Hope for the Best...

...and expect the worst. That’s usually my plan. I don’t like to think I’m a pessimist, per se, just a realist. I took a chance when I started building my new house. My mortgage company said I could maintain both loans, so I didn’t have to sell my current house before I went under contract for the new one. Of course, no way could I pay BOTH mortgages, but the bank seemed to think so – silly people.

Anyway, so I took the risk and hoped I could sell my house in the six months it would take for my house to be finished. It seems like every week since Christmas, another house has popped up for sale in my neighborhood. The builders of my subdivision were building more houses nearby as well, so I had a LOT of competition. Why would anyone buy my house when they could build one of their own just the way they wanted it?? I was discouraged as prayed that I could get my house together by March 1st. Surely 4 ½ months would be enough time for it to sell.

As I picked out carpet swatches and frantically painted every room of my rainbow tinted house a lovely (boring) beige, I was also working on my backup plan. I needed 5% down in cash, which would be no problem if my house sold, but just in case, I needed to save that much to have for a worse case scenario. My house needed a lot of decluttering, but there was only so much I could do. My realtor and I decided to just go ahead and list and keep working on the house. I anticipated the first few viewings to be fruitless with lots of “cluttered” feedback.

I was so wrong, and thankfully so. Apparently, as cluttered as it is, I had the neighborhood golden nugget. (Who knew??) The house down the street from me that listed 1 week before mine has had 15 viewings, no offers. It had the same layout, but was the slightly smaller one with no fence. Mine was 100+ sq ft bigger, plus I had a privacy fence. I had one viewing on Sunday. I was agonizing all week because no one was calling. No one was going to buy my house.

Monday morning – got an offer. One viewing, one offer. We did a little negotiating and signed on the line. My house sold in a week. The inspector comes next week at which point, we will review any issues and negotiate any fixes. Then the appraisal. Barring the purchaser running out and buying a boat or something dumb the week before closing, I’m set. What a relief! (And for the record, all the other houses in the neighborhood are still for sale...bet they’re hating me right now.)

So now my stress has shifted to finding a short term apartment and getting moved out of the house instead of just de-cluttering. Taking spring cleaning to a whole new level. By the time May gets here, my house will have a bed, a couch, a tv, and some dishes if I can possibly manage it.

So, spending every waking moment painting, packing and watching “Designed to Sell” has paid off! Of course, I’ve gotten virtually NO writing done in the last month when I was supposed to be doing a writing challenge. Oh well. I'm sure my new house will be the muse I'm looking for. Right?? And, this has served as a righteous distraction from the fact that I didn't final in the Golden Heart. Great timing, I'd say...

When was the last time you were pleasantly surprised?

SP
181/350 = 51.7% complete