If selling your home is new to you and you have lived in that home for more than four decades this blog might be interesting to you.
We
started this journey back in July when we two old "Boomer and Pre
Boomer" love children decided to "pull the trigger" and sell the
house that we had raised our three children in. They have already moved
as far away from us as their budgets could manage and being all boys, they
never come back or call. We had waited for the market to
regain its former levels after 2008 and now we were convinced that we could
recoup the "nest egg" investment that we had planned when we bought
the house. Unfortunately, we missed the buyers that usually come to
Claremont in the summer to find good schools and great activities in a
wonderful and quaint little town in a rural area near Los Angeles.
What ensues after that is a chapter out of a Steven King
novel. We had not anticipated the agony of moving! The actual
moving of furniture, so easy with three big boys to help, became a thing of
nightly tossing and turning and then came the pain. Sciatic nerves,
Carpal Tunnel, Groin Pull, and the bruises.....Oy Vey! Our plan was to
move some of our possessions into storage and then just roam this great country
in our motor home. We packed and sorted and had yard sales. We
agonized over what to keep and what to give/throw away. At one point we
could not find ANYONE to take an antique executive desk (that I loved) and so
we just took it to the dump and I watched them break it into pieces. We
found homes for chairs, and lamps, we sold our upright grand piano. (it had
hand carving and was concert quality. The buyer took if for her kids and
painted it white!) I have learned way to much about online "yard
sales" and people who promise to come and pick up things and then never
show up or call or anything...... (One guy wanted to buy a Torque wrench and
called to say he was on his way, only to call back later and say that he had
been confused with the Clermont in San Diego and the Claremont in Los
Angeles.)
Living in a home that has been gutted and emptied of all your possession’s
means that things that had become part of your life, almost friends, are gone,
and you are alone. We live in about 700 square feet of a 2300 square
foot house. We have our bed, a TV,
kitchen (that we use seldom) a couch and a desk. THAT’S IT!
On a positive note it is the first time I have had a clean garage.
If it wasn’t for the support and constant love
of my sweetie and loyalty and acceptance of our puppy, we would not be able to
do this. We constantly have to clean and
straighten up the house for potential buyers, and Realtor Open Houses. There is the multitude of house repairs after
the “Inspectors” come through and then there are the buyers that think that
they are entitled to anything they want and are just evil about it. We have had
(at this point) two buyers that “fell out” of escrow for one reason or
another. One of them after getting a
price reduction asked for a huge allowance to do remodeling and then would not
believe the evidence of the repairs we had done.
It
is now December, after Christmas. We
have to give a big THANK YOU to our church for the festivities and fellowship,
and to our son and his girlfriend for including us into their holiday family
get together. It wasn’t the big tree in
the living room with the lights and the gifts, it wasn’t the warm fire and kids
playing, it wasn’t Vera’s grand feast of wonderful food, but it was Christmas
and we each other and God and we are happy.
