Moving
"Daniel... we have a problem..."
…these were the words uttered from my mouth when I checked my email to find the subject line “FWD: OFFER ON *address”. I had just stepped out of the shower and checked my phone. I was standing there with dripping wet hair, wrapped in my towel, and a deer in headlights look plastered across my face. I’m not even sure if I was reading the email or just staring at it. Daniel asked me a few times what was wrong, and I finally told him. We have an offer.
Seriously? “We have a problem”… THAT is my reaction?! I have no idea what made me respond like that. The offer ended up being $13,500 below our list price, which was far outside of our comfort zone. Even at full asking price, we anticipated bringing about $30k to closing. For the last few weeks, we have toyed back and forth with the idea of renting. We talked it out and decided that we had to come fairly close to our asking price to accept an offer. Our realtor called, and advised us on a fair counter offer that the buyer would likely accept without a lot of back and forth. Except the number he came up with didn’t work for us. So we countered at $2k below asking, and would include our furniture in the price. We were asked if it was worth losing the buyer over, and said yes.
The next few hours were probably the most anxiety ridden of my life. I felt nauseous, hands sweaty, with a lump the size of a baseball in my throat. We watched an episode of Glee on Hulu to pass the time. We took a drive just to get out of the house for a bit. After two long hours, our realtor let us know that the buyer was in class for the night and we wouldn’t hear back until morning. Lovely. A night of no sleep was in store for us.
Fast forward to the morning. I woke up grumpy and tired after tossing around all night. Checked my email: nothing. We discussed what our plan would be if/when we got a counter offer. We both headed to work on edge, trying our best to put on a normal face for our coworkers. I compulsively checked my email and around 10am, we had another counter offer. Our realtor said the offer was very strong, at $5,500 below list price and excluded furniture. We still had our heart stuck our our original number, and countered again.
On our way to dinner, we called our realtor to see if there were any updates. Seventeen minutes later (who was counting?), the buyer gave a final offer of $3k below listing with the furniture included. “Done” was the first and only word out of my mouth. He started giving us his realtor “fluff” about how this was a final offer and we would be unlikely to find someone else to pay that price. After a minute or so, Daniel and interjected. “We said done. As in done deal. Yes”.
…and the weight of the world has fallen off of our shoulders. The anchor keeping us here has been cut free. After months of struggling with indifference and being in limbo, we are moving forward. I am both excited and terrified!
House for Sale
Our house is officially the only thing left that is holding us back from the trip. We listed it with the same realtor we purchased from, after unsuccessfully trying to sell it ourselves. From the beginning, we knew we had to sell the house. Renting just isn’t an option for us. Most likely, we will not be returning to the area and we don’t want to be landlords. I don’t want to be on a beach in Thailand worrying about the furnace breaking or tenants not paying rent. Hindsight being what it is, we made a huge mistake in ever buying it. We are going to lose money. A lot of money. It is gut wrenching when I really think about it, but I try to swallow the lump in my throat and move on.
We’ve sold most of our belongings. We’ve had painters come and make things more neutral (read: boring). We’ve had a stager come and work her magic. We’ve started making the bed and emptying the dishwasher every morning. We turn the lights on when we leave for the day. Our house is feeling like less of a home and more of an obstacle every day. Maybe once we start getting showings, or any sign that it will eventually sell, i will start to feel better about things.
For now, we’re in limbo. Patience is a virtue that I don’t always have. I am trying to stay positive, but am getting a little stir crazy. Someone, anyone, please buy our house!