As you all may be well aware, we made the journey home the first week in April. Neither of us was ready for the adventure to end and we both were in agreement that our new forever home would be in Panama. We are in love with the Pacific coast west of Coronado.
Upon our return to Michigan, we met with three real estate agents and interviewed each to find our best option to market our Gravel Lake property. We selected an agent and put the house on the market. Within 7 days we had it under contract and began preparing for our move. Our decision was to move to Panama with a foot locker, toolbox, and 2 suitcases each. We met a lot of people last winter and most told us that it was “liberating” to sell everything and replace what was necessary once settled into their new home. Most homes in Panama are sold furnished.
We put our agent in Panama to work in search of a reasonably priced rental. We decided to rent for a year while we look for our perfect home. Well, in case we haven’t mentioned it before our agent, Mitzi Casey, is awesome. She found us a beautiful condo that checks off all the boxes on our must have list. The unit rent is below our budget and it is for sale within our budget. We are optimistic that this may be our forever home. Once we get settled, there will be plenty of time to make an educated decision. She negotiated first right of refusal for us, in case they find a buyer during our lease. We are slipping in a few pictures here. We signed the lease sight unseen, but we had a great video tour on Saturday. The video tour showed things that you cannot possibly appreciate by just looking at pictures. Everything in the pictures is included except a couple of art pieces.
Las Olas is a condo in the Vista Mar community. The complex has multiple pools, golf course, beach club, marina, meditation garden, and three restaurants. We spent a lot of time in the community, but have not seen our condo in person. Needless to say we are a bit excited. Our official move date is June 26th.
We are now working through all the moving parts of an overseas move. We have everything we own for sale.
The first garage sale is behind us and the second and final sale is Memorial Day weekend. The following weekend is reserved for a rain date and we have the Hospice Thrift shop scheduled to pick up everything that is left on June 11th. Our closing date is June 15th for our Gravel Lake house. We have agreed to immediate possession for our buyers. We have temporary accommodations through the 26th when we will fly out for Panama.
It has been a while since we posted. We hope you understand that our time is at a premium. We continue to be committed to documenting this adventure, and promise you will not be disappointed. Keep checking back and subscribe to e-mail delivery if you haven’t already.
Adios:
Greg and Jen
