Monday, August 15, 2005
A Bird In The Hand
Well, it seems all my artful "staging" paid off: the lesbians announced utter glee at our layout and claim they'd like to be first in line to buy the house when we're ready to sell. So, we could essentially consider our house pre-sold if we'd like to, assuming they'd be able to qualify for the financing and all that jazz.
Getting the house ready to show was laborious to say the least. I truly had no idea we lived in such filth, yet when I dared to peek into the corners long (too long) ignored, I came face-to-face with the truth: we're disgusting. At least when you bother to scratch the surface. On the face of things, we live a relatively orderly and tidy - clean - sort of life. But in the dark recesses of our home, filth, muck and grime flourish. It took me hours to breathe new life into the master bedroom and half-bath. And the kitchen? Another couple of hours. I cleaned like a woman possessed. And I never even made it to cleaning out the refridgerator or oven. Or got around to getting brownies in the oven to give the house an alluring aroma of home. Instead it smelled faintly of Pledge Orange Oil.
We had arranged for them to come see the house around 12:30. I was done with the bulk of cleaning by noon. That left me with at least half and hour to fret and obsessively walk from room to room, looking for imperfections. I checked my email and read some blogs, sitting on the floor rather than perch on the side of my bed for fear of rumpling the oh-so-carefully-made bed. Thankfully Mr. Chick had taken the kids out to the park so I could have some time to finish up and show them the house. Then the doorbell rang.
The whole family showed up to see the place: the two ladies and their two daughters. One from each, by all appearances. A 15-yr old and an impish 4 yr old. Clutched in their hopeful hands was a small bouquet of flowers for me. A total butt-kissing move that I saw right through and yet appreciated anyway. It's just nice to get flowers regardless of the motivation behind them. I invited them in and told them that the house did not require a guided tour and that they should feel free to look about on their own. It didn't take long - it's a small house. They were eager to see Mr. Chick's office, which is an addition off the back of the house. I guess one of them works from home so this is a perfect spot for their office as well. The yard scored many points. They were pleasantly surprised by how spacious it felt, despite it's small square footage (1340 sq ft). It's funny to notice what sorts of features each responded to. The teenager? She seemed quite tickled by the dimmer switch controlling the light over the dining room and the fact that there would be enough space in the backyard for her trampoline. One of the ladies liked the fireplace and the cupboard that is built to hold vertical-types of things like cookie sheets and cutting boards. The 4 yr old made herself at home in the backyard and promptly removed her shirt. The other lady was more business-focused, quizzing me about timelines and prices, etc. I was very up-front about our plans, or lack thereof. We just simply cannot offer any sort of timeline for when we'll be ready to move at this point. Trust me, I wish we could. Nor are we able to really state an asking price - it seems to be a perpetually moving (read: raising) number. I told them that we were well aware that the house is in a good area and we won't have any trouble selling it. I said it would likely be priced between $200k - $225k (bwahahah! ridiculous!) and they just kept nodding like bobble-heads as if what I said was completely reasonable. And without much conferring on their part it was announced to me that they would love to buy the house. Without knowing a proposed closing date or firm price. I'm quite a sales lady, yes? Shortly before we concluded our mutual love-fest Mr. Chick and the kids came back and everyone was introduced. They told us that they would continue to check back with us and would love it if we could let them know whenever we're able to firm up our plans. Will do.
So, without having to do ANY marketing, we have some buyers if we want to sell. It's still early - it may not work out - and we've not committed to anything. But they would have signed a contract on the spot had we had one. Apparently removing your coffee maker and toaster over from the counters, and finally scrubbing a toilet can really pay off! Who knew?
Getting the house ready to show was laborious to say the least. I truly had no idea we lived in such filth, yet when I dared to peek into the corners long (too long) ignored, I came face-to-face with the truth: we're disgusting. At least when you bother to scratch the surface. On the face of things, we live a relatively orderly and tidy - clean - sort of life. But in the dark recesses of our home, filth, muck and grime flourish. It took me hours to breathe new life into the master bedroom and half-bath. And the kitchen? Another couple of hours. I cleaned like a woman possessed. And I never even made it to cleaning out the refridgerator or oven. Or got around to getting brownies in the oven to give the house an alluring aroma of home. Instead it smelled faintly of Pledge Orange Oil.
We had arranged for them to come see the house around 12:30. I was done with the bulk of cleaning by noon. That left me with at least half and hour to fret and obsessively walk from room to room, looking for imperfections. I checked my email and read some blogs, sitting on the floor rather than perch on the side of my bed for fear of rumpling the oh-so-carefully-made bed. Thankfully Mr. Chick had taken the kids out to the park so I could have some time to finish up and show them the house. Then the doorbell rang.
The whole family showed up to see the place: the two ladies and their two daughters. One from each, by all appearances. A 15-yr old and an impish 4 yr old. Clutched in their hopeful hands was a small bouquet of flowers for me. A total butt-kissing move that I saw right through and yet appreciated anyway. It's just nice to get flowers regardless of the motivation behind them. I invited them in and told them that the house did not require a guided tour and that they should feel free to look about on their own. It didn't take long - it's a small house. They were eager to see Mr. Chick's office, which is an addition off the back of the house. I guess one of them works from home so this is a perfect spot for their office as well. The yard scored many points. They were pleasantly surprised by how spacious it felt, despite it's small square footage (1340 sq ft). It's funny to notice what sorts of features each responded to. The teenager? She seemed quite tickled by the dimmer switch controlling the light over the dining room and the fact that there would be enough space in the backyard for her trampoline. One of the ladies liked the fireplace and the cupboard that is built to hold vertical-types of things like cookie sheets and cutting boards. The 4 yr old made herself at home in the backyard and promptly removed her shirt. The other lady was more business-focused, quizzing me about timelines and prices, etc. I was very up-front about our plans, or lack thereof. We just simply cannot offer any sort of timeline for when we'll be ready to move at this point. Trust me, I wish we could. Nor are we able to really state an asking price - it seems to be a perpetually moving (read: raising) number. I told them that we were well aware that the house is in a good area and we won't have any trouble selling it. I said it would likely be priced between $200k - $225k (bwahahah! ridiculous!) and they just kept nodding like bobble-heads as if what I said was completely reasonable. And without much conferring on their part it was announced to me that they would love to buy the house. Without knowing a proposed closing date or firm price. I'm quite a sales lady, yes? Shortly before we concluded our mutual love-fest Mr. Chick and the kids came back and everyone was introduced. They told us that they would continue to check back with us and would love it if we could let them know whenever we're able to firm up our plans. Will do.
So, without having to do ANY marketing, we have some buyers if we want to sell. It's still early - it may not work out - and we've not committed to anything. But they would have signed a contract on the spot had we had one. Apparently removing your coffee maker and toaster over from the counters, and finally scrubbing a toilet can really pay off! Who knew?
// posted by MP @ 8:17 PM 
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MP We sold our home 3 months ago and it was a nightmare! Besides the obvious of having to keep the house "show ready' with four kids, there were the "no-shows", meals and baths interupted, strange kids getting into MY kids' stuff, etc. If I were you, i would take this couples offer and run, lol!
Our worst horror story was coming home after a showing to open the front door and have it smell like shit. After searching the house we found one of our bathrooms had been used (according to spying neighbors probably by a child who was part of the showing) and poop was all over the toilet seat, the handles on the faucet, the wall...everything. I wanted to cry!
We don't live in the ghetto either...the house sold for over $300k and we had a realtor.
Run baby run!
Heehee,
~andrea (from BorB)
Our worst horror story was coming home after a showing to open the front door and have it smell like shit. After searching the house we found one of our bathrooms had been used (according to spying neighbors probably by a child who was part of the showing) and poop was all over the toilet seat, the handles on the faucet, the wall...everything. I wanted to cry!
We don't live in the ghetto either...the house sold for over $300k and we had a realtor.
Run baby run!
Heehee,
~andrea (from BorB)
# posted by 
: 5:33 AM
: 5:33 AM
Congrats, MP! That's great. Gotta be a relief, too!
Everyone always comments how clean our apartment is (not like it's hard to keep something this tiny clean.) But if they *really* knew what it looked like deep down, they'd be horrified.
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Everyone always comments how clean our apartment is (not like it's hard to keep something this tiny clean.) But if they *really* knew what it looked like deep down, they'd be horrified.
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