A Lesson Learned

We did our final house walk-through about two weeks before moving in to our new house.  The previous owners' son was staying here but aside of a few odds and ends the house was empty.  Their main moving had been done in June.  We had arranged with them to move in on September 1, paying a rental fee to cover until our closing date of Sepetember 15.  All of that went smoothly, without a hitch.  They left a few things behind but many folks do that so it was not abnormal.  We were rather pleased with the condition when we moved in.  One day I was working in my new kitchen after returning from our vacation home  when I commented that we would need to replace the kitchen faucet for one with a sprayer.   As I was going through pictures from our vacation I also looked through the pictures I had taken of our new house during our final walk-through.  You are not going to believe this!  The previous owners actually the from the looks of the pictures rather expensive faucet with sprayer with them leaving the plain jane model that is now in the kitchen.  Technically the faucet is considered a fixture so should not have been removed.  My husband called the real estate and left a message with our agent but I doubt they will return it.  I think it was a rather nasty thing to do especially when we paid them rent to move in early.  The problem is because I didn't go through the pictures during the move (14 days) because I was busy and the time we were on vacation, the previous owners can likely deny they took the faucet.  It's a lesson learned!

If buying or even renting a house/apartment, condo or any other domicile, take pictures before you move in.  Compare those pictures to the condition the place is in as soon as you get the keys preferably while it is still empty.  Note any discrepancies as well as take pictures.  Pay particular attention to any damage or removal of fixtures contrary to any offer to purchase or lease agreement.  Notify your real estate agent as well as your lawyer to resolve the issues prior to the closing date.  If leasing notify the landlord of the problem and if not resolved appropriately, notify your lawyer. 

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

A Change in the Closing Date

The is the sixth house we have sold so did not expect much in the way of glitches.  Wrong!  First the house sat on the market for sixteen months before getting an offer.  The offer was under what we paid for the house because the housing market has softened significantly.  So we had two choices.  We could leave the house on the market hoping for a better offer while continuing to pay the high cost of living associated with this house or we could accept the offer knowing the payback period on the loss would be less than two years.  We accepted the offer with a closing date of November 1.  I started packing that night!  My husband started packing up the games room the next day.  We must have had a premonition.

Two weeks after all the papers were signed for the sale of our house and purchase of our new house we get a call from the real estate agent asking if we would consider moving sooner.  Now we had pushed for an earlier moving date but the buyer would not budge.  Apparently she has changed her mind and wanted the closing date moved up to October 1 which didn't work for us so she came back with September 15.  We agreed to the change knowing there wouldn't be a problem with the house we were buying since it is 95% empty.  It is now official which means we have less than two weeks before we start moving!  We are going into overdrive mode with packing while still getting rid of what we don't want. 

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

House Inspections

A formal house inspection is done by a professional home inspector at the expense of the buyer prior to the final signing of the contract to purchase.  It is usually written into the offer to purchase as a condition.  The house inspection is an extra protection for the buyer so they don't buy a house with undisclosed major repairs needed.  For example, the seller of the house we are in now did not disclose drainage issues, a non-functioning dishwasher and non-functioning air conditioner.  Had we have had a house inspection the drainage issues and non-functioning air conditioner would have been discover prior to us signing the final purchase contract.  The results of a house inspection can cause a buyer to back out of their offer to purchase which is why it is a very common condition on an offer to purchase.

This is our sixth primary resident house purchase.  We have never had a house inspection for any of the houses (5 primary, 1 vacation) we have bought.  In fact, two properties we bought were purchased without seeing inside or even entering the property prior to the closing date.  Of the four houses we successfully sold, the buyers did not ask for a home inspection.  So we have had no experience with home inspections.  The buyer for this house had a home inspection as one of the conditions.

The home inspector arrived at 9 AM this past Wednesday.  The buyer's brother-in-law was with him which is quite normal as is having a real estate agent attend the house inspection.  Now the house inspector was a very congenial, likable person but the brother-in-law was an arrogant jerk.  He was to stay with the inspector as per terms of the house inspection but he kept wandering off.  My husband made a point of following him around.  A house inspection goes from attic to foundation.  The inspector goes into the attic, up on the roof and into any crawl spaces.  He checks the electrical panel, tests all outlets and switches, checks for any plumbing leaks.  He tests the furnace to be sure it works, tests the air conditioner and for any CO leaks on gas appliances.  I was not thrilled on a very hot day to have the AC switched off so he could fire up the furnace.  It lit up nicely and went through the cycle then he switched the AC back on only to fire up the gas fireplace.  I was surprised he did not check the dishwasher as it stays with the house but perhaps he could see it is quite new.  He checks for the insulation value on the walls using a rather nifty gadget.  Oh and the neatest thing is he has a complete portable office set-up complete with printer so the report is written as he does each zone.  Of course he had to plug it in using our electricity, something I didn't bank on since we did not request the inspection so there should be no expense to us.  In the big picture and knowing the home inspection results could be a deal breaker, I wasn't about to say anything about him using a bit of our electricity.  Besides he was a very nice guy!

A house inspection is invasive and extremely stressful for the homeowner.  It is recommended the homeowner remain on the premises and keep an eye on what they are doing.  The professional home inspectors will not climb on your furniture or touch your personal possessions.  The buyer or a  representative for the buyer should be with the house inspector during the inspection.  It is recommended that the seller move anything that will prevent the home inspector from getting a good view of what they need to see (eg. items in under the sink cabinets).  The home inspector will bring their own ladder for getting onto the roof.  A house inspection will cost the buyer  $300  or more.  The inspection will take at least 3 hours.  The seller should provide access for the house inspection then try to be as pleasant as possible (eg. bite your tongue a lot if necessary) to get the inspection done in a timely manner.  If the inspector asks a question or you know there is a problem (eg. our upstairs shower leaks) answer truthfully or in our case volunteer the information.  This tells the home inspector and buyer that you are not hiding any possible problems.

Once the inspection is over, you will feel like you have been run over by a semi-truck.  Relax, breath!  You survived it.  Barring any major, and I do mean major problems (eg. structural, fire hazards) the house inspection is really just a formality that gives the buyer a false sense of security.  The reality is the buyer can't go back on the house inspector even if a major problem was missed AND problems can easily arise with the house during the time between the inspection and the closing date.  This could be as much as 90 days or more.  Anything that happens after the home inspection is only disclosed if the seller is honest enough to say anything. 

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

The Walk Though

Our real estate agent wanted us to do another walk through in the house we are buying.  I think she is concerned that we did not get a formal house inspection.  We have successfully bought five primary residences and one vacation home without formal house inspections of which two properties were bought sight unseen before the closing date.  So we saw no need to get a formal house inspection for this purchase.  Our house is officially sold in that the buyer has waived all of her conditions.  We have not waived the condition that we get the property we want.  Legally we have until August 12th to waive that condition but will more than likely waive it today as soon as we get the seller's signature on the ammended offer from the seller of the property we want.  We have a verbal agreement of acceptance on the changed closing date and moving in early. 

We did another walk through the house yesterday.  We are even more impressed than we were the first time we viewed the property.  The current owners have moved most of their belongings out.  Their twenty year old son is staying there until the end of August so he can continue working at his current job before returning to school in September.  My husband came up with a plan so we can move in three weeks before our official November 1 closing date.  That means we can go in to clean and paint as well as take our time moving our belongings in.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

It's Official - SOLD!

SOLD! SOLD! SOLD! AND SOLD!

It was one of the most difficult days in selling out house thus far.  The home inspector with the buyer's BIL spent three hours here this morning.  Now, that just was not good as far as anxiety, nerves and stress not to say I do not function well with strangers especially in my home.  The home inspector was a real sweetheart, the BIL not so much so.  Then we get the call late afternoon just as I had dozed off since I had no sleep the night before that the buyer with agent had a waiver but wanted to go through the house again.  That took another hour but the end result is our house is SOLD!  We took a beating, seriously but it is still SOLD!

That means the next couple of months are going to be filled with decluttering and packing but I can at least get back to cooking that helps relieve my stress levels.  We are hiring movers for all of the large 'stuff' because our closing date is on a Tuesday.  We need to make arrangements with the utilities, change email addresses, email and all that fun stuff.  We will not be having Bell automatically forward to our new phone number if we even have one as we are thinking going cell phone only.  We have not been getting mail here for awhile because of our vacation home so will change that to 'no forwarding address'.  All of our utilities are on ebilling anyway so we don't need mail service to our new address which suits us well with being out of the country three months or more of the year. 

And there we have it.  The house is offically SOLD!  We are off onto a new adventure :)

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

House Sale Offer Update

No one ever said it would be easy to sell your house.  Now ideally it should be a good offer close to what you are looking for in price without a lot of complicating conditions and in a very timely fashion.  The thing is the current economic downturn has resulted anything but the ideal situation.  We have been going back and forth with an interested buyer who has decided the deal is back on again so we are signing that deal tomorrow.  It has conditions and we are showing the house on Wednesday meaning the current offer is first up with a 48 hour clause to remove the conditions otherwise we can accept a better offer. 

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

The Offer is Dead in the Water

My husband and I are anxious to move, that is a given.  After 16 months of having the hose on the market, any offer is a good offer.  One guy asked verbally if we would accept $45,000 less than our asking price.  We told our agent no.  Finally an offer came in at $40,000 below our asking price.  I should mention our asking price is $5,000 less than what we paid for the house a little over four years ago.  So we have been going back and fourth with negotiations the past few days.  We just got word that the buyer will not go above $30,000 below our asking price.  We had already figured out this buyer is jerking us around so to speak.  Now once the buyer who has been through our house twice has a bit of a chance to think about it, that may change.  This is prime, riverfront property so we are not about to just give it away.  We signed at the lower price hoping to be able to get moved into the house we want.  We have a conditional offer on that one.  If that house falls through, we will have to find another one meaning the carrot we were after is gone.  We will likely be sitting in limbo until spring 2012 or longer if this happens but one thing is for  certain is we are not giving this house away.  At the end of the listing we will push the price back up where it should be then sit and wait.  I'm sure someone will come along who sees the potential and is reasonable enough to give us a decent and fair offer.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Excited About the Prospects of Moving

Our lives have been pretty much in limbo since we listed the house a year ago last March (2010).  There is an awful lot of stress involved in selling a house and it really wears thin when the house sits on the market considerably longer than anticipated.  The offer this week has given me us hope and a bit of excitement.  The market has softened so we aren't going to get the money the house is worth but we want to move.  We thought we would like living on waterfront property in a rural setting but we were wrong.

It has been quite isolating especially for me during the winter months.  I can easily go well over three weeks without ever leaving the house in the winter.  It is considerably more expensive living out here as well.  We have to drive everywhere as there isn't even a variety store within walking distance.  It is difficult getting housesitters when we are away as they have to make that drive here and back.  We figured just in gas savings alone we would be saving well over $2,000 per year.  Our internet service will become more dependable, actual high speed and at less than half the cost of what we are paying now.  Our taxes, mortgage payments and in short all of our living expenses will decrease as well.  But this move is not just about saving money.   It is much more than that so hopefully the offer goes through!



Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

We Have an Offer!

After having the disruption of trying to sell our house for the last sixteen months we finally have an offer that is now in negotiations.  We were not happy with the price or conditions of the offer so made a counter offer.  We are sitting close to the phone awaiting to see if our counter offer was accepted or if there will be a re-counter.  It's always a possibility that the offer will die at this stage but if it does it just means the buyer really wasn't all that serious in the first place.  It is better to die now rather than waste everyone's time, if you ask me.  So that is where we are at the moment...

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

House Sale Update - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

My apologies for not updating sooner.  We arrived home from our spring vacation to see my husband being hospitalized.  So it has been rather interesting here to say the least.  Our house has been for the most part on the market since March 2010.  We went private after returning home then reduced the price  dramatically because we really want to close on our new house.  It's back with a real estate agent.  The new price is getting a lot of interest but so far no offers. 

We are continuing to do the spit and shine.  We had a concrete firm come in to raise our sidewalk and we have put down a lot of new cedar mulch.  The outside is looking really good!  We are continuing to do smaller projects indoors as well.   This week we are replacing the drop ceiling tiles in the laundry room.  It will make that room looks a bit brighter.  Next on the list is painting the master bedroom.  We will go with a neutral colour.  And so we plug along, hoping for an offer...

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Our Ongoing Saga of Selling Our House

The listing for our house with this realator officially ends today.  They have had it for six months with no offer.  Shortly after extending our listing in January our real estate agent turned a bit snarky.  After the first more than inappropriate email I made my mind up that we would wait out the listing and be done with them.  As it stands no offers came in so I thought the end date would be the end of it.  She emailed to say that we had a holdover clause so if we sold the house in the next 60 days after the listing ended.

What a holdover clause means is if we accept an offer within 60 days of the listing end from anyone this realtor introduced to our propery via a showing during the time our house was listed with them, they are entitled to the commission.  Furthermore if we were to list with another realtor within that 60 days they are entitled to 50% of the commission.  However and this is big, if we sell to someone that did not see our property while it was listed they are entitled to nothing.  That means we can sell privately and they are still entitled to no commission.  We have bought and sold houses before so am well aware of what this clause means.

The real estate agent is under the mistaken impression that they now have 60 days to present any offers.  Hello!  Our legal obligation ends at the end of the signed contract providing we honour the holdover clause.  We are under no obligation to entertain any offers from their clients and for all intents and purposes until we say otherwise the house is officially off the market aka not for sale.  I cannot believe she is pulling this type of attitude.  If they wanted to present an offer it should have been presented BEFORE our contract ended or they should have asked for an extension of the contract.  If she thinks we are going to be at her beck and call for another 60 days she is sadly mistaken.  If she thinks she is going to bully us for a commission she is sadly wrong.  She had her chance.  Now that the house is off the market we will excerise one of several options but she will not be getting a commission!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Frustration on the House Selling

We listed our house last March shortly after buying our vacation home in the sunny south.  Our property is waterfront so we had no indication that selling would be an issue.  Well it has been.  We had our property listed privately then put it with a real estate agent we have dealt with before.  When that failed to bring us any offers we took it off the market then a month later relisted but with a different realtor.  The agent seemed all gun ho so we figured the house would have been sold with us moved before Christmas.  Oh my were we ever wrong.  It would appear this realtor likes bringing in the down right pissants that really aren't interested in putting in an offer.  Then we get an email the other day that totally ticked me off to no end!

A couple had come through our house for the second time so that is a good sign, right?  Wrong!  I'm not sure who put her up to this email but it was in very poor taste.  First off the couple was trying to negotiate through email WITHOUT putting in an offer.  They were seriously trying to find out our financial position and how desperate we were to sell.  Then she even mentioned doing a cash back for them while doing about $5,000 worth of repairs on the house with one of those repairs being listed as one we had already done and have the receipts to prove in.  Then as if it couldn't get any worse the gal copped an attitutde.  Of course this all happened two days after extending our contract!

A couple of weeks ago I was quite sick but they wanted to show the house.  I said yes despite feeling like crud.  The real estate agent was over an hour late, made no appologies for being late and yet wasn't in the house longer than 5 minutes.  I'm not kidding!  So last week I injured my leg rather severely so am on crutches.  They wanted to show the house this coming Sunday.  I said no.  I can barely get around as it it, our kids are down and my husband will be at the office at least for Sunday morning.  There is no way I can get the house ready for a showing.  Any normal prospective buyer would understand that so would make arrangements to view the house at a better time.  Honestly you would have thought I had committed a grievous crime by saying no to a showing.  So at the end of the contract we won't be renewing.  She is supposed to be working for us and if she sells at the bottome end there is a $15,000 commission but a lot more if she sells where we want it sold.  The bottom line is it really is her loss.  We are planning on relisting privately at the end of this contract.  We've seriously have had it with real estate agents!

Garden Gnome

House Sale Update

We had showings suspended while we were on vacation. The last day of our trip while still in the US our real estate agent called wanting to know if another agent could show the house on Monday. We of course said yes even though we would have a lot to put away from traveling. The Monday appointment was changed to Wednesday then postponed to Thursday because of the snowstorm. That showing was a bit hard to read but the feedback a couple of days later is the elderly couple felt the house was too dated. Sunday our real estate agent called again as another agent had someone who wanted to see the house in a couple of hours. That showing seemed to go rather nice. They were here for almost an hour so hopefully that's a good sign. Hopefully we get an offer soon so things aren't up in the air so much!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Looking Back on 2010

We are drawing near the end of the year.  Looking back on 2010 there have been two major developments with respect to home.   First we bought a vacation home in the sunny south where we hope to spend as much as three months of the year.  As a result we ended up putting our primary residence up for sale.  Selling our house was been the primary focus of 2010 taking over most of our activities.  We started out trying to sell privately then went to a real estate agent.  When that wasn't successful we took the house off the market for a month while we vacationed at our vacation home for the second time.  We put the house back on the market when we arrived home where it continues to sit.  Our area has been hit with the economic downturn so the housing market is soft right now.  Unfortunately this has been bad for us but we are still optimistic that we will be able to sell the house shortly.  Aside of focusing on the sale of our primary residence and buying another one we have been working on getting our vacation home in order to rent out when we are not using it.  Renting out the vacation home ends up paying all of our vacation home expenses while netting a little profit for the bank account.  Next up on the agenda is finding a small rental unit to buy in the same area as our primary residence but that is another story.

Household repairs in our primary and vacation homes have been minimal, thank goodness.  We ended up with a minor furnace repair in our primary residence but other than that it was decluttering and keeping things neat and tidy for showing the house.  On the other side at the vacation home we focused on cleaning and furnishing.

We have a lot of plans for 2011.  We hope to have our primary residence sold within the next couple of months or so, moving in time for putting in a garden.  We do have one house we'd really to buy like so hopefully things will work out that way.  Our main focus until we sell will be decluttering and getting rid of anything we can to avoid having to move it.  The vacation home is set for rental so our main goal will be keeping it renting when we aren't using it.  I need to make a few things for a handmade touches at our vacation home.  An afghan or two are in the makings and I will be making dish cloths as well as adding crochet edging to guest towels and pillow cases.  I even bought a couple of pattern books in anticipation since I have a lot more time at the vacation home to indulge in knitting and crochetting.  Oh and I have some lovely yarns that I will be making up into sweaters.  I'll be getting back into ceramics at our vacation home too.  Stay tuned as it should be interesting homemaking in 2011.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Little Touch-ups When Selling a House

It is surprising how far a few little extras can go to make a house show a bit better when selling a house.  Aside from being squeaky clean and sparkly a few things can be added to give a little bit of pizzaz without breaking the bank. 

• Place a vase or two of fresh flowers in one or more rooms.  When placed in front of a mirror they will give double the pleasure.
• Buy a nice set of display towels for the bathrooms(s).  They need not be expensive just on the fancier looking side and co-ordinated to give the bathroom(s) that little extra.
• Place inexpensive but fancy soap in the bathroom(s) soap dishes.
• Add a touch of greenery inside and out (weather permitting).  Place a nice potted plant on coffee table and a seasonal plant outside of the front entrance if possible.  
• Place a loaf of fresh baked bread on the counter or a plate of cookies on the kitchen island or breakfast bar to create a cosy atmosphere in the kitchen.  An alternative to bread or cookies is a nice fruit basket.
• Add a couple of new throw pillows to the sofa.
• If you have a wood fireplace or wood burning stove, add a small stack of wood beside and be sure to have either on if at all possible.  If you have a gas fireplace be sure to have it turned on if at all possible.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Our New Real Estate Agent

This past Friday night we decided to list the house again with a real estate agent. This time we moved away from the previous brokerage who seemed to have a rather negative attitude in that between March 17 and August 31 they brought us no offers. We firmly believe it was not the fault of the agent but more so the cocky attitude of the actual brokerage. In fairness and a bit of loyalty to our previous agent with whom we have dealt with in the past, she will do the purchase for our next place but not the sale of this house. We think this will reward her for her hard work yet send the brokerage the message we were not happy. So we listed with a fairly new brokerage that really seems to be getting results in our area.

Our new real estate agent is a real go getter! We met with her at 10 pm Friday night. The sign goes on the house today in house (brokerage agents only) dog and pony show is this also today. The second dog and pony show for MLS agents is on Wednesday. Tonight has been a spit and polish night. The nice thing is because the house had been previously listed for much of the year there was no massive cleaning to do AND we have been continuously decluttering so that should make a bit of a difference. I'm rather excited at the prospect this real estate agent may just get us the results we want.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Decluttering

Decluttering is a normal process for any household but it becomes even more important when trying to sell your house.  Removing clutter serves two purposes in this respect.  First it makes your home look more spacious to the prospective buyer which is always a good thing and second it means less stuff to move if you sell your house.  So either way it is a win:win.  There are several ways of dealing with getting rid of clutter:

• rent a storage unit - I really don't like this idea as there is a tendency to hang on to some things that would be better culled from your belongings.  It also costs $100 or more per month and you end up moving the stuff a couple of times BUT if push comes to shove and you really need to get the clutter out of the house to help it show this can be a viable option.
• three pile system - Separated your clutter into three piles: keep, donate, toss.  It makes it easier to deal with.  Once separated quickly box or bag up the donate and toss piles.  Get them out of the house!  Put away the keep pile.  If you can't find spots for what you want to keep, cull through the pile again.
• 27 Fling Boogie - This is a decluttering method I learned from Flylady.  Using a plastic shopping bag or small waste basket go through and quickly gather 27 items to toss.  Do not stop until you have 27 items in the bag.  Once you have 27 items in the bag, tie the bag and put it into the trash. 
• the one year rule - If you haven't worn an article of clothing or a pair of shoes in the last year chances are very good you aren't going to wear it.  Gather these items and donate them.
• horizontal hotspots - Horizontal surfaces have a natural tendency to gather clutter.  Clear these hotspots daily.
• new in, old out - If you buy or bring a new item into the house, remove an old item you are not using.
• donation box - Place a donation box in an easily accessible place where you will see it daily.  Try to add one item to the donation box daily.  When the box is filled take it to wherever you normally take donations.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Staging Homey Smells When Selling a House

This is not the first time we have had a house on the market.  In fact this is our fifth house we are selling so we know pretty much what to expect.  We have also been through a lot of houses as perspective buyers.  One thing the real estate companies encourage is staging a home with homey smells.  This is usually done with scented candles, fresh brewed coffee or fresh baked goods mainly bread.  Is this a good idea?

Staging a home with homey smells can be a positive or negative thing depending on the buyer.  On the positive side it may help a buyer relax a bit to enjoy the viewing.  It may help them picture themselves doing the same thing in the house so that may influence their decision whether to buy or not.  On the other hand it may make a hungry buyer not focus on the viewing and not everyone likes the smell of fresh baked bread or similar.  Certain odours especially cinnamon can trigger asthma attacks in some.  In my opinion a house should smell clean but not have any staged odours, synthetic or otherwise. 

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Back to Getting the House Ready for Showing

The house has been on the market for most of 2010.  We took it off temporarily at the end of the real estate contract the end of August and now have it back up for sale privately.  Since a lot of the clutter was previously dealt with there is a lot less work this time around but there's still work.  Most of it is straightening and putting things away.  I'm still working on reducing clutter further to lessen what we have to move if we sell.  We are doing a few things differently with the new private listing.

• We are doing a bit more staging.  
• We are correcting some of those faults mentioned during the first round of trying to sell the house.
• The emphasis is on neat, tidy, clean and clutter free.
• Viewings will be by appointment only.
• Listing on more than one online 'house for sale' site.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

The Big Bang Theory

Have you ever watched the show The Big Bang Theory?  The title is based on the scientific theory that the universal started with a big bang that was the catalyst for life forms.  Well, 2010 feels like a big bang.  We bought a vacation home in the sunny south back in March two days after deciding to tear apart one bedroom to create a craft room.  By that weekend our house was on the market privately for sale.  We decided that selling our permanent residence made a lot of sense at it would save considerably just in daily travel costs.  When the house didn't sell privately we gave it to a real estate agency to sell.  In May we finally got to see our new vacation home and came home renewed with the desire to sell.  Unfortunately the real estate agency brought us no offers and we heard of problems in the house we had an offer in on.  So when our listing with the real estate agency ran out the end of  August we decided to not renew.  We spent the last two weeks of September and first week of August at the vacation home where we had a wonderful chance to relax and come down to the speed of life.  We were also able to sign the agreement to rent our vacation home out when we aren't there so

During our many discussions we kept coming back to the idea that both of us really want to sell our permanent residence.  It is a gorgeous home with a great view but it is rural meaning higher daily travel costs, more time spent on the road instead of at home and it is very isolating during the winter months.  In addition to that we can't get real high speed internet.  The only choice is dial-up or high cost satellite internet and since dial-up won't meet our needs we have to pay the extra cost of satellite.  Between gasoline and internet service we would save $2,400 per year by moving into town.  However the saving are much more with lower mortgage payments, lower house insurance and lower maintenance.  Another plus is the house we have our eye on has a bigger kitchen and great solar potential.  So we shall see but we decided to first sell our house before getting our hopes up.  We put the private sale sign on the house yesterday.  Let the chaos begin ;)

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010