Last week was exactly as brutal as I was expecting it to be, in terms of busyness and exhaustion, and I'm still trying to catch up to somewhat normal energy levels.
The weekend ended up being almost as awful as the week since I worked both days and somehow managed to be front-ended while sitting at a red light. How exactly does one get front-ended, you may find yourself asking? Evidently, it can occur when the car in front of you, for no particular reason that you can discern, suddenly throws his enormous Chevy Tahoe into reverse and backs into you while the light is still red. Astounding. The fortunate thing about being front-ended at a red light is that traveling speeds are fairly low, and the damage was non-existent. But I still can't stop trying to figure out what on earth happened there.
We also spent a long Saturday evening battling it out with some prospective buyers who seemed to make it their mission to infuriate me as much as possible. It all began with their realtor wanting to start out with "verbal negotiations", you know, just to drag the misery out for as long as possible. When we got their initial offer--$35K below asking price, our washer, dryer and refrigerator to convey, a home warranty, a small patch of bubbling (purely cosmetic and barely noticeable) on some outside siding repaired and a closing date before our movers are even arriving--I had to laugh. And I knew we were going to be in for a long night.
The buyers were driving back to their homestate up north at 6 am in the morning, and they wanted a signed contract before then. Of course, they didn't even start negotiations until about 6:30 pm. So, back and forth we went over the next 6 hours--them presumably in a hotel, me at my house, and Colby in Seattle--going round and round the contract that I knew we'd never come to terms on. In the midst of this all, it began to dawn on me that perhaps we'd been led down the garden path on just how "great" the real estate market in our area is. We were assured that we'd be able to sell quickly for close to our asking price, and the offers we've gotten just haven't supported that. Maybe because all of these damn Yankees keep moving down here and lowballing everyone. Just kidding. Sort of.
So, now we're looking into renting the house for the next few years--you know, in addition to the Washington house that we're ALREADY renting out because we'll never be able to sell it. All as a lead up to our eventual network television rip off of The Apprentice, except instead of seeking out top executives with leadership talent, we whittle a pool of contestants down to only those who can make the absolute most abysmal real estate decisions. Our protégés. To make a long story slightly less long, the rental market is doing fairly well here, and we're reasonably certain that with a refinance we could cover our mortgage plus a little every month. The scary part is that our house is around 12 years old and getting close to the age in which everything starts to go wrong--new roof, replace the air conditioning unit, blaaaaah. I don't know. It's horrible. Don't ever buy a house.
This is really crappy. Sorry that the Real Estate Witch is being a witch. :(
At least you know you can rent your house and hopefully the roof and AC hold off for a while. Good Luck!
Posted by: Solange | April 19, 2012 at 04:11 PM
Here's what I don't get.... the military is not helping you. The military requires you to move, but it's up to you to tie things up.
If a company was moving you, they would pay for all of this and sell the house too.
This makes me super crabby.
Posted by: Lori | April 19, 2012 at 05:47 PM
Welcome to my world- just replaced the AC (compressor, refrigerant, blower, etc) for the world's bitchiest tenant. I don't have a good solution, but I can totally relate. Big hugs and good luck!
Posted by: Mandy | April 19, 2012 at 06:59 PM
Ugh, so frustrating!
Where is the house in Washington? Is it near McChord/Fort Lewis? Are you working with a management company to handle that rental? If not, I can recommend one to you that my mum works with (she lives in that area).
Posted by: Stevie | April 19, 2012 at 10:02 PM
it's like you wrote your post after reading mine, ha.
but in all seriously, boo. i hope things start coming together, i can't even imagine how stressful all of this has been. you can do it, you're a rock star, woo!
Posted by: katelin | April 20, 2012 at 01:26 AM
Oh, man. I am really hoping all that turns around, or that those are the worst things that could happen and it's all getting better from here.
If it makes you feel any better, I was rear-ended a couple of traffic lights from my house the day before I moved about four years ago. It made me appreciate my new neighborhood more!
Posted by: Kate P | April 20, 2012 at 05:00 AM
Wow - this is so frustrating. I'm so sorry. I was annoyed enough just going through real estate agents to rent an apartment and that doesn't involve NEARLY the amount of bureaucracy and red tap.
Posted by: Deidre | April 20, 2012 at 07:16 AM
I'm so sorry to hear that. I hope you get another offer soon or that you find a good renter!
Posted by: Thoughts Appear | April 20, 2012 at 07:19 PM
Awww. I'll send you positive house selling thoughts!!!
Posted by: erin | April 23, 2012 at 06:14 PM