We are coming to the end of our stay in the house that Dear Husband and I built 25 years ago.  We have fabulous memories  of those 25 years.  My mother, and DH’s second son lived with us for many of those years.  We entertained family at Thanksgiving and Christmas and Easter.  We watched my youngest sister’s girls grow in the first half of those years, and have been watching our granddaughters the last ten years.

We will sign the closing papers in two days, and if the walk-through goes well, will close on the sale July 30th.  That day, we’ll do a walk-through for the house we  wish to buy, and July 31st we’ll do the closing.  So…by August 1st we will begin to move things into the new house.

We will need to buy new appliances, and at least three carpets (entry, dining and living room).  There are hardwood floors in the public areas of the house.   I want to have the locks changed, and add deadbolts to the doors.   My friends are baby sitting both my indoor and outdoor plants until we get settled, so I need to get to know the house so we can decide where those plants will do the best.

If all goes well, the movers will bring about two-thirds of our belongings, including the beds, the oak table, chairs, kitchen and quilt studio on August 4th.  Once all that is squared away, we’ll need to have the 16 foot POD delivered.  That has more books, the china, clothing, and more kitchen stuff. (I suspect there is more, but I just can’t remember what was in those boxes.  The most difficult part of our move will be deciding what we keep and what goes.  We’ll have half the room now, so we’ll need to get rid of half the “Stuff!”

Wish us well!  🙂

But  something different, too.

Today, we put a bid on a house.  Last Thursday we walked through three houses.  The first two were ranch houses, and the second turned out to be a two-story duplex.  If you are looking at houses, I recommend that you not assume the pictures are giving you a clear idea of what to expect!  I thought I would love the third place, and didn’t care for it at all.  We looked at the first one because it’s in the same town we live in now.  We thought it had large front and back yards, with absolutely no landscaping, and that wasn’t the case. The yards were surprisingly small, and there was some shrubbery.  Unfortunately, it backed up to a club of some kind that was for sale.  We couldn’t see that in the pictures! lol

The middle house, which I didn’t expect to care for, turned out to be lovely.  The layout is clean, and open.  It’s sunny, has three bedrooms and three full baths.  The basement is partially finished, and one of those bathrooms is in the basement.  The master bedroom suite is on the south side of the house and the two guest bedrooms and second bath are on the north side of the house, with the public areas of the house in between.  There is a two and a half car garage, and a laundry room on the main floor.  I believe the house is about 1800 square feet, about half our present house.  We were willing to look at houses much smaller than this, but this house feels gracious.

There is a brick patio off the kitchen, and a pocket back yard that is surrounded with the most incredible garden.  The bones of the garden are evergreen trees and shrubs that block our view of the house to the east of us.  There are strip gardens along the north and south sides of the house where paths lead to the front yard.  Other than the fact that our neighbors are incredibly close (compared to where we live now),  I can’t find anything to complain about.

Our agent put in a bid, contingent upon the close of the sale of our house.  IF we manage to bring our buyer to close, we would turn around and close on this house the same afternoon.  At least, that’s what we hope will happen.

I’m sure there will be more to come in this saga.  🙂

We are back on track with the sale of our house.  All the repairs have finally been finished, following the fall of a 60′ evergreen onto the roof in February.  The painters were finishing the interior repair in the office minutes before the photographer came through.

Brochures have been printed, the house has been listed, and we had our first visitors Thursday night.  So far, we have not heard anything from them.  Our agent was particularly excited because these people had visited the house last year when it was on the market.

Our house is a one of a kind house, with an unusually large lot within in the city limits.  It’s not going to be easy to sell, but I think the agent is hungry, and he may be able to find the buyer we need.

So, we’re back to keeping the house relatively tidy.  I’ll have to be careful about tracking garden dirt into the house.  🙁

I’ve been absorbed with the possible sale of our house.  The same man who wanted to buy it last year has tied us up with a contract again this year.   If he does not come through and purchase the house this year, he won’t get a chance the next time it goes on the market!

We are supposed to have a closing date of July 31st, but the buyer just requested his second extension to find the funding he needs.  He has until July 17th now, but if he doesn’t succeed, we will have to cancel the appointment with the movers.  If we do that, I’ll be canceling the contract, and opting to see if there is anyone else who will be interested.

Meanwhile, we have packed boxes every day, filling a 16′ POD with things we don’t need daily.  Books, china, kitchen things, linens – things that can be stored in a non-climate controlled situation, have all been boxed.  Now our house looks rather like a normal house, with the exception of the living room, which has very little furniture left.  We gave away the two couches!  (It was either that, or burn them!)

We have made electrical repairs, had radon testing, had the exterminator come through, and are waiting for a visit from a roofer to replace a rubber gasket and the top 8 inches or so of the shingles, which were damaged by hail.  We’ve replaced the garage door openers with ones which have an optical safety control.  We’ve had the furnaces tested, and the landscaper is coming to shape up the gardens.  Whew!  If the house doesn’t sell, it will be a very safe, very tidy place to live! lol

My niece is here for a week to help us pack.  I’m delighted to have the help.  It gives me a chance to talk with her, and find out what’s going on in her life, and get more packed.  That’s a win-win situation.

Wish us luck.  Think positive thoughts for the sale of the house.  Pray, if you are so inclined.  We will accept any and all help to move us through this sale.

We have the sounds of banging and heavy thuds reverberating through the house.  At long last the repairs are being made to our roof.  The roof was damaged, nine holes, when a 60-foot evergreen blew down about six weeks ago.  We hope they will finish this evening, but they may need to return tomorrow.  Storms are coming our way, so there won’t be much room for delay.

Yesterday, our realtor came to stage our house to prepare it for photographs.  I made a list as I followed him around so that I wouldn’t forget anything.  We’ve begun with some of the easiest tasks, and will work at it daily for the next few days.  The realtor wants the house to look as large as it can, so we are putting away or packing up anything we can live without.  I think the house looks sterile, but it certainly does look BIG!  We need to move at least six chairs, a table, and several other odds and ends downstairs  They want me to shift some plants to clear three windows in the living room.  I’m astonished as how effective his requests are in opening up the rooms.  Be prepared, though; our island in the kitchen looks like the State of Texas.  It’s almost bare, and just huge!

I made a call today, and we have a carpet cleaner coming on Monday.  We had a load of composted topsoil delivered today, and I began top dressing the perennials in the gardens at the front of the house.   I need to find someone to clean the outside windows this coming week.  Dear Husband has talked with a company about delivering gravel for the drive.  The cleaning lady comes on Thursday, and we should have pictures taken on the Friday before Easter!  Whew!

Things are really heating up with the sale of the house.  I can see the agent is eager to sell it.  We are not as eager to make the move, but the time is right for a LOT of reasons.

My mantra these days is:  Wish us luck!  🙂

This will be a memorable day for me.  Today we put our home of 23+ years on the market.

Our realtor called to let us know that he had put the listing on the MLS.  He had to use a temporary picture of the house, until they can get the current picture in place. It was something to do with the rules of the road for the Multiple Listing Service.

Minutes later, he got a call from a local realtor, asking if the house was available to be seen!  Three hours later, the first couple came to see it.  I asked our realtor if that was common, and he said it NEVER happens that way.

Last night, knowing that today was the big day, I started the laundry, tidied the office desk,  put away odds and ends and washed dishes.  I asked Dear Husband to dry dishes and put them away, while I finished with other chores.  We were well on the way to putting the house in condition to be seen.  Still, we had to push a bit today to be sure it was ready.

We do not open the house to prospective buyers.  They are to arrive with a realtor, who uses the lock box to get a key to let them in.  We are supposed to be going out the garage door as they are entering the house.  We slipped away and ran an errand as they looked things over.

I doubt seriously that we will get a bid from this visit, but everything has been so unpredictable that it’s possible.  We will see what we will see.