Chickens and Playgounds

The price was dropped about 2 weeks ago.  We have had about 4 showings in this time and limited feedback.  The feedback we did receive was very positive but at this point, no offers.
Our neighborhood FINALLY placed the second playset on the playground and tomorrow, more pictures will be taken and updated.

The new set is a HUGE monstrosity but it is already in use and the children are enjoying it.

Neighbors of ours decided to get chickens.   They have unfortunately allowed them to wander around the neighborhood which is against our covenants.  I like the girls but I agree they shouldn't be wandering free especially when I'm trying to sell my house.  My daughter has made friends with them and took their pictures.

Keep us in your thoughts.  ;)

Stress and Control

As I age, I become more aware of my need for control.  Selling a home is not conducive to control.  Just FYI.

My father had another medical blip that snow-balled into more issues and our need to sell is becoming more necessary.  

Our realtor has pressed us to drop our price.  I have dug my heels in for a while thinking our neighborhood would finish the playground, giving another plus for home buyers.  I should learn that I should never depend on others for things that I want/need.  I either do it myself or not get things done to my (most likely) high standards.

Last Monday we dropped our price.  I must emphasize, not by much.  Just  enough to fall into the next lower purchasing level.  It's all numbers and since there were no home viewings in our price range, we must drop it to the next active level.

I have found several homes (online) that I would like to view but again….fear keeps me from viewing.  I don't want the disappointment of not being able to have a house because we couldn't sell ours or we lose it to another buyer.  

We had our first viewing yesterday at this price range.  While I was at work, my husband cleaned, which was fabulous!    Unfortunately it was not to my too high standard.  Poor man!  ;)

Diets and Selling

It has been a slow few weeks.  I am still resistant to dropping the price now that some new accouterments are being added about and around.  

This past week, Chris and I joined "The Biggest Loser" competition at work.  Hunger and selling is not necessarily a winning combination.   Just FYI.

On Wednesday I received a call from Central Showing that we had a scheduled view.  This is the first in the last month.  The schedule wasn't until 7:30 so I felt comfortable dealing with it when I got home.

Of course, as I opened the door, I began to channel Stalin, screaming orders to the children!!!  You! Put your bag away! You, to the shower!  BOTH OF YOU, PICK UP YOUR STUFF!!!!!!

I cleaned as if my life depended on it.

Soon the bathrooms shown, the floors(except for the kitchen) were clean, and the house was close to viewing ready.   Chris came home to me in full mode and he had little protection from my barking of orders.
His job was to mop the kitchen floor.   "But I just walked in the door?"   FLAMES SPOUT FROM MY EYES!!!!


We finally left to hit Larry's Oyster Bar for a well deserved dinner and beer.  For the record:  Oysters are very low in calories.  Condiments, beer and hush puppies are not.   But I truly believe that I burned off the calories in a cleaning frenzy.


When we returned home we spoke to our neighbors.  They said the couple spent a good amount of time looking at the front of the house and out the back.   They were around the same age as our neighbors and since we specifically asked them to have their 3 year old twin boys out playing, we hoped that would help.
Thursday night I went with friends to a Thursday night Live.  The Embers, famous for Carolina Girls, were playing.  I spent a good amount of time looking for emails.

We finally received an email with our feedback form.  EVERYTHING was good.  But the buyers weren't planning on buying because they didn't like our finished garage and didn't want to spend the money to re-convert it.
Hello?  We stated we would re-convert if needed!!!   Our realtor immediately was in a email/phone session with the buyer agent.  
Unfortunately,  they bid on another house……

It still is positive for us.   As for the biggest loser.  Chris lost 10 pounds this week.   Me, 1.5.   Keep em coming…..

Tension and Turmoil!

I have not been overly concerned that my house has not shown this week.  The children are home for the week, alone, and they are not necessarily maintaining Mommy's standard of clean.  So I have been less than worried....


....until now.

I have not really been house hunting.  I have a couple homes I have been looking at online and as they come and go, I just keep my eyes open. 

Several of my friends have been gently pushing me (ok, demanding) to purchase a house in their neighborhood.  They keep sending me links to houses and saying "Come on, Karen, you want to live here!  We can hang at the pool!!  etc. etc. etc.

My friend Carol has been the ring leader and sends me some inappropriately expensive homes.   Especially one.  It started $25,000 over my budget.  She kept saying "But it's worth so much MORE!!!"
I did appease her and actually put it in my "possibilities" folder. 

The price has slowly dropped.....

It is now $5,000 over budget.... 

It's huge!

In a FABULOUS neighborhood!!!

Excellent SCHOOL DISTRICT!!!

WITH A FIRST FLOOR BEDROOM FOR DAD!!!!!

Oh God, what is a girl to do?   *sigh*

Fixes and Finishes

Chris finally installed our new sliding glass door!   One more thing dinged off the list.   He also burned the stump a bit further down into the ground!!

Here are the men being men.  Enjoying our redneck stump removal.  

Watkins keeps watch for lizards and squirrels.  

The house has not been viewed since our active week.  I'm hoping it wasn't just realtors snooping about. I will have them come out to take more pictures since the door is now installed and the playground is in the process of its update.  Unfortunately, all the money we have put into updates and paint will pretty much be a loss for us as our realtor is convinced we need to drop.  I hate to say that all realtors are in cahoots with each other, especially when I have friends in the business.   They will still make their money and I will lose mine.  

I'll stop my rant now….   

And the heat is on!

Our house has now been on the market for 2 weeks.  After our "viewing" on Friday we waited patiently for feedback which to the dismay of our realtor (and myself) resulted in nothing. 
On Tuesday, a call came in that we would have a "preview".  Supposedly, a realtor would check out the house for a client who was either too busy or out of town and then decided whether it was worth showing the client.  I ran home at lunch and did a super vacuum and mop job.
His feedback wasn't very positive.  Dumb-ass.  LOL!   Actually, nothing surprised me considering we are still working on getting the house ready. 
Tuesday I returned home to a message on the machine saying we had another viewing.  3 in a week!!  SaWeet!  No feed back from view #3 (is that good or bad?) as of this moment.

I did receive a phone call at 11am to say that we had another viewing today.  I'm hoping that with the holiday weekend we will have LOTS of interested buyers and HOPEFULLY good feedback!

This weekend, the painting continues and our new back door gets installed!!!   We also have to replace the doorbell, as it has cracked yet again.    I'm feeling somewhat better about all that is happening.  My sleep pattern has definitely improved!

Saint Jo keep our viewings rolling!  We really are happy with your results thus far!

Insomnia and Our First Viewing!

Through my adulthood I have been plagued with intermittent insomnia.   It rears it's ugly head in times of stress.  I find myself waking up at some hour between 1-4am and then proceed to stare at the ceiling and worry about something that I have no control over at that ungodly hour.

Money has always been my go to worry.  I toss, turn and usually end up doing online banking or reading or what not….I fall asleep a short time before my alarm goes off and then I'm off.   It usually lasts a night or two and then I find myself back into my sleep routine.

Until now….

I have spent the last several weeks tossing and turning.  I will struggle with sleep for several days and then get a decent night in to start the process all over again.  The house, my father's health, money, the end of the school year, work all have been seeping into my nocturnal hours.  

I tried Melatonin for the first time this week and had 2 non-sequential, restful nights.  I am fearful to take meds if I can't go to sleep early enough and with the children having evening activities and such, I have had several late nights.   

After a fairly stressful week which included working 6 days straight and several activities in the evening I came home Friday spent.   I had an evening scheduled to play Bunco with the girls but I just could not muster the energy to go.  

My girlfriends prodded and texted me to PLEASE show up but I begged them off.  I lazed on the bed willing myself to sleep but I appeared just too DAMNED exhausted to pull it off.  

At 7:40pm the phone rang.  Chris looked at me.  "Central showing?" he read from the caller ID.   ANSWER IT!!!!!

Could we have a viewing from 8:15-9:15?  Sure.  

Chaos then ensued…..throwing things together.  Shutting drawers.  Leashing dogs and straightening up the house that seemed to fall apart in the 3 hours after I walked in the door.

I looked a dream in my sweatpants and t-shirt.  We hit Starbucks (not for me) and wandered through Petco with the dogs before heading back in the neighborhood to peek.

What do we see?  A sheriff's deputy parked on a street in the front of the neighborhood.   Nice.  I'm sure our potential buyer found that a positive attribute to the neighborhood.  We drove about for 20 more minutes until we assumed the PB's (potential buyers) were long gone.   

Our neighbors spoke to someone checking out the house.  They appeared interested and were looking forward to peaking at the house.   No information has been forwarded to us.

I finally fell into bed about 10pm.  I woke at 3:45 but was able to manage to get myself back to sleep.

Today I have painted and cleaned and Chris caulked the shit out of the bathroom.  Oh yeah….the cartridge came in the mail yesterday so our shower is fixed too.    :)