When our twin grandsons were born five years ago we rented a condo in Minneapolis so we would have a place to stay when visiting, as well as having somewhere to host family holidays and sleepovers with the boys when they got older. After renting for two years, we decided to make the commitment/investment and bought a unit in a brand new condo development in Downtown East Minneapolis. It was a great experience; we got to choose our unit and pick out all the fixtures, flooring and cabinetry. We loved Minneapolis, which had become our second home since Kate went away to the University of Minnesota in 2000, and the location was wonderful, a 15 minute walk from the light rail station.
Eighteen months later, Kate took a job with White Wave Foods in Denver and moved there with her family. When they finally bought a house last July (the Denver real estate market is brutal!), we decided to sell our place in Minneapolis and buy a place in Denver. Our kids saw their grandparents only a couple times a year, and we want a closer relationship with our grandkids. We were in Denver for a week in July and found a place that met our needs and had an accepted offer on it before we went back to Houston. Our decision was cemented when we found out in August that Kate was pregnant...only one this time, thank goodness! August and September were quite the whirlwind. I went up to Minneapolis to put the condo there on the market. It sold for the asking price in less than a week. We got rid of most everything we had there, only taking what we could pack into our Highlander. We closed on the Minneapolis sale the day after Labor Day, drove to Denver the next day and closed on the Denver purchase the following Saturday. We didn't actually move in until Thankgiving, after paint, new hardwood floors and new furniture.
