Often when we think of retirement living, downsizing is what comes to mind. Although this is the case for many, the opposite was true for Jim and Chrys Golden.
“We originally moved to Arizona from Long Island. The town we lived in was a beach community. We were surrounded by water on all sides and when you came into the town, you would come over a drawbridge. It was lovely, says Chrys Golden.”
In 1996, due to health reason, the couple relocated to Arizona, where construction on their first home began before they’d even started their journey west. “We started building our house in Gilbert while we were still on Long Island so when we got here, all we had to do was move in,” she says.
They loved their new home and the contrasting surroundings of the desert, but compared to Long Island, Golden says, “We’d been used to living where there was lots of water and greenery, so we’d gone from living in a beach community to the desert. It was very different,” she laughs.
Still, Jim, a heavy equipment mechanic and Chrys, an employee pension consultant, both retired, say, “Our house in Gilbert was great. It had the perfect layout and the pool and backyard were ideal. We had many good years there—21 altogether.”
It wasn’t until some friends of the couple had built an expansive home to retire in, that the couple began to think about making a change. “Most people go for a smaller house when they retire. What did it for us is our friends built themselves a huge new place. It gave us complete house envy! That’s when we decided we’d sell and go for something bigger,” she says.
While they knew they’d miss their home of more than two decades, Golden felt that as long as everyone was together—herself, her husband and their loveable St. Bernard Collie mix, Delaney—she knew they could adapt to a different space.
Though they were looking forward to a new chapter in their lives, one obstacle still lay ahead. Golden says, “One thing we were totally dreading was having to go through the process of selling our home. We really wanted to avoid all of the aggravation of having strangers walking through our house at a moment’s notice.” They’d thought the traditional method was their only option until someone told them about OfferPad.
“My friend’s daughter sold her home to OfferPad and had a very good experience so we decided to try it for ourselves.We were very happy with the service. They make it extremely convenient for the seller. They paid for all our closing costs and there wasn’t this issue of having people coming in and out of our house to look at it every day,” says Golden.
The couple found their dream home in the Mesa community of Eastmark, going from 1,800 square feet of living, into a spacious 2,600. Golden says, “We definitely went up in size. We love the elevation out here and the fact that we can see the mountains. It’s beautiful. We now have a huge walk-in pantry and a laundry room the size of a master bedroom! Of her experience with OfferPad, she says, “It really is as easy as they promise it will be. We saved ourselves all of the stress that comes with selling and moving. I highly recommend OfferPad to everyone. It’s so worth it!”