How We Got Our Big Yellow House

Tomorrow is the day we settle on our big yellow house.  Owning and renovating a historic home is something I’ve dreamt about for most of my life.  Having purchased 8 homes over the past 30 years you might be wondering, “What took you so long?”  The truth is it just wasn’t the right time.  I was too busy, living in the wrong place, didn’t have the money, or was married to the wrong man.  Then, in late 2010, I realized the wrong time was quickly becoming the right time.  With children launched and retirement rapidly approaching, Larry (my handy around the house new husband) and I realized we could live anywhere we wanted.  Secretly I wondered, “If not now, then when?”  So one evening, over a glass of wine, I shared my long-time dream with Larry. He agreed the wrong time was quickly becoming the right time and together we started our search for the perfect historic home. 

"The South's Prettiest Small Town"



Realizing we needed to find the perfect location before we could find the perfect historic house, we quickly settled on the four criteria that eventually led us to Edenton, NC : 

·    No more than a 4 hour drive from Northern Virginia

·    Small town (less than 35,000 people)

·    On the water (ocean/river/lake)

·    Sizable historic district with plenty of  shops and restaurants

We first visited Edenton in the fall of 2010 and for the next 18 months I stalked the town and their real estate market via the internet.When Larry asked what I wanted for Christmas in 2011, I didn’t hesitate a moment when I told him I wanted to go back to Edenton and look seriously at real estate.  One week later we had reservations at the Grandville Queen, one of Edenton's historically significant B&Bs, and I went to work surfing the internet identifying more than 26 historic homes I wanted to visit.

With my two sisters and their husbands in tow, the “big yellow house” was one of 26 homes for sale we strolled past as we carried out our walking tour of Edenton the week between Christmas and New Year’s.  At the end of two days, I had eliminated all but 6 homes and was anxious to see each from the inside.  A serendipitous meeting led us to realtor Fraser Kelly and the following day we visited 5 of those 6 homes.  Sadly, the “big yellow house” was already under contract and no longer available for viewing.  We left Edenton pretty sure we had found the right location, but not the “right house”.

Two weeks later we received a call from Fraser telling us the contract had fallen through on the “big yellow house” and it was back on the market.  Since Larry and my brother-in-laws were scheduled to complete some renovation work at our weekend home, we girls jumped in the car and took another road trip to Edenton.  It was love at first sight when I stepped inside the “big yellow house”.  Armed with a multitude of photos and a significant amount of video, I returned home to introduce Larry to what would ultimately become our new home.  Tomorrow, we become the 8^th owner of “our” big yellow house.  The list of families who lived here before us includes:  the Brown’s (1916), the Stephenson’s (1922), Mrs. Brown (1930), the Colombo’s (1968), the Underkofler’s  (1975), the Kearns’ (1994), and the Cumby’s (1998).