House Update

Everyone kept telling me this was a lousy real estate market. Okay, okay, I'm a believer.

We sold our last house at just the right time. The housing market was still hot, we showed our house several times a week (sometimes several times a day), and had a contract in about three weeks.

We actually had an offer on this house about a month ago. A really, really low offer. So low I had to squint at the piece of paper for a while to be sure I was looking at the numbers right. We countered, and it fell through. I think they were hoping for a desperate seller, and we're not that desperate. Yet. But we are a bit discouraged.

We're not quite three months into this current venture, and I know that in this market, that's a pretty short amount of time. We drive by houses all the time that have been on the market for ages, so I know it can be much worse. But trying to keep the house show ready with two full time jobs and a busy baby makes the months feel long.

The showings are very sporadic. We'll get nothing for two or three weeks, then a flurry of showings. This pattern breeds complacency - so we keep the house really shiny for a few days, then start letting things go a little bit. Don't vacuum as often. Leave some clutter out on the counters. We don't do it intentionally, but life gets in the way.

That wouldn't be so bad, except we've had several potential buyers who've given us practically NO notice that they want to see the house. Yesterday, for example. The realty office called and said a couple wanted to see the house. Right now. Except Lee and Trent (who is visiting for a few days!) were still asleep and the house was a wreck. We persuaded them to come back in a few hours, then busted our butts cleaning. This has happened several times, and I just can't understand why people don't give more of a warning. Ideally, we'd keep the house nearly show-ready all the time, and then just have to open the blinds and turn on all the lights then let 'em in. But I know better. That's just not happening.

So, we're in a house rut. We're tired of the hassle of showing the house, and we're ready to move forward (literally). But, considering the market, we know it could be a long, long haul.