The process of relocating was an idea we had about three months ago and boy it feels like an eternity since that brainiac idea surfaced! We started thinking that we had all the time in the world... we were 110% committed to for-sale-by-owner... we priced the house high (giving wiggle room to come down)... we hooked up with skogman.com and iahomesforsale.com to scope out our dream house in Cedar Rapids... we talked to someone about getting approved for our next mortgage... I passed up my first job offer... I put off researching a preschool for Alayna...
Now, 67 days later we are sitting on our FSBO home, being as stubborn as a man who needs directions. We've reduced the price twice, have had 12 open houses with about 6 families and 2 realtors through the house, buried the St. Joseph statue and prayed like heck, met with a realtor for staging and pricing questions, and **deepbreath** still haven't sold this dang house! I swear, FSBO is the toughest job in America! It feels like complete defeat!
I've learned a lot though. It takes more than removing family portraits from your wall and cleaning the bath tubs. It's time consuming! I've worked like crazy to get in with relocation offices at corporate headquarters, contact realtors, and place ads in the newspaper. And all those little fees keep adding up! We've taken new pictures of the house to keep them fresh, ensured that we always have some kind of "red-sticker" on the web site to draw attention, and aligned our open houses with realtor opens in the neighborhood. Not having a MLS number makes selling challenging, but it would also save us $17,000... so how long does a girl try to hold out?
I quit my job on July 15th, and I can't really explain what it feels like to not have the next phase planned out. It's different than when I was 23 and taking a leap of faith to the big metropolitan, renting a 600 square foot apartment with my boyfriend, and living the dream of not having real responsibility. Now, we've crossed into our 30's, have two children, a house we can't sell, and lack a j-o-b.
So, we're getting roomies, going back to 2-bedroom, 1-bath living quarters, mooching off mom and pop Skala for a couple months. It sounds all so demoralizing, doesn't it? While I'm feeling guilty and full of pity for ourselves, deep inside I'm kind of looking forward to hanging out with mom, letting the kids become overly attached, making dinner every night (got nothing else going on!), and planning our days as a big, happy family. I wonder if my parents are just as eager to have us there? As for Jarin, he has scheduled all of his out-of-state client visits for August, if that says anything.
Wish us luck!
Now, 67 days later we are sitting on our FSBO home, being as stubborn as a man who needs directions. We've reduced the price twice, have had 12 open houses with about 6 families and 2 realtors through the house, buried the St. Joseph statue and prayed like heck, met with a realtor for staging and pricing questions, and **deepbreath** still haven't sold this dang house! I swear, FSBO is the toughest job in America! It feels like complete defeat!
I've learned a lot though. It takes more than removing family portraits from your wall and cleaning the bath tubs. It's time consuming! I've worked like crazy to get in with relocation offices at corporate headquarters, contact realtors, and place ads in the newspaper. And all those little fees keep adding up! We've taken new pictures of the house to keep them fresh, ensured that we always have some kind of "red-sticker" on the web site to draw attention, and aligned our open houses with realtor opens in the neighborhood. Not having a MLS number makes selling challenging, but it would also save us $17,000... so how long does a girl try to hold out?
I quit my job on July 15th, and I can't really explain what it feels like to not have the next phase planned out. It's different than when I was 23 and taking a leap of faith to the big metropolitan, renting a 600 square foot apartment with my boyfriend, and living the dream of not having real responsibility. Now, we've crossed into our 30's, have two children, a house we can't sell, and lack a j-o-b.
So, we're getting roomies, going back to 2-bedroom, 1-bath living quarters, mooching off mom and pop Skala for a couple months. It sounds all so demoralizing, doesn't it? While I'm feeling guilty and full of pity for ourselves, deep inside I'm kind of looking forward to hanging out with mom, letting the kids become overly attached, making dinner every night (got nothing else going on!), and planning our days as a big, happy family. I wonder if my parents are just as eager to have us there? As for Jarin, he has scheduled all of his out-of-state client visits for August, if that says anything.
Wish us luck!
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