A Real Estate Transaction

I have been negligent posting of late and not just because I am so busy and need a "personal blogger". Actually, I was hesitant to write anything about anymore prospective buyers of our home for fear that I would jinx it. And of course nothing is final until you go through the closing - but the indicators are good. I have signed a contract with a buyer who is pre-approved. He is dropping off earnest money tomorrow and has a home inspection scheduled for Friday. So everything rests on that home inspection and his loan commitment paperwork coming through in the next 2 weeks.

So - how did we get here?

Well in a previous post I indicated that there was a young couple expecting twins that were interested in our place. It was a mutual warm and fuzzy - we like you - let's help them out and sell to them. The husband had dropped by our very first open house on April 1. Since then, they somewhat dragged there feet on making an actual offer. So in the meantime we kept showing the house and having open houses on the weekend. A little over a week ago a single guy scheduled an appointment to see our place in the evening. After asking what I felt like was not enough questions, he asked us if we were willing to negotiate on the price and take into consideration an allowance for replacing the carpet.

In that moment - it became a real estate transaction. Both Steve and I were surprised that after a few weeks of nothing firm from the first couple, we now had a real offer to think about. In my gut, something wasn't right to me. I was so set on the selling to this couple that I lost sight of what was really important - selling to whoever was going to give us the most money.

After a few days of calls back and forth with the couple, it became apparent that they were not really able to afford what we wanted. It was weird to let go of the emotional part - but nice at the same time. I guess part of it is that I am learning to let go of the home Steve and I have made and prepping for the next chapter in our lives.

We now look at our selling our house as the real estate transaction it must be. Oddly, when I purchased it 2 years ago - I was much more successful at being detached. I think it made a difference that the previous owner was not present during the sale. It was more like I was going to a store and buying a piece of furniture from a salesperson than buying someone else's memories.

And on that note - it is time to look ahead at the memories we will build at 108.