the wait begins

Through the majority of the legal negotiations I remember thinking, "I'm not sure I'm this grown up!" Thomas and I were often questioned about why we weren't asking for more from the developer. But the more we got into the details of the cost of going to court it became clear that the effort and expense would not be worth it. 

Our practical challenge became reaching a fair purchase price and finding a new place to live. Our personal challenge was to forgive when wronged and to wait for closure.

In April 2018 we were in constant dialogue with our attorney about the value of our house since there were no like properties in our area. We considered repair estimates, land sales around us, what possible development was coming to Pineville, all of the engineering reports and endless strategies with numbers and what ifs. We arranged a meeting for May 1, 2018, with the developer to reach a settlement. I was driving the children back to North Carolina from Orlando so I was able to be in constant prayer without (much) distraction. I emailed our dear community the following requests:

hi everyone...we would really appreciate your prayers for our settlement meeting with the developer that is happening tomorrow (tuesday) at 11am. thomas is going to attend with our lawyer. though it’s not what we want, through much counsel we have decided to pursue selling our property to the developer. immediate requests would be for a favorable sale price to be arranged and for positive interactions that reflect Christ. and then as things move forward, prayers for where to move will be needed. we are sad but trusting the Lord that this is all in His hands. 
em and thomas

The meeting ended up being free from conflict. I followed up with this message: 

hey everyone, thank you so much for your prayers yesterday. we have felt so covered in peace and provision. the nearness of the Lord is certainly felt in a sweet way during trial. thomas had a productive meeting and we agreed to sell our house. final analysis is that we got a reasonable sale price which was higher than our attorney expected. now we have to be out in 30 days from signing the agreement sometime next week. 

So we found ourselves needing to be prepared to move within one month of the developer's signature on the agreement. And needing a place to go. I immediately started packing anything that was not needed for daily life. All of the decorations came down. Kitchen supplies were packed up. I emptied the attic. We were able to borrow an old Uhaul from Thomas' brother so we had our own storage in the backyard. 

 

Thomas had previously purchased several old lots in Pineville that had no sewer access. One of our first plans to remain in Pineville was to build on this land. In the midst of managing engineering information for our broken home, Thomas began to compile engineering documents for development of the lots and apply for permits. When we thought that we may have to move quickly, we also began researching modular home designs and builders. We visited a builder near Durham that would construct a custom home in a warehouse and then deliver it to the site.

Even this "expedited" build would take quite some time. Another provision from the Lord during this time was the opportunity to live on Thomas' parents' land. Jan and Hugh had acquired a mobile home adjacent to their property and fixed it up. The first tenants moved out in perfect timing for us to move in as needed. We expected to live in the "brown house" for several months and then settle back into our newly built home in Pineville. We rented the brown house and moved many of our belongings to set up a home.

While living in Indian Trail thirty minutes from most of our daily activities was less than ideal, we were grateful for a flexible agreement to move as needed. An incredible answer to prayer was that God led us to a charter school for Micah and he was accepted for first grade. This meant that as long as we lived in North Carolina he could attend Unity Classical. Other than a long commute, moving would not affect his districted school.

 Another blessing of this season was the opportunity to try out living near where Thomas grew up. He has great memories of being raised on land and dreamed of his children doing the same. If he never had the chance to experience both the positives and negatives of living outside the city, he would always wonder if we should move farther out. We only spent a couple of nights in the brown house, but it will always be a sweet memory for our family.

All through the summer we waited for the signed agreement. We didn't want to seem too pushy or too desperate and jeopardize our case with the developer. But we also needed the assurance that we would have funds to begin construction on our next home.

In early August 2018 I wrote in my journal, "It has been such a strange season of limbo - knowing that major life changes are coming but not really being able to prepare for them." Micah was getting ready to start school and both Silas and Alice were having medical challenges. Then in a conversation with our neighbor we found out that the developer offered them more money for less property. It was like a punch in the gut. We were thrown into new decisions about whether or not we should pursue a higher purchase price. We had to recognize that when we reached a settlement price in April we were grateful to be made whole and we didn't want to get caught up in the justice of it. 

This was a pivotal faith moment of again recognizing that none of our possessions belong to us. God has the right to do whatever He deems best. We prayed that if God was providing a way for us to make more and be in a better position that He would do it, and if not that we would accept His working without bitterness.

Isaiah 26:12 "O Lord, you will ordain peace for us; you have done for us all our works."

Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."

shaken foundations

We have a new address and a story we want to tell. It began in January 2018 with our “dream house” in Pineville vibrating nearly off the foundation. The past year and a half we found ourselves in a situation that was extremely personal to us as we sought resolution. Living in the house made us constantly aware of the conflict, but we recognize that the other parties were focused on financials and likely rarely thought of the affect on our family. 

When Thomas and I got married, we lived in a tiny, sweet, old mill house in Pineville. Micah and Alice were both born while we were living on Park Avenue. Alice’s pack ’n play was in the hallway and we were looking for more space. We wanted to stay in Pineville near Thomas’ work in a community we love.



In August 2014 we toured our Johnston Drive house and were in awe when we walked in the front door. It was like I heard angels singing. Here was a quaint, 100 year old house, in Pineville, with more space and a great yard. The seller chose our family over a higher offer and in the negotiations left much of the furniture so we didn’t have to buy any despite more than doubling our square footage. We loved the character and spaciousness of the house. It was such a gift from God. In this house we could entertain, we had room for guests, we kept bees and made beautiful gardens. (We also had plenty of old house frustrations.)



In 2017 we heard that a townhome development was planned for the land adjacent to ours. The developer bought two houses next to ours and had the fire department burn them down. We weren’t thrilled with the changes, but truly thought that the development would be good for the town. By December, the land was cleared and the graders were beginning to prepare the pads. 



Then in January 2018 our house began to rattle with the vibrations. One day in particular I took a video of our glass china cabinet shaking so much that the contents were clinking with each pass of the equipment outside. The floor vibrated and the wall cabinets groaned. We noticed large cracks in the plaster in the dining room nearest the construction. Other cracks began to appear throughout the house, so we emailed a contact at the developer with whom we had previously interacted. And so began a journey of trying to protect ourselves without demanding too much.

Our first meeting with them was very intimidating as they arrived at our front door with a geotechnical engineer. As we went through the house to discuss the damage he took a lot of pictures. It was the first time we noticed a large crack on the brick foundation along the same wall as the interior evidence. They asked if we would allow soil testing around the house. This was our first indication that instead of fixing the damage, they hoped to blame natural settling and a poor foundation.










Suddenly we understood that the argument would rest on how well we could show that the damage was not simply preexisting conditions of an old home. The developer put a seismograph in our yard with a trigger to notify them if an unacceptable level of vibration was detected. We had to secure our own geotechnical engineer, structural engineer, and insurance information. It took nearly a month to find an engineer willing to look at our property. In mid February we received a report that indicated that the front wall in our "blue room" was in danger of sliding off the foundation. 



Thomas and I were overwhelmed, offended, concerned and angry all at the same time. We determined to approach this situation with the perspective that we can’t control what happens to us, only how we respond. Early on we prayed that we would remember that we don’t really “own” anything that we have. In light of the eternal Kingdom, the way we represent Christ is what will last. We wanted to deeply believe the promises of Jesus that the Father provides and cares for us. 

The great thing about this goal was that it allowed us to “win” in the end no matter what. There were many times that one of us would get angry at the responses of the developer, but we were able to remind each other that God would resolve the situation for our good. 

During this season there were many reminders of God working on our behalf. A good friend connected us with a family member that was willing to give us insight on the legal process in construction matters. Another family member connected us with a local attorney when we realized we needed to obtain counsel. This saved us a lot of money and allowed us to communicate our goals of repairing the house as a fair solution.

A huge challenge was finding contractors willing to help us with estimates for foundational and interior repair. By mid March it became clear that the extent of foundation work and bringing everything inside up to code basically "totaled" the house. Our initial desire to stay in our home began to seem unwise as it would cost more than the value of the property to repair and we would need to move out during this work. 

After many difficult conversations and much prayer, we realized that our best option was to settle the matter by selling our property to the developer.

It is a funny thing to be in the middle of a story, knowing that it will be okay, but not having any idea how.

Luke 12:29-32 "And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom and these things will be added to you. Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."