Ashleigh Whaley
Incorporating Buying a New Home into Our Homeschooling Journey.
New Property Research.
We love involving our children in all our decision making. It’s always fun to get their input and bounce ideas off them. Children, generally, see things so differently to adults, which makes for some interesting discussions.
For a number of reasons, we decided to sell our Harare house and look for a new home. This would mean more land, but some renovation challenges, as we had a strict budget.
We had been searching for a new property for a number of years. Each week we searched the internet and I showed the children what was for sale. We then discussed the pros and cons of each property.
It turned out to be the most captivating project, with loads of interesting stories to tell at the end.
The Lord says, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7
Children’s Property Requests.
First of all, our children decided that they would like the extra land, so that they could have two miniature ponies, which would be named ‘Pancakes’ and ‘Basil’. Hmmm… ‘Are miniature ponies even available in Zimbabwe?’ I asked. Best they look for a donkey and a zebra!
Their second request was to have a double story Cape Dutch house, which is a rare architectural request for Harare.
Having said that, we did manage to find a few on the market, but nothing suitable.
“You can make many plans, but the LORD’S purpose will prevail.” Proverbs 19:21
Property Viewing.
The new property viewing began in earnest… I spent time educating the children about what we needed to look for in a property, from security and water availability, to cracked walls and leaking ceilings, etc.
First we made a long list of requirements, – then set off to explore the Harare property market.
Well, of course, if the property was not Cape Dutch, double story or spacious enough for miniature horses, it was soon rejected by the children.
As we had a budget to stick to, we knew that we were probably looking for a needle in a haystack… However, by taking the children to look at a variety of different properties, it gave us an understanding as to what the market had to offer.
We soon realised that we had to look at run down properties, in need of renovation. This took us to some very interesting sites and the words run down took on a whole new meaning!
What We Did Not Expect!
We did not expect to experience the following, on our property viewing visits…
· A kitchen turned into a bedroom with the tap directly above the head of the bed! Murray John thought that very unique! “Who would sleep in a kitchen?” he asked in astonishment.
· Whilst walking around the garden of another property, I came across a person in scruffy clothes, carrying a pump action shotgun! This gave me such a fright that I left the property immediately, deciding to ‘let sleeping dogs lie!’
· Then, one day, we entered an old run down house, to be greeted by an unfriendly homeless person, who turned out to be a local witchdoctor/Nyanga. That caused us all to run outside, jump in our car and head out the gate. This was a pretty freaky experience!
· Seeing chicken houses in garages and turkeys in the garden was a frequent occurrence. In fact, many houses had chickens stuffed into very strange accommodation!
Goodness me, who would have thought that house viewing was such a dangerous and surprising occupation. The children most certainly got to see our city from a different perspective!
Like me, they were not deterred at all, as we continued on, with added determination to find the right place.
“The LORD’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous.” Proverbs 3:33
Heaps of Imagination Required.
One most certainly has to have a vivid imagination, in order to see beyond the dirt, brokenness and chaos, -in order to be able to visualise a beautiful home arising from a shambles.
As the property hunting story continued, it did cause us much laughter and frustration. However, we remained determined, believing that God would help us find our ‘diamond in the rough’.
It turned out to be the most wonderful homeschooling education for the children and they have a new respect for property and how it needs to be maintained. Seeing so many neglected properties has helped the children learn that properties should never be left to totally deteriorate.
“Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.” Psalm 127:1
We Found our Diamond.
House hunting became an adventure for us, with enthusiastic daily discussions and many property visits. After visiting countless properties and having fun searching through many websites, we finally managed to find our ‘diamond’!
Yes, it definitely needs our love -and bucket loads of elbow grease! However, the charm of the place, it’s position at the end of a road, it’s beautiful trees, plus the splendid view across the valley, certainly got our attention.
No, we didn’t get the Cape Dutch home, but Murray John got his upstairs room and there is plenty of space for miniature ponies, much to Paula Joy’s delight.
– It was then time to put in an offer, pray and wait..
Eventually, -bingo! We got our dream home, for our budgeted price.
“For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.” Hebrews 3:4
Time to Walk in Faith.
The paper work evolved in selling and buying a property is an enormous task and I have been educating the children each step of the way. It took us over six months to complete the process. However, eventually all was done and it was time to move!
No truer word spoken!
Purchasing a new property in Zimbabwe takes a leap of faith, as there are no building, plumbing, or electrical inspections done, before a sale. What is required is loads of prayer, common sense and much courage.
Also, the emotional side of purchasing a new property is something we, as a family, went through. This caused many tears, some anger, some laughter, yet many memories for us to look back upon.
My next post will be on the property we found, how we moved and how we began the renovations. I look forward to sharing this with you all.
God bless….
Prayer: Heavenly father, we thank you for the journey you took us through, with selling and purchasing a new home. You led us each step of the way and we are so grateful for Your guidance, and love, – and for answering our prayers, with a home beyond our wildest dreams. Thank you! In Jesus name we pray… Amen.
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