In Seven Days.........

Selling a house is hard work.....selling a house when you have never sold one before is even harder. This journey has been one that I could have never believed possible. The ups and downs, the excitement and disappointment has been paramount to any thing I have experienced in my life thus far. I had no idea this journey would take the paths that it did. That being said, we have finally made it to the point we are almost to closing day.....in seven days.

I tend to jot my feelings down when my heart is heavy or not settled, and as you can imagine that is what brought me here today. Almost thirty two years ago, I fell in love with a man who owned a rather sparsely decorated bachelor pad on the east side of Ft. Worth. A small two bedroom house, built in the 1940's which had no updates, just the basics. The stand out decor included red carpet, bark-cloth curtains (which were dubs "thanksgiving day" curtains) a set of old salon style swing doors that separated the kitchen from the dining room and yellow Formica counter tops in the kitchen. It had a great size yard, with lots of trees but not much grass and not a flower one. It needed a little help, but once we were married, the little house on the east side of Ft. Worth transformed and grew to accommodate our family. It has always been home, a safe landing place from the world.

I think about the renovations we have done on this house over the years. When I step back and see every thing we have done here, I can't help but see a little bit of ourselves in all the renovations. It has been a evolution over time to get that little house where it is today. I hope the new owners love it as much as I do. It was a process and one that included a lot of love and attention over the years.

I decided to count down the last seven days of this journey, and remind myself of all the things I love the most about the house we are leaving. As I think about the things I will miss the most, it is a reminder of all the things I have loved about our house over the years. Recollections, reminders, memories. Today I am reminded that a house is really just the shelter for a family. The family is the home of that shelter. However, there have been times in my life that this very house was my safe place in the world. In the big scheme of things, and only briefly, the darkest days of my life happened while living here, and this little house on the east side of Fort Worth was my safe haven from the world. When things were hard to handle and deal with, I was always felt safe and secure inside the walls of this house. Even now, when things are so good in this life, it is behind that front door and inside the walls that bring me the most piece and comfort on a day to day basis. This house has been the shelter from all storms life as bestowed upon me. It is the memories that sustain us and we will carry as we leave.

A lady made the statement to me that I have not detached myself from the house and I am still very emotionally attached. No truer words have been spoken. It is so bittersweet to be looking forward to what is to come, but knowing how hard it will be to let all I have loved for so long slip away and ready my heart to grasp the next chapter of our lives.

In seven days....the little house on the east side of Fort Worth won't have my our names on it any more......the shelter that has weathered the storms of life and provided a safe place to land will be that same thing for a new family. I will miss my safe haven from the world, the walls that have held me close and kept me from feeling so lost when things were hard. I will miss all the projects we worked on over the years that make our home a place we enjoyed as our lived happened year after year.

We are almost to the door that will open to the next chapter of our lives, a new chapter and a new home we can put our stamp on. It too will be a safe haven from the world, even if it is hard to imagine how that will be, just yet. I find it difficult to imagine grasping the door handle to the new house when my hand is tightly holding on to the old one still in my heart....thankfully...I still have seven days!

Sometimes You Really Can't Dream How Good Things Will Turn out!

House update:

When you sell all of your excess belongings, and stage your home so it is ready to go on the market, one of the most important things you can do is declare to the universe what you want and who you'd like to buy your home.

That is exactly what Steve and I did......we talked about what we wanted to get out of the sale of the house and ideally who we would like to purchase our home. The checklist was not too long.....

1. we agreed on a dollar amount

2. we wanted a young family who might be looking for a long term home

3. we wanted a family (like we saw ourselves thirty plus years ago) one with young children

4. I wanted someone who would love my home and appreciate all the things that make it special

The house went on the market.

In less than twenty four hours, we had two offers from three showings. One was 15000.00 over asking price. We were blown away...literally. I was thrilled because if they wanted to spend that much to get my home, they surely loved it. I was excited, but the thought did cross my mind that all of the boxes were not checked or at least to my knowledge were not checked. However,  they did love my home and it was a young family, but this time, the universe did not align and the couple found out the day they made the offer that the husband was being relocated for his job and they were crushed, as well as we were, when they knew they could not buy our house and had to back out of the contract during the option period.

So, our agent contacted the other family to let them know we were still accepting offers, but it was a no go. Talk about a let down...and here we were right back at the start of it all. 

What does that really mean, the start of it all?? Well, it means keeping your house spotless.....it means training your husband to use a swiffer and use it rather quickly and efficiently on a moments notice.....it means rushing home from work, with thirty minutes to dash in, make sure every thing is perfect and dash out with four dachshunds in tow and riding around the city, while hoping the dog who gets car sick does not decide to throw up in your car....it means eating out EVERY. SINGLE. DAY ...as we have to keep the kitchen spotless....it means doing this multiple times a day, each day. 

We got discouraged rather quickly...we are homebodies...and we were put out of our home and well..it was rather uncomfortable. We knew to expect a little discomfort, but I don't think we were truly prepared for the DISCOMFORT we felt in the whole process of selling a house. Oh, and if you have not guessed it by now, we have never sold a home or moved in all our adult lives. Yes, trying to say the least.

So we waited, and had another showing, and two days later we had another showing and this time we got another offer......price was good.....however the contract had stipulations that did not set well with me....we accepted the offer, but I felt a unsettling that I could not put my finger on. This time, as far as I could tell, there was only one box checked off our wish list and it truly had me on edge. Long story short, they backed out during the option period.....wasted our time and took the house off the market for almost a week. So again here we are back at the start of it all....and  you know what that means...discomfort! Three days went by without a showing once it was back on the market......

....we felt panicked....reason being, we found our home we wanted to buy, we just needed to sell our house and sell it within 30 days to be able to purchase the home we wanted. It was so stressful and heart wrenching to think it might not work out.

Tuesday of this week, we had a showing and that sparked the same ole same ole....rush home, swiffer flying across the floor in record time, curtains spruced and pillows fluffed...scentsy burners going, lights on, backing out the door with four dogs in my arms surveying how my home will look to someone walking in for the first time....dashing to the car and pulling away as the Realtor pulls up. Same routine...but something felt different this time......crossing fingers.

Wednesday morning came....and we  got feedback from the Realtor that showed the house. She said she could certainly tell the pride of ownership from the homeowners and that it was a JOY to show our house. She said her clients were thinking it over and would let us know. We were  really starting to think maybe we were not supposed to sell our house and possibly we would just stay put. We were stressed out beyond imagination.....both of us had short fuses and aggravated at the fact we wanted this to go so smoothly but it in fact was turning into a roller coaster of a ride with nothing but stress and we were deciding we were all but ready to bale all together.

When you think you have just about given up holding on to a dream, I am here to tell you, just hold on a little bit longer.....and then it happened.

Our Realtor called, and the people who saw our house the day before had submitted their offer. We were stunned into disbelief. Their offer was a CASH offer and a price we are more than happy to accept. They pay closing cost, survey cost, title company cost. We are not responsible for any of those cost. No option period, no inspection, no appraisal. We close on the 12th of November and they have agreed to lease us two extra weeks after the 12th so we can get closed on our new house free of charge. WE. ARE. STILL. STUNNED.  The couple wanting our house even submitted a personal letter to Steve and I and that really sealed the deal. That letter was the most heartfelt letter, and it brought Steve and I both to tears.

Once the shock of the day settled, it became apparent to us that what we said we wanted when we sold our house was exactly what we got in the end, even if there were bumps in the road to get to the destination. I really believe the  first two offers that did not go through for two different reasons, only happened in order to take my home off the market for a few days. That was just enough time for the family looking for the right home to find ours. I have said all along...timing...it is everything.

Oh, and our checklist.....

1. We got the offer we wanted

2. We have a young family with small children purchasing our home who will have family close. (just like we did all those years ago)

3. They love my home and all the details I put into my home

It has been a whirlwind and a roller coaster of emotions, from super happy to super sad. We are elated at the sale of your house...and sad at the same time to be leaving where so much of our lives have happened. Then, on the flip side of that, we are so excited for the next chapter in our lives....like a fresh start with the home of our dreams and looking forward for what is to come. This is where we will spend the next chapter of our lives....we are excited.

I am thankful today for very dear friends who have walked this journey with us, I am thankful that I believe in positive thinking, I am thankful for St. Joseph and St. Jude who no doubt had a hand in all of this house selling business, I am thankful beyond words that this family will love and care for my home after we are gone...I feel it in my soul that the right family has found where their lives will happen and will love and care for our home the same way we have.

If you want something....say it out loud to the universe....it will come to pass. It may not  be in the way or time frame you had in mind...but it will work out in the end.  The cherry on it all is when things work out far better than you could have ever dreamed possible.

I'll keep you all posted on how this all goes...but I am  thinking smooth sailing now!