July 30, 2009
Dear Everyone:
Last Wednesday my old
townhouse at XXX Carillo
Court was officially listed at $299,990.
On Thursday my
realtor held an opening for the brokers.
Around 13-15 real estate brokers (and one neighbor) viewed the
place and nearly all had positive things to say about the place.
Some voiced the opinion that it was very well priced.
On Friday my realtor sent me an email with a link
to a new listing. It seems
one of my neighbors, at YYY Carillo Court put their place on the market
that day. It is the same
floor plan as mine, only reversed.
But the same square footage, etc.
Only it had what looked like a completely remodeled kitchen.
And they priced it at $239,000.
Ouch!
It’s what is known as a “short sale”.
Apparently the owners are trying to sell as quickly as possible
to stave off a foreclosure.
On Sunday afternoon my realtor held an open house
for three hours. About 15
people came to see the place, including a person who works in my
department, in the IT Support part.
I found out later that even “Jeannie” showed up.
She was there to get her
vacuum cleaner, which she had left in
the front closet. Another
person who showed up is a neighbor, whom “Jeannie” calls “The Mole Lady”
because she’s obsessed with a
mole that has been digging in the yard
between her building and mine.
In past
Homeowner Association board meetings I’ve heard other
members of the board complain about her.
She’s always interfering with the landscaping workers and kept
bothering the construction crew that put in the new fencing last year.
Wouldn’t you know, she started bad-mouthing the
Association and the board to anyone who would listen, however
unwillingly. My realtor kept
biting her tongue to not say, “Shut up!
Shut up! Shut up and
leave!”
Once the open house was over, the realtor asked
“Jeannie” if she wanted to take a look at the “short sale.”
Of course she did. So
they went and took a look around.
“Jeannie” said the kitchen “remodel” was really just a re-facing
of the existing cabinets; something we might want to consider if we
don’t get an offer for several months.
And she said that what looked like hardwood floors was really a
cheap laminate (but cheaper than the one we put in.)
But they did have
crown molding, which means they took away the
“popcorn ceiling" that caused “Richard” so much trouble when we painted
the townhouse back in May.
I got an
email from the realtor yesterday,
indicating that she was expecting an offer.
And we had tentatively scheduled to look at any offers after work
today. But when I didn’t
hear from her all day, I left a message on her
cell phone that I was
going home after work.
She called as I was waiting for the elevator and
told me that she had received at least one offer, from my co-worker!
And there might be more, but she had been working outside her
office all day and hadn’t had a chance to look at it.
She’s going to call me tomorrow with more
information. In the
meantime, I made a quick little “cheat sheet”, listing all of the major
expenses, like paying off the
mortgage and all the money “Jeannie” has
poured into the place, to see what we would “clear” depending on how
much was offered.
So everyone keep your fingers crossed and I might
have good news next week.
Love, as always,
Pete
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