Happy Dance

We got it! We got it! We got it!

Yay-we got the house!!! Late last night after some tough negotiations and some frustration presumably on both, but certainly on our side, the deal was done baby! [exhale]

I'm so pleased and relieved and annoyingly happy today I don't know what to do with myself!

Here's how it played out using pretend numbers(as if you care):

Wed. Nov 25:

Went to see 3 listings, our new home was one of them listed at $274,900 (ok-this number isn't pretend, but I'd already included the MLS link)

It was the only one to date that stuck in our head once we left the door

Thurs. Nov 26:

Decide to make a low offer looking for our very quick closing date

Meet with agent and sign up the offer

Fri. Nov 27:

Seller counters price and a closing of 5 weeks later

We go see another house that I quite like

We counter splitting the difference in price keep the Dec 11 closing

Seller counters price but succumbs to our Dec 11 closing

We ask if we can see the property again before making a decision

Sat. Nov 28:

Visit the property with my pops and our agent

Despite a lot of work that needs to be done and an obvious lie in the listing, we decide to split the difference and counter that

Seller is petty and counters the price once again

We agree to accept because it's only a matter of pennies on the mortgage at this point.

Sun. Nov 29:

Sign papers and offer is done-conditional on an inspection

Visit Home Depot and see bargain on new washer & dryer and snag 'em for delivery at our new house

Schedule inspection for Monday afternoon/evening

Mon. Nov 30:

Inspection is basically the pits. There's a lot of work to be done-most of which we knew about, but some of which is new or more immediate/important/severe than we's anticipated.

We're really discouraged, as seen in an earlier post, but decide to basically counter our very original offer.

Tues/Wed Dec 1 (it kind of gets muddled):

Seller counters price

We split the difference and counter that

Seller is petty once again and counters a stupid amount

We fret

We're about to walk, but decide to counter once again, but before we do, our agent speaks to their agent and together decide a price that might be agreeable to both parties. Fine-we offer that.

They accept!

We all dance for joy!

I exhale for the first time in 4 days!

OK, I realize that's annoying to read if you're not me or hubs (well, even if you are it's pretty dry and annoying), but the most important part is....WE HAVE A HOUSE!!!! It's a house we are going to love, a house that is going to need quite a bit of work, money and TLC, and a house that took a lot of stress to get. But it's ours.

We bought a house...but,

don't get your hopes up.

This is the house we put an offer in on, negotiated for a while and eventually agreed & accepted:

I deleted it from our search on exterior esthetics alone, but hubs really liked it and wanted to check it out. What have we got to lose by looking, right? So we went to see it last week along with several others. There are definitely cons to it, but a lot of pros as well. So we slept on it, or more accurately in my case-lay in bed awake thinking about it and our options, and the next day had our agent put an offer in on it.

Through several rounds of negotiations, we got our closing date (happy dance!), and eventually an acceptable price. Conditionall sold! Only financing, insurance and an inspection to go.

Financing-check!
Insurance-check!
Inspection....well, it's done. And it was done well. But there wasn't the greatest news that came from it.

Hubs and I aren't dummies. We like the house, love the area, love the potential of it, but realize it's a bad investment at the originally agreed to price. We were absolutely sunk last night. Everyone around could tell.

But, we decided to offer the sellers a reduced price agreeing that we'd waive the conditions. We're waiting to hear back...and the wait is excruciating.

Here's the sitch:
I'm from a family in construction.
Hubs is from a family in construction.
Hubs IS in construction and has access to many trades.
We're looking for a house that needs some TLC and more.

In my opinion, the price is still very fair, and a big majority of the population (let alone the buying population) would turn around after that inspection and never look back. So, if our agent and the selling agent are doing their job (I know ours is), they'd advise the sellers that these problems are going to come up no matter who they're selling to. Frankly, we're perfect candidates for a house like this. We're not afraid of the WORK, we're afraid of the MONEY needed to complete all the work. I'm confortable stating that most buyers would be afraid of the work for sure.

We told our agent in no uncertain terms-it's the reduced price, or it's nothing. I want that house, but I don't want a money pit at that price.

Anyways, here it is:
(**Disclaimer: We know she's not a beaut aesthetically, just use your imagination as to what some paint, hardwood, nice furniture and some other work can do for it...we certainly have)

Another view of the exterior:

The entrance and powder room door:

The mighty bright living room: (imagine that wall made into a kitchen island opening up the living room, kitchen & dining room...yum!)

The connected dining room:

And half the kitchen:

The family room a half-level up (don't you LOVE that fireplace?):

The master bedroom:

Spare Bedroom #1:And finally the backyard:

Serious potential, huh? Teriffic layout, it just needs us to give it a little beauty makeover (and maybe a bit of plastic surgery around the windows and doors).

Are your fingers hurting from crossing them for us?

:)

That is all. Happy Monday!

C'est Sold!

Got the call this morning...the buyer DID end up waiving the conditions and the deal is firm!!!

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

So, we gotta be out by December 11th...a mere 17 days away!

Better get packing and better get buying.

Another strange tidbit-our last house was sold about November 3, 2008. This house sold on November 16, 2009. I guess we're fall sellers.

Gouing to see 4 places tonight-hope one of them's our next home!

The buying side of things

Well, this is a new experience for us. Being a home buyer and all.

Sure, we're looking for our 3rd home. But...our first 2 were new construction, so the 'looking' part was pretty easy. Cruise websites for floorplans and locations (and prices) we liked, check out the showhomes and essentially custom order your home. Sounds like fun, right?

Yeah, it was I won't lie. But we definitely wanted to try for resale this time around.

1-Time. we're on a serious time constraint. Builders are too, but a very different one. There's no way we could have even got an inventory home this quick.

2-This urban sprawl business. I admit I've added to it with our previous homes, but I'd like to not be a sulprit it I can avoid it. I like greenspace and having animals in the 'wild'.

3-The project. Hubs is handy, I've always said he was. And I like to think I'm pretty darn handy for an accountant too. Plus, I think we work well together, have good ideas and have good taste. So the project of taking something less than perfect and working to get it closer is definitely appealing.

4-Land! New construction doesn't have any. Well, certainly none we'd be able to afford anytime soon. Most try to squeeze as many lots in as small an acreage as possible, making for fairly small, very close lots.

5-It's new. We haven't done it before, and we're not planning to stay in the next house for more than a couple years at most, so what do we have to lose? It's exciting, it's something new and it gives us more information on the real estate market/industry.

So last Friday, I sided with hubs and decided to have some faith and trust that this sale would work out. I'm still not 100% (as evidenced by my unwillingness to pack up anything that we'd need to immediately unpack if the deal falls through), but I'm getting there. And I've certainly acknowledged that if we have a hope in hell of moving into a house on the 11th, and not temporarily boarding with a relative, we have to get our behinds in gear.

We called an agent with a couple degrees of separation that my sister used successfully to buy their first home recently and has been raving about since. She started quickly, setting up our first showing that very evening. It was a bit of a dud-not her fault at all. It fit our criteria, there were just some very serious problems we weren't willing to take on. But...it was pretty neat to try the 'buyers' shoes on.

Since then, every single house we've inquired about has been sold, conditionally sold, or taken off the market. SONUVA!!!

And then...last night at graduation night from level 2 cake classes, our agent (who is 36 weeks pregnant) called and is now due any day. So she's understandably and obviously off the case, but referred us to a friend and seemingly great agent.

The new agent has set up a new search for us and I'm working her to the bone! We're feeling the crunch for sure and, although we're not desperate, at the same time we kind of are. So...I e-mailed her 12 listings from her search to look at...12! Surely there'll be something worthwhile in there...anyone? Anyone????

I'm finally excited about all of this.


Now if only my lawyer would call that the deal's 100%.

Update

I know this has been an incredibly dry blog for some time now, and I apologize for that. It's been a busy, stressful time for a number of reasons and hopefully soon I can get back to shopping, idea boards and fun stuff. For now though, it's another picture-less, all talk update on sale progress...

So, here's what's been happening since Monday (apart from stress, anxiety and general unease).

Yesterday (Thursday) was the deadline we set for the negotiation worksheet to be prepared into an Agreement of Purchase & Sale, sent to the lawyers and signed. Yesterday at 5:00 specifically.

So Tuesday I called our lawyer just to give him a heads up that a) we were selling, b) we had sold, and c) there should be some paperwork coming to him. I left a message with his receptionist and left my number, but no call back. That's fine-he's my Godfather, so I'm sure he's looking out for my best interest and would call as soon as anything came in.

Thursday I called back to check in-he hadn't received anything as of 10:30 or so, so hubs called the buyer and asked what was up. The buyer mis-read the document and thought he had until 5:00 Thursday to get the paperwork to his lawyer. Fortunately he realized this on Wednesday, so had delivered the deposit cheque and signed paperwork then. However, it still hadn't made it to our lawyer yet, so there was no relief late yesterday afternoon as we had hoped for.

Bright and early this morning, I get a call from our lawyer (he's a very early riser) saying he has the agreement, read me the clauses. Everything sounded kosher until...he said there was a financing and inspection condition. Say what?! Hubs and the buyer had agreed to no conditions as he'd been pre-approved, the home was brand spankin' and it was still very well covered by new home warranty. So I called hubs in a panic, who then called the buyer. The buyer mentioned his lawyer advised him to add these conditions for extra insurance and he was considering voiding them anyways.

OK-I can understand his desire for extra insurance, but this is an incredibly time sensitive deal. We close in 3 WEEKS! According to this new agreement, he has until next Friday to satisfy these conditions. So...cynic that I've become (thus not wanting to act until this deal is 100%), that means that starting next Friday, we'd need to find, purchase and move into a new place in a span of 2 weeks. Which also happens to be 2 weeks before Christmas. Um---my little heart canNOT handle that.

Side: I'm actually impressed with hubs who was quite proactive about all of this and seemingly (what's the opposite of a pushover?...he was that). I'm very much the organizer and planner of our household and for all of our sales, have pretty much been the one in charge. I'm impressed he's taken the reigns and is managing them well.

So...I'm hoping that the buyer sticks to his side of the agreement and voids those 2 conditions, which is what was agreed to on Monday. And I'm hoping he does it fast. Truly, this needs to be taken care of today.

Puh-lease cross your fingers, toes, eyes and whatever else you can for us.

Thanks for the help Om's

So, I think Oma got to work quickly in the past week pulling some strings and helping us all out she never could while earth-bound.

Sunday-we had a day full of wakes and family. Hubs still hosted an open house though as we'd already made some appointments for people to come by during it. Overall, it was a pretty uneventful open house according to him...until just after it ended.

4:00 rolls around (open house 2-4) and he gets a call from a guy who's come through a couple times over the past couple weeks and has expressed interest, although he's certainly not the first to tease us. Guy calls, hubs charms, guy offers, hubs negotiates, gents agree. He'll be coming by Monday morning first thing to agree to terms and sign the negotiation worksheet to bring to the lawyers. Yay! I'm not getting my hopes up, but this sure isn't a bad thing.

4:20 gets here and another guy comes through that's also been through a few times (we knew he'd be late) and this time brought his wife and child from Toronto. Hubs charms, guy expresses desire to make offer, hubs informs, guy says he'll call tonight if he's making an offer for same conditions, higher price than other guy. No call.

So the paperwork's signed the morning of Oma's funeral and it's off to the lawyers to do their thang...so Thursday, if not before, this could be a done deal. December 11 closing, no conditions. Sweet Jesus---don't make me go through the actions again for it to fall through once again.

Thanks Oma! Thanks St. Joseph!

And apparently I've become a Holy Roller...these things happen.

Another One Bites the Dust...

Another deal fell through.

I didn't write anything about it on here, or really even talk to anyone other than hubs about it in the off chance that being superstitious would affect anything. I didn't want to jinx it.

It was the guy who came through when hubs did his first open house a couple weeks ago. They came back twice that day and upped their offer from the first to second visit. We hadn't heard from them, so thought (like most 'leads') it was a dead end. Then he called back and upped his offer again. It was still lower than we were comfortable accepting, so countered back and forth until we agreed on a number, date, etc. Yay! He works nights and we work days, so we were trying to figure when we could meet up for paperwork. Trust me-I was willing to take a vacation day and drive across the city if it was required. He was going to speak to his mother and call me back. That was yesterday. I hadn't heard from him today, so called and apparently they're putting an offer on a property in Centrepoint. I.e. NOT ours. Blech.

STOP now if you don't want to read excessive whining....

......


I warned you...

I have NO idea why our house isn't selling! It's priced very well (too well?) and other homes very close to ours (like down the street close) are selling quickly. Our house shows really well and it has tonnes of upgrades and features that people genuinely are seeming to really appreciate.

Obviously we've considered that it's us. Of course we have! We're not stupid, but I sincerely and honestly believe that I'm quite natural at this and very comfortable at it. Damnit-I'm good at it! I don't make it personal, I make sure to point out what should be pointed out and often cater these to the person/people viewing the home. I chit chat where appropriate, but always keep it professional/home related unless the viewer takes it somewhere else. And although I haven't really seen hubs do his thing, he got an offer his first open house, so he can't be that bad. He's very smart and knows construction and our house, so I'm sure he's good at it.

Seriously...why hasn't anyone bought our house! I'm flabbergasted. Truly. And not in a 'I love our house, so why don't other people too?' way, but in a realistic, rational way after a lot of research into the market, talking to professionals, etc.

So...do we take it down and stay a while? Do we enlist an agent? Do we reduce the price (again)?

I don't know, and although I'm at my wits end, hubs is also slowly getting there too.

I need a fairy Godmother...or something.

Missing

Wow--have I really not posted in that long?

Unfortunately, our excitement has waned slightly about the sale process the longer it's lasted.

Our listing went up on Sept 9-exactly 2 months ago. Since then, we've had 8 open houses (1 week we did the Saturday too) and had approx another 8 private showings. The open houses have always been successful and have always brought in at least 4-5 groups, often more.

In fact, hubs even did one open house while I was away in Toronto (to see the SYTYCD finale---yep. And no, I'm not a teenager). He was very nervous and was reluctant to do it at first, but it went really well, and it even got him his first offer! It was low, but still an accomplishment I'd say.

Our plan has been to show until the end of October and then take it down for the holidays, etc. This weekend's open house was to be our last, but we're just not ready to accept that it's not selling, so we'll see-maybe another week or so.

Last weekend, hubs & I hosted the open house together. Strange? I thought it could have been too, but I was really sick (actually was quarantined all of last week) and didn't want to do it alone. Plus, secretly, I wanted to see him do his thang and see how he does it. Maybe learn from each other? Before the open house, we buried a cardboard statue of St Joseph. A friend told me that doing this would bring luck, etc to real estate sales as he's the Saint of (among other things) real estate. I know! I had no idea there was such a saint either. But another friend had done it and sold their place within the week.

Anyways, we followed the directions, said a little prayer and off we went.

Here's hoping we've got a little miracle coming our way!

Update

So, it's fair to say that it's been an anxiety-ridden week. To say the least.

After Mondays heartbreaking e-mail (and I'm not being dramatic), we've waited impatiently through that entire day and Tuesday. Both of which were among the top 20 longest days of my life. We were supposed to hear by sometime on Tuesday, but hadn't.

So, Wednesday morning, I call P&K at 10:15 or so. I wanted to make it clear that we were interested in selling to them, but also not be a pain in the ass, so made 1 call at a reasonable time with enough time after we were supposed to have heard back from them that I wasn't being pushy or annoying. I leave a message-clear and concise.

All day yesterday I hear nothing back. I hadn't expected to as I suspected it was their home number they gave me and they'd likely be out working all day.

At home with hubs that evening, I was getting beyond anxious, so I checked our e-mail account for about the billionth time that day. There was a new e-mail. From P&K.

Now, let me point out-I'd had my phone with me basically 24/7 since Monday in case they called. I figured a call is the most direct way to update us and the least passive way too. Also, I figured if they called, it's more likely to be better news, and an e-mail likely meant bad.

So we stared at the computer screen for a few minutes, not really wanting to open it-fearing the worst. It wasn't the worst, but it wasn't good news either.

The jist: The guy they're dealing with had his inspection pushed back until Thursday (today), and he lost his phone so couldn't get the calls and couldn't call them. So they got his e-mail when they got home last night. The inspection should be going down today, and they should know at some point today what's going on.

GAH!

A couple things:

1-It sounds like the other seller is full of excuses. It almost sounds like he's reluctant to sell. Probably knows he has to, but doesn't want to. Self-sabotage if you ask me.
2-I'm clearly incredibly biased in this specific situation, but why would you make such an important purchase from someone so clearly unreliable. I acknowledge that a little hassle up front is worth a dream home in the long run, but...if he's this wishy-washy and inconsistent when he's trying to sell his home, doesn't that make you wonder how well he's maintained said home?
3-It doesn't take a genius to figure out they love that house more. Why would you put up with all this BS if you didn't. That's kind of upsetting for obvious reasons. I, of course, want to sell, but I almost don't want it to be to someone who's 'settling'.
4- And I'm just dang tired of waiting! I'm tired of selling (although it's only been a month), and I'm tired of being a prisoner to strangers' whims and times of day wanting to come see the house. And I'm SOOOO tired of the relentless agent calls!

And yes, I am being a whiney brat...so what?!

So that's what's up. Whatever happens, we're taking this weekend off from open houses & showings to enjoy Thanksgiving and an actual weekend, so that will be a nice break no matter what.

So I'm still on pins & needles, filled with anxiety and waiting for some guy to get his act together or not.

Sunk

That's how I feel this morning.

After an exhausting, yet incredibly eventful and exciting weekend. I arrived this morning to an e-mail that's made me feel heartbroken and sunk.

First, let me give the gist of the e-mail I would have written 40 minutes ago:

Thisclose!

Wow---what an awesome weekend. Non-stop and didn't have a second to rest, but worth every moment.

Got a call Friday afternoon asking about our house for sale and when this couple could come see it. Informed them we were having an open house Saturday & Sunday, but they were busy, so asked if they could come by earlier. I offered up 9:30. Done.

So after a dinner party Friday night and going to see Fame with the ladies (so cheesy, yet so us and thus quite enjoyable), I came home, cleaned up the dinner mess and went to bed. Woke up early enough for the final touches and met P&K to show our home. It's not an overstatement to say that they loved it. The showing went really well in my opinion and they were clearly not 'just looking', they were ready to buy. K went around for another look of the house while P stayed in the kitchen with me. K said to P "yeah, I know-you're already sold". !!!!!!! Yeeeeeeeeeeee! OK-heart, slow down.

So K finishes the second tour and comes down. After a bit of conversation and small talk we decide to do this thing and write up the offer. Excellent! A price we're both happy with, no conditions (Tarion does the work of the inspection), and a closing date of November 20th. Super excellent!! So I make a copy and they go on their way to enjoy the weekend and take the paperwork to their lawyer first thing Monday to get this thing official.

Open house Saturday afternoon. No one comes except one group. That group is P&K with another couple to 'show off their new home'. Seriously-they love it. It makes me so happy, relieved and truly warms my heart because you always want the person/people who buy your home to love it as much as you do. Like I did with our last house, I WANT P&K to have this house. I'm sentimental, so sue me.

Anyways, the weekend progresses. Another open house Sunday and it's more successful, but my heart's just totally not in it.

Hubs and I are SO excited and happy, yet still somewhat cautious because we know nothing's signed yet. We agree that P&K don't seem the type to just leave us hanging, so we're a bit more assured.
-------------------------------

Enter Monday. Demon of days that it is.

I'm exhausted, but have a long to do list that includes scouring MLS and Grapevine for our next home.

I check the e-mail account we've set up for the sale...and my heart drops.

There's an e-mail from P&K saying that they got a call this weekend from another person they'd been negotiating with saying he was ready to accept their offer. *Gulp* The deadline has expired, so it's not as if they're legally bound to this agreement (I believe), I just don't know if they love that house more. :(

In their defence, the e-mail sounded quite apologetic. It's not a done deal one way or another and the other party has until tomorrow (Tuesday) to let P&K know what their lawyer says.

In the meantime, our hearts are troubled, my mind's going a mile a minute and I'm on pins & needles. I just hope to hear back ASAP (in the most ASAP way you can ask for).

October Goals

I think this month, it's clear where my goals lie. I'd like to do a lot more Suzy-Homemaker-y stuff, but for now, I'm going to try to focus on selling our house. If we don't sell it in the next couple weeks we'll un-list it in order to enjoy the holidays, so I'll give it one final push, and if it doesn't sell, at least we didn't already buy a new place!

1. Send cards
2. Have a real date night with hubs (it's anniversary month afterall)
3. Sell house
4. Sell house (Twice for good measure)
5. Buy house
6. Enjoy Thanksgiving
7. Make at least 2 decent meals a week (I have been sooo supremely lazy/unmotivated to do any kind of meal planning or cooking in the last several weeks. Time to remedy that)
8. Bake something (besides bread) at least once a week
9. Go apple picking
10. Get to work on time 2x this month

He called back

The same guy who offered us $330K called back last night to 'check in'. He asked if I'd considered their offer and discussed it with my family.

It was basically a less surprised (on my part) repeat of our previous conversation, where I said I'd discussed with my husband and we don't feel it's a realistic starting point. We're open to negotiate but not from there.

He keeps going on and on about window treatments and how expensive they'll be...seriously? Seriously? If you're so concerned about the window treatments, I'll spend the $2K on getting some on every window in the house!!! Then are you willing to offer a reasonable amount?

I'm sure he's got a list and that's the main/only one he can think of when we talk, but it makes his whole argument sound so silly.

After only 2 weeks being listed and the amount of interest we've had, there's no way we're settling for $330K. Sorry bud.

Still, though, I think it's all good signs that he's calling back and I'm sure they're interested.

This weekend brings a rainy Sunday and Open House numero 3.

Update

Not much of one unfortunately...we had our second open house on Sunday. It was steady, but not nearly as busy as last weeks. There were 5 groups go through I believe. If nothing else, it was far less draining this week. None of the 5 were repeats though, unfortunately.

On Monday I got a call from the couple that came through twice last week. He wanted to discuss price. Ok, let's discuss. He thought it was overpriced and explained why. For the market, it's actually fairly priced and 3 real estate agents have come by and agreed that we'd sell it in no time with little problem (so far they're all liars though). So he basically made an offer $30K below asking. Are you serious??? I more or less said it wouldn't sell for that at we went over some other things to consider.

He offered to give me his number and if we changed our mind, could we call him. Sure! We won't, but sure.

So that's it. I've made a couple changes to the listing: the header pic, and moved the kitchen appliances from negotiable to included. And we'll be having another open house this Sunday.

Fingers crossed!

While I was hosting the open house, hubs and a friend went to a couple other open houses we had on our list of potentials. He really isn't eager to move to a town house, so his impressions of those ones were a little biased. There was one in an area that we really like, but the house itself needed A LOT of work. And not good work-like, the addition was sinking and needed to be completely re-done. There was another that hubs was really excited about. Great potential, and the only potential draw back is it's incredible proximity to my parents. We both love them very much and have no problem being close to them or spending lots of time with them, it just might be a bit strange. If that's the only thing against the house, though. It's a very good thing.

Goal # 9 and Open House Recap

Well, the first open house has come and gone. At least I can cross another goal off my list.

Short answer: It went quite well, had a lot of people come through and several of them seemed genuinely interested.

Longer answer:

The open house was supposed to be from 2-4. The first couple came at 1:40 and the last group left at 4:50.

I tried to keep track, and I think there were about 12-13 groups that came through. At one point, there were 5 groups in at the same time. It was hard to give them all a tour and/or the attention I thought was necesary to acknowledge the potential buyers. I managed pretty well though I think, and double-teamed a couple groups with the tour and questions.

Of the 12-13, I figure 5 of them I wouldn't be surprised to hear from. Everyone seemed interested (they wouldn't tell a homeowner their home was crap), but the other groups were 'just starting to look' or something similar. Just didn't get the "I'll hear from you soon" vibe from them. But hey, all we need is one, right?

It was so busy, I had to keep cancelling my texts to hubs giving him updates and it took me about 40 minutes to finish my sandwich I'd planned to eat before the open house started (plan was vetoed by the early arrivers).

The last couple to leave also came back for another showing at 8:30 with a friend who's in real estate. I asked if they wanted to tour again, or if they wanted to walk around on their own. They opted to go on their own as I'd already given them the tour, so off they went. They were looking for a while and I even overheard them placing furniture, discussing changes they'd make (hmph!) and stuff like that. It doesn't take a real estate agent to know that's never a bad sign.

Overall, I was poo-oooooped when all was said and done and was asleep before my head hit the pillow after the group left last night. I'm hoping it isn't necessary to have another open house, but I'm trying (again, and probably unsucessfully) not to get my hopes up. It seems very promising though.

Cross your fingers for us if you don't mind. I'd love to put a great update similar to this one and this one sometime very soon!

Outlook not good

Remember Magic 8 Balls. Man, they were popular.

Unfortunately, if I had one and asked it about the potential of last night's couple making an offer, the subject would equal the answer.

I came across this posting on Grapevine, which is basically just down the street from us, a slightly more expensive model and not a whole lot more expensive. Obviously I think ours is nicer and better, but I also realize that this one has it's own appeal. And depending on the demographic, possibly even more. Boo!

I know I said I was trying not to get my hopes up, but then why am I so glum now?

To make myself feel better, here are the things I don't like about it:

• The write up starts with "A FABULOUS HOME!!!" Why all caps? Why 3 exclamation marks? Why waste the space with hyperbole?
• Lower Level description: "Unfinished basement left for you to add your personal touch!". Ew.
• Eavestrough. It's one word, not two.
• Extra pieces of hardwood from builder left in basement. Why even bother writing that?
• Hood fan: it's two words, not one.
• Year Built: 2007 Approx. You're the original owners, and you don't know when it was built? Shaaaaady.
• Weird siding -why the random bit of a different colour?
• Horrible drapes/sheers in the dining room
• Where is the crown moulding? They say it's there, but I don't see it.
• Drapes in the bathroom? Directly over the bathtub?
• The desk looks way to large for the 'loft' (which is really just a large landing). It makes it look cramped.
• I straight up just don't like the 'gazebo'. It looks like you're camping. And it's not a gazebo for heaven's sake. It's a mosquito net.

Anyway, I'm just being bitchy and juvenile, but all those things are true. It is a nice kitchen though.

Showing, First Act

So, we had our first showing yesterday evening.


The short version: it went well, and the couple should be making a decision today. Fingers are crossed, but the plan is still for an open house on Sunday.

The long version: I left work early so I could get the final prep stuff done. Nothing serious, my list just included closing all the windows, turning on all the lights, turning on the speakers, and putting away Max & Layla's food & water dishes.


That was done quite quickly, so I had a quick drink of water and the doorbell rang. I gave them the tour, and they asked questions along the way. A middle-aged couple originally from the area moving back from BC because grandchildren are on the way. Seem quite well educated in the market, industry and the area as well. Thankfully I'd done my share of research and have paid attention to the build, so could answer his questions quite easily.


Once I'd given them the tour, which ended in the master, I went back downstairs, leaving them to check it out without someone peeking over their shoulders. I, for one, find this essential. If it were me, I wouldn't be nearly as comfortable talking with my partner honestly about the house and peeking in all the nooks and crannies if the homeowner was right there watching me.


My one complaint, and I'm still kicking myself for it, is that as I was turning on the lights, I did a quick sweep in the laundry room because of the litter box. The room didn't smell, per se, but no one ever notices smells they're used to, so I gave it a quick Febreeze spritz. Bad move! I never use the stuff, so I'd forgotten how strong & overpowering it is. Rookie mistake. So I turned on the vent to try to eliminate some of it and keep it from travelling, but that didn't help at all. I had to apologize as we got upstairs because you could already smell it. Damnit! I hate that stuff-I threw out the bottle as soon as they left.
When they came back down, I gave them a feature sheet and we talked dates. They're home in BC is closing Oct 29th, so they asked how flexible we were. I said we can be as flexible as needed since we haven't bought a house yet, but our listing noted October 30th closing-so no flexibility is needed. Perfection.


They were on their way to another showing, and had a few more today. He said they'd likely be making their decision later today.


I have no reason to believe they didn't love our place, but I also have no reason to believe they didn't love another one more. So, I'm cautiously optimistic, but still planning an open house in 2 days. It would be amazing not to have to bother, but that's so ideal, it's fairly unrealistic.

PS-Is the top exterior photo better than yesterday's?

Thoughts and opinions...

Does this picture make our house look like a town home?

I was cruising Building Homes and stalked came across this link where they were discussing if it was a town home or not.

I realize the homes are quite close together (as most new builds are), but I thought this pic best portrayed the whole house. Since it's a corner lot, it's difficult to get both the 'front' and the 'side'.

We may have to have another pic tonight after the showing.

Wondering if you think so too???

My version of Twitter-Home sale edition

I'm way too boring to actually have or use Twitter for anything.

However, at times like this, there's a lot going on and it changes all the time.

So, our house went up at about 10:15 this morning. At about 10:35, moments after posting the link here and e-mailing it to the fam, I get a call from someone visiting from BC who's buying a house ASAP and wants to see ours today. Wowza---that was quick.

We're not ready to show today, hence the open house on Sunday, but she mentioned near the end that they're very interested and asked if she could leave her name and temporary number so that if we were ready sooner, she and her husband could come by. She said she hoped we wouldn't have to bother with the open house.

Let me just say that again...She said she hoped we wouldn't have to bother with the open house!!!

So, heart a-flutter, I called hubs immediately and he was obviously excited. I asked him if he thought we could be ready for a showing tomorrow night. He said definitely-he was going home tonight and working his tail off.

Yes!!! So I promptly called her back and made arrangements for the showing tomorrow night.

Imagine? Can you just imagine??? *insert daydreaming*

No, no-I can't get ahead of myself. It's only been 2.5 hours. But imagine...

Unfortunately the flip side, is that the houses out there I can find are shit. Truly. I think we're going to have to enlist the help of an agent to find a realistic place. Especially if it happens quickly.

Wish us luck!!!!

Here goes nothing...

Well, I've made the listing, loaded the listing and even paid for the listing.

Here goes nothin'.

Last night, after coming home from a trip to Toronto, I was so pleased that hubs was motivated to help me take the pics for our listing. He played photographer and I played stylist (or, more accurately-remover of style) and remover of cats from shot-er, and I genuinely think we got some great pics of our home.

We were fighting against night-fall (side note: since when did early nights start? I'm not ready for fall!), but we made sure to get the exterior shot among the first.

Despite my own advice, it proved extremely difficult to get bright, clear photos that accurately depicted our house. We're not professionals, and we don't have one of those cool round lenses that fit a lot more room into one shot. I managed to adjust some colours and brightness in Picasa, so I hope it's paid off.

Here are the images we selected for the listing:

Family Room:

Kitchen:

Dining Room:

Master Bedroom (extremely hard to capture):

Ensuite (again-lost the battle against dark, so the lighting's a little off):

Aside from the main exterior shot, there was room for 8 images and 2 floorplan files. Rather than try to get a shot of every room, where they would be less than stellar photos, we opted instead to put a couple of the kitchen and the family room so the whole room could at least be represented. Also-especially for the kitchen, so the appliances could be shown.

We purchased the Sign & Internet with Open House signs from Grapevine, which is the same package we bought for the sale of our last home. We were happy with it, and we don't need the consultation, etc, so this was perfect for us. I also called and asked if we could get it up ASAP and get the signs delivered & installed ASAP as well. It'll all be up and ready for sale to the public tomorrow! Eeek!

We've decided to have our first open house this coming Sunday, hence the slight rush, but I don't see why we'd wait. We don't have plans, it should be a decent day weather-wise, and we want to see what's out there. So, why wait?

I tried to keep the write-up succinct, and after several drafts, here's the final product:

Brand new 3 bed/2.5 bath 1900 sq.ft. corner unit located in Mattamy Fairwinds near Scotiabank Place. This home boasts numerous upgrades and custom touches,including hardwood and pot lights throughout main level, a hard-wired multi-room stereo system and high end appliances.Third floor features a spacious master bedroom with large walk-in closet and a retreat-like 4-pc ensuite. Automatic garage door opener for 2-car insulated garage, rough in for security system and central vac make this home move in ready. New construction still covered by Tarion Warranty.

And that's that. Tomorrow I'll (hopefully) have the link to the actual posting. In the meantime, I'd love to know what you think...did I follow my own advice? Would it peak your interest?