February 24th
Although it is warmer than typical in Minneapolis, it is too cold to spend the entire day outside I am therefore hanging out in a hotel lobby downtown, an interloper hunkered into a comfy chair in a back room lounge, while strangers walk through our carefully-staged home to determine if they want to buy it.
This is both exciting and nerve-wracking. We hadn’t expected to see so many showing requests…14 today and another 4 tomorrow, plus two scattered next week. We didn’t think homes got this kind of activity in current times, especially at our price range and with interest rates so high.
It is hard to believe that it seems possible (even dare I say likely?) we might have an offer after our first weekend of listing. The thought of contracting an estate sale agent and liquidate things so quickly is a little bit of a shock, given that I was sure the house would sit on the market for weeks.
We’re beyond thankful that dear friends have an uninhabited, furnished house for us to rent at any time. If we weren’t in that
We’re beyond thankful that dear friends have an uninhabited, furnished house for us to rent at any time. If we weren’t in that position and had to not only divest ourselves of most of our belongings but also find a suitable rental that would allow a combined 150 lbs of dogs…I wouldn’t be nearly so calm right now.
As things stand, I’m more hopeful and excited than nervous. We’ve been working on this plan for so long and selling our house is the first concrete step that will put things into action.
February 26th
I would have never thought we’d have a signed offer so quickly, but here we are. And an amazing offer at that. We have to pass the well test, but our prior tests were fine and there’s no reason to believe things have changed… We’re keeping our fingers crossed!
March 15th
The water test passed and our closing was today. I don’t think it has really sunk in yet that we no longer own this house. The buyers included a rent-back for 6 weeks until the end of April so we can liquidate our furniture and finish moving out.
Our son will be home from college over spring break next week and I think that among all of us, Minneapolis and this house seemed most like “home” for him. He’s very much on board with our plans but it is one thing to know something and another to experience it. I understand that some of his friends are mourning the loss of our lower level for their gatherings, despite that the group seems to have scattered to the wind as happens after High School. The guest bedroom was soundproof to the point where their fledgling band could practice without disturbing our sleep upstairs. Even if he turns out the be somewhat wistful about the change, I know he’s excited to be at his college and it feels like we’re all on the right path.
April 16th
Hard to believe it is our last week. We’ve donated as much furniture as we could and the buyers (absolutely lovely people) have told us to feel free to leave the items that remain. A junk pickup company came today to help us get rid of last items that weren’t in good enough shape to leave for the new owners, but aside from one last donation to Bridging, all we need to do is pack up the very few items we’re using daily.
We’ve had two other trips to our rental house and April 20th will be the final move, taking the RV with us this time.
The house is so empty now that it doesn’t really even feel like the same place. And to be honest, it was always a little too large for me. I guess that although it was elegant and well-built, it provided us with a wonderful “shelter in place” during COVID, and after it was all said and done it proved to be a good investment, it wasn’t my dream home and I might not miss it as much as I have missed other homes we’ve sold.
More to come from the new place and as we fine-tune the RV to hit the road!