to Florida. Wife two and Dave split somewhere along the way. We were out of touch for a while but always managed to circle around and meet up again. Dave met Annie in Florida, fell in love, and married. The third time’s the charm.
Dave and Annie bought a home in Canadian Lakes earlier this year. He had been spending his summers in the U.P. for several years but decided to move closer to his children. They’ve seen much more of each other since he’s moved closer to them. His revelation got me thinking, so Ruth and I decided to look into this “Canadian Lake” idea. We made two trips to the area over the course of a week. Canadian Lakes is an hour and a half from David, Lindsay, Brady and Eva’s home in Hamilton and an hour and forty-five minutes from their cottage in near Kalkaska. Right now we drive two hours and fifteen minutes, or four hours, depending upon where we go to see them.
We explored several houses and two condos. We made an offer on a condo that’s part of the Tullymore Golf Resort adjacent to Canadian Lakes and it was accepted. We’ll sell our home of 43 years and spend our summers in our new condo.
I have mixed feelings about the move. It’s going to be difficult to leave this place behind, but both Ruth and I agree that it’s a great option. We get to be closer to our Michigan kids, have no outside maintenance to worry about, have completely new everything, and a first floor laundry. As we’ve gotten older all those things add up. It’s not that I can’t mow the lawn, trim the bushes, rototill the beach, hammer down the loose boards on the deck, plant the flowers, pull the weeds, clean the gutters, get the tree limbs off the roof, and rake the leaves. I just don’t want to do it any more.
After our walk-thru to pick out the final finishes Ruth remarked, “This will be like being on vacation all of the time.” I agreed.
Perhaps that’s what retirement is supposed to be about – one constant vacation with seven Saturdays a week. We’ll have two vacation places but will be giving up the home that has defined our time together.
TBC