it doesn't get any more real than this

Our realtor put this up this weekend.

Good thing considering this is what my living room looks like.

We're swimming in boxes for the upcoming move.

the talk of the neighborhood

pondering

The buyers hit us with an offer.

Our listing price meant we weren't even breaking even. But I could pretend to be happy.

Dad2Amara and I dropped our original price $10,000 Thursday. So now we're in the hole.

The buyers hit us with an offer $7,000 less than the current price.

So we countered.

They've come back with another offer.

And now Dad2Amara is crunching numbers. I'm just hoping we won't lose too much on this house.

Damn.

receiving multiple offers

Who knew we'd ever get to this point.

After impatiently watching the Yellow House sit on the market for 51 days, we have received numerous offers.

Two offers.

We kinda expected the first offer. It hasn't come through yet because they're still shopping around for a mortgage. But their realtor assures us we'll have one soon.

I was so surprised though when after Sunday's showing we were told the potential buyers wanted to put in a bid.

I should be excited an offer was put in.

But the offer was so low, it was insulting. Dad2Amara and I didn't even dignify their bid with a counter offer.

So we're now hoping the first time home buyers from Saturday's showing will be approved for a mortgage.

Or hoping that the people from Sunday realize that I'm not desperate to sell the house...yet.

I hate that our future lies in some stranger's hands.

they like us, they really do

Dad2Amara may have disagreed at first to reduce our listing price.

But I think he may be singing a different tune now.

We dropped the price Thursday.

We got two requests for showings Friday - one Saturday, the other Sunday.

The realtor called this morning.

The first couple wants to make an offer.

I knew the Yellow House was pretty. I knew someone would like it.

dropping our house price

Ouch.

Housing sales in April dropped 18-percent compared to the same month last year.

Couple that with the fact the Yellow House has been on the market for what feels like ages -- Dad2Amara and I agreed to drop our house price $10,000.

Dad2Amara fought me on it. He wanted to wait to drop the price. He also only wanted to drop the price $5,000.

But I disagreed.

There were many things I considered before reducing our original listing price.

1. Where we listed too high? There's no doubt it's a buyer's market right now. So what's the competition look like? When I looked at the active history of other listings in my neighborhood, I did the math. And I saw that the Yellow House had the highest per-square-foot price. Not good.
2. How long have we been on the market? For us, it's been 50 days with only three showings. It was time to make a move.
3. What price would make a buyer love our house? The Yellow House is located in a neighborhood that's just right for the first time home buyer. So was our original listing price too high for our target buyer?

With so many houses up for sale near us, I didn't want to chance yet one more house selling and it not being ours.

At the right price, every house can sell. I'm just hoping we won't have to drop much lower to get to that point.

a house sold...just not mine

Dad2Amara called with some disappointing news.

A house on our street sold.

And it wasn't the Yellow House.

We realized that the Yellow House has now been on the market for 40 days.

A lot can happen in 40 days.

It rained on Noah.

Josh Hartnett abstained from sex.

And the Yellow House sat on the market.

Why don't people like our house? I'm starting to take it personally.

Is my house just designed with too many upgrades? So many that it turns off a buyer that would "typically" look in this neighborhood?

Do buyers want carpet in the living room, no hardwoods?

What is wrong with the Yellow House?

And how the heck am I going to get it sold?

I'm getting tense.

why selling a house is a pain

I thought I'd always be happy to hear that someone wants to see the Yellow House.

But last night, I received a phone call from Centralized Showing, the company that takes care of scheduling our house appointments. It was 8:45. I ran but got to the phone too late. It went into voicemail.

I immediately called them back.

And you know what? No answer.

What?!?!

Apparently they close at 8 p.m. but they had the audacity to call after hours.

How frustrating for a home seller.

I was more than willing to have the prospective buyer check out my house this morning. But because some idiot at Centralized Showing decided to call after they had closed for the day, I miss out on showing off the Yellow House.

Hey Centralized Showing, maybe you want to instruct your employees not to call after hours unless they're prepared to take my call as well.

let's make a deal

So 72 hours after a second showing of the Yellow House, still no offers.

Dad2Amara has an awful feeling that the potential buyers have passed on buying our lovely abode.

Me? I'm still optimistic.

Maybe they're still pondering exactly how they will make an offer.

A buyer has plenty to consider when buying a house.

• Sale price. In this weak economy, how much should a buyer offer to buy? Note to buyer: may I suggest buying the Yellow House for $20,000 more than the listing price?


• Closing date. We can be out of the Yellow House immediately. What's not to like about that?


• Closing costs. I can persuade Dad2Amara to add this is to seal the deal.


• Contingencies. Find something you don't like in the Yellow House? Want to make sure it's taken cared of before you move in? Let me know. It's done.

Everything's negotiable. Dad2Amara and I are realistic about selling the Yellow House.

So come on down, potential buyers! Let's make a deal!

no offers yet

Two showings our first weekend on the market.

And no offers yet on the table.

I'm bummed.

Unrealistic? Probably. But I'm still bummed.

how we're selling our house

The Yellow House has been on the market for less than a week.

Saint Joseph has been in the ground for 48 hours.

And I'm sick and tired of cleaning our house each night.

But we've been asked to show our house on Sunday morning!

After an exhausting week, the last thing I want to do is vacuum. Or dust. But I know I have to. Because you never know when a potential buyer will want to take a look.

So I fuss each night. And I leave for work every morning, only after inspecting our home's nook and crannies.

Guess it's done some good. Because someone's at least interested in seeing the Yellow House in person!

Or maybe it's Dad2Amara's faithful devotion to praying to Saint Joseph...

praying to St. Joseph

My girlfriend, Susan just sold her house. And she credits the sale - in part - to Saint Joseph.

With this real estate market, I'll try anything.

So she gave me her Saint Joseph statue to bury.

But I freaked out when I couldn't find the instructions for it.

Was it supposed to be buried in the front yard? Or was it upside down in the backyard?

I could hear myself cursing a religious statue. Not a good start.

Then I found a piece of paper inside the statue's box. And it spoke of the practice of burying Saint Joseph. It reminded the owner that this wasn't a case of magic or superstition.

Sellers should believe in Saint Joseph's power and trust in his intercession. The location of the burial does not matter. It all comes down to prayer.

And since lightning would probably knock down the Yellow House's walls if I began to pray, I'll leave that to Dad2Amara.

But in case you're interested in what the prayer is, here goes:

Dear Saint Joseph, head of the most perfect household, foster father of Jesus and guardian of His mother Mary, I confidently place myself and all my concerns under your care and protection. I ask that, through your powerful intercession with God, you obtain for me all the help and graces that I need for my spiritual and temporal welfare and in particular, the special favor I now ask (here mention or think of your home sale).

Good Saint Joseph, I know with confidence that your prayers on my behalf will be heard by God, and if it is His Will, it will be done.

Thank you Saint Joseph, for having responded to my call. Amen.

it's official

The house goes on the market tomorrow.

And the home building process begins again.

Five years ago, Dad2Amara and I built the Yellow House. Dad2Amara was convinced buying a home in a mediocre area would be better than plunking down another month's rent.

So we signed the paperwork for a home in a neighborhood with an alright school district. But it was OK because we weren't planning on starting a family for a few years. We had time to build equity, then we'd move again.

Just hours after signing on the dotted line, we found out we were pregnant with Amara.

So with kindergarten staring us in the face, we have decided to sell the Yellow House...in spite of an economic downtime in the region.

We are house number six on our street on the market. But I am also confident that we are the nicest one out there.

Our builder says we should be in our new house by mid-September.

So wish us luck in selling. And send any prospective buyers our way.