10 Years Ago: Seeing Oakleaf for the First Time

This is the first in a series of posts talking about how we found, purchased, and renovated Oakleaf. We are still deciding how much to share that we haven't before. When people talk about "blood, sweat and tears" we have that plus a few miracles. Here we'll share a little bit of the miracles behind creating a dream we hadn't really dared to dream about. We also apologize for the original photo quality.

Ten years ago, I (Cris) got up at 5am to start getting ready for work. At the time, I worked for a Chattanooga area builder and had a small side hustle as an interior designer. Dave had a business also, offering custom remodeling and handmade furniture.

As I waited for my morning coffee to brew, I glanced at my email to see what new developments there were at work overnight, and then also checked my gmail.

A new listing was there from Zillow. Listed at 5pm. The cutest house. A barn. 27 acres of forest. My heart started beating a little faster. Dave was still asleep... dare I email the realtor?

A little backstory: A few weeks back we had sold a small rental property to our tenant and put the proceeds into a tax-deferred status called a 1031 Exchange. The IRS has a very limited time frame for you to make this exchange of one like-kind (in our case, a rental) to another. Dave had been driving around looking at properties for weeks, trying to search out one that would work. We didn't love any of the options we had yet, and we had ONE DAY left to identify something.

And here was this cute-looking house, bordering a major state park of all wonderful things.

I held my breath, and while the sound of Dave's soft snoring still floated down the hall, I sent an email to the realtor asking to view it.

The poor man has no idea what I do while he sleeps.

I brought him coffee a little ahead of the normal wake-up time. Showed him the listing. Groggily, he said it looked interesting, yes let's look at it (not knowing I had already made contact with the realtor).

By the time I got to work, the Realtor had emailed me back, offering a showing at noon. I talked to my boss, who knew I was looking for a replacement rental property. As someone always on the lookout for new investments himself, he understood. I'd make up any missed time later.

In a small twist of life, on my way to work I got a text from my parents saying they were flying in that morning. I let them know what we'd be up to, and they wanted to come along to see this house.

I remember coming up the driveway for the first time, in my little Mini Cooper, Dave in the passenger seat. I quickly realized the hill required first gear, not second, and had to downshift in the middle of the first incline. It was mid-April, Spring was in full bloom, the trees were nearly fully leafed out. The forest absolutely hugged that narrow strip of driveway, bathing us in green-tinged light. I squished down a bubble of excitement. I remember thinking, nobody puts in a driveway like this in without something worthwhile on the other side.

Rule #1 of looking at property, don't get excited.

We reached the top, and an adorable light-blue house peeked out over pink azaleas in full bloom. That excited bubble wanted to rise up again. I squished it back down. Parked. Set the e-brake. My parents came up a few moments later, we hugged and the realtor walked over to us.

The house had great bones. Our Realtor said the owner designed it after her grandparent's house, and it definitely has the classic Four-Over-Four design that many of us are familiar with, which offers a little instant nostalgia. OMG the boxes it checked for my dream home. Clawfoot tub. Woodstove. Privacy. Out to the barn, dirt floor, old stalls. A decade of children's boots nailed up in the rafters. Dave and I stepped out the back of the barn and took in the most amazing sight -- the mossy, rocky shoulder of Lookout Mountain, rising up above us, the sunlight peeking through the verdant foliage. Our hands touched.

The property was more expensive than anything we had bought in our lives. We've always been very conservative with money, and this was just slightly above our comfort level. We talked for a few, then wandered back to the house.

My mom knew I was in love. She knew my job stressed me out. "You need a nice place to come home to," she said. Except as much as I loved it, this was an exchange. It could not be home. (Yes, Oakleaf is our dream home and we can't live there -- we just get to visit it every day).

My dad was sitting on the steps of the front porch with my sister. We found a Luna moth there, and my dad was looking out at the forest in front of the house and said, "If you don't buy it, I will."

On that lighthearted (but real) threat, we decided to make an offer. I kept my boss updated, knowing time was passing and I should be at work. I stepped out of the Realtor's office and called him. More than understanding, not at all upset, he went a step beyond and offered to put me in contact with his bank for the loan and would introduce us.

By 2pm, our offer had been accepted.

As I have often said... we don't even buy shoes that fast.

Next up: The Purchase, and the Idea of Oakleaf