Make Me An Offer I Can't Refuse

We've had the first offer on our house. Although it's substantially lower than our asking price, we're delighted that two people looked at the house last weekend and one of them submitted an offer. That bodes well.

After talking things over, we decided to submit a counter offer, asking for a bit more and adding a few addendums. The realtor spent over an hour with my husband last night and they hashed out the details. The buyer has a pre-approved loan for a second house and he has to move quickly to lock in the interest rate before it goes up. So, we should hear something by Saturday morning. If it's a no-go, then we're back to showing the house. I think we both feel pretty good about the way things are going. If this is not the right buyer, then he/she will come along.

If this buyer accepts our counter offer, we will close July 5 and have five days to vacate. I'm not sure about this clause because when we initially set up the contract with the realtor, we stipulated we would have 14 days to vacate. Still, if the offer is accepted, that give us some sort of timeline. I asked my husband when he would leave his full time job and he said something about the end of June. I immediately told him that there was no way I was going to do all the work of getting ready to move by myself! We compromised on a more reasonable time, perhaps around June 15.

The buyer has asked for several inspections, which he will pay for. Since we're selling "as is" my understanding is that we can refuse to do any drastic repairs/renovations. We'll have to pay for a surveyor to mark the property and fork out the money to get both septic tanks pumped. After paying off the balance of the mortgage, part of closing costs and the realtor's fees, we'll have a tidy sum to pocket and draw on when we start the new leg of our journey in Florida.

I was talking to a co-worker today about moving and felt a bit less anxious after I heard her story. Her husband was working in Oregon at the time and she had total responsibility for packing up the house in Hawaii and making the move with two young children, ages 3 and 5. She described running between terminals at LAX with two suitcases, three backpacks, and two boys in tow. What a visual! This lady is maybe five foot two and weighs around 100 pounds. If she could make a move like that on her own, my husband and I, working together, should be okay.

Nothing is packed. We haven't reserved a U-Haul. We've got stuff to donate or toss. I don't think I can make a list long enough for all the tasks to be taken care of. It's a scary time for us. The logistics of the move -- with a U-Haul, an RV, two cats and a dog -- are overwhelming. And when we arrive, it will be tough, too. Last night as my husband and I were talking, just before sleep, I said that we'd just have to focus on the new house, the work and joy of building it together. If we can focus on the eventual positive outcome of this transition, I believe it will pull us through the stress and temporary chaos.

I will miss this place, this place that's become a very real home for me in the last four years. I will miss our little house, our woodstove, our leafy green yard, our close access to the beach. This house has seemingly fit itself around us and around our life together. It ain't much, but it's home. I will miss the drive to work in the morning, maybe the most beautiful drive in the country, the sights and sounds of the Pacific off to my left, NPR keeping me company coming and going. I will certainly miss my friends here, people who have, many of them, become as dear as family. I will miss the horizontal rain and the mighty wind, the cool green summers, and the big trees.

But, we've set our faces into the future, in a new direction where adventures and challenges surely await. Whether this offer on the house is accepted or not, my husband and I are in a state of preparation. We're looking ahead, and where our minds go our bodies will eventually follow.

How that's for a bit of philosophy?