Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Frustration With a Good Ending

Here is a quick run down of my stressful last three months!

As you know we put our house on the market to sell in May. We got an offer a few short weeks later and we were more than excited. They asked for a close date of July 31st which was about 50 days away (Most closings are 30 days away) but we were okay with this.

At some point we were told we were going to close early on the 26th and to get packed and ready to move. We were packed and ready by the 21st so we could rent a Uhaul and get things into place. Well that date came and went with no word from our buyers. The only furniture we had was Levi's crib and My king sized mattress on the floor in the master bedroom.

As July 31st was closely approaching, we received a notice asking for an extension on the contract. We weren't thrilled, but signed it anyway (also asking the buyers of our new house for an extension. They too, were not thrilled but followed suite.)

So August 15th was our new date. In the mean time, we are still living out of packed boxes and a mattress on the floor with Cori in between us. I'm almost positive we now have a permanent third member in our bed. I can't foresee getting her out any time soon. Great.

Last Thursday I get a call saying that our buyers could not get financed -- WHAT?? 65 days wasted. Our house was off the market for 65 days!! Two other houses in our neighborhood sold in that time and I know they would have chosen our house if it was available! 65 days down the drain.

We immediately called our Realtor, who is enjoying herself on vacation in Hawaii and told her to get our house back on the market as fast as she could!! She was super helpful and took the time to do this for us. By Thursday afternoon we had 4 scheduled showings.....

This could turn out okay!

Here's the thing - not to brag, but we have nice furniture and nice decor in our house. It makes the house look so much better to have it looking homey and warm instead of a cold vacant house. Right? James and I stayed up really late Thursday night putting our entire house back together to be ready to show it again on Friday. The whole time James and I were mumbling not so nice things under our breath out of frustration as we put beds back together, moved dressers, and hung things on the wall. We really didn't speak to each other very much because we were both so angry and even though we weren't angry at each other it would have turned into a huge fight between us b/c we didn't have anyone else to vent to. I might have cried a few tears over this.

At this point we were sure we were going to lose out on our new house that we have just fallen in love with. I cried about that too. The down payment we needed to put on the new house is tied up in the sale of this current house.

Rickey Bobby to the rescue! My parents offered to "gift" us the amount we would make from our house to go towards the money we have saved for down payment so we could move forward with the new house. (we will pay him back as soon as our house sells) James and I did the math and figured we could carry two mortgages for a couple of months if necessary. Definitely not ideal, but we could make it work. After a few hours of back and forth scenarios we said "Screw it, lets go for it". We both agreed we would be upset to lose out on the house and get an offer on ours very soon. We should close on our new house tomorrow or Thursday. VERY EXCITED.

To keep the excitement going - by Saturday evening we had TWO NEW OFFERS ON OUR HOUSE!!

BETTER OFFERS than we originally agreed to! We are going to come out better in the end!

This is great news! We even have time to move in a calm and organized manor because we will have our house for a month after we close on the new one. No Uhauls, storage facilities, or extra money spent. We can use our vehicles and trailers and move as slow or as fast as we want!

Even though the last three months have been probably the most stressful time I've ever lived through, it has all worked out in the end and we are beyond excited and relieved. I just hope everything goes smoothly. The new buyers we accepted are a way better fit for our neighborhood and neighbors too. They are older and more established, they are better all around. I don't foresee anymore crazy hick-ups like before.

I can't wait to get into my new house and start going crazy on Pinterest ideas!!