Heather and I

Originally uploaded by seejanebe

Ok, this shot is three years old - but still fun!
Happy Birthday Heather! I have no phone to call you, so this is my phone call. Now, just sit still and imagine me singing happy birthday to you…or maybe skip that because it’ll be more pleasant.

Love you! Couldn’t ask for a better big sis. xo.

Last night, for fun we shone a flashlight into the drum of our new front loading washer and watched the first load.  Yup, we just plunked down on the floor in front of it and watched for a while.  After a lot of pre-buy research, we settled on the Kenmore 3t Washer and Kenmore 3t Steam Dryer and, if you haven’t guessed already, we’re both slightly obsessed with them.  For that matter, we have a bit of a crush on all of our new appliances.

We had NO IDEA that you have to use special detergent in High Efficiency machines.  I read that it’s a touch more expensive, but Patruck did the run to the store so at this point I can’t confirm/refute.  I also read that you can actually try to use regular detergent in lower quantities, but we’re not going to risk it.

Secondly, THE DRYER HAS STEAM.  (And it’s own drum light, so no need for the flashlight).  We tested out the Refresh cycle on a few of Patrick’s dress shirts that were packed away in a suitcase.  It definitely got rid of the wrinkles, but a cotton shirt doesn’t come out with that crisp, freshly-ironed look.  It will definitely be passable for my work shirts though.

  

white linen

Originally uploaded by seejanebe

I’ve really lost count on the showings on the townhome. Unfortunately, the original offer was a bust! They said, “Where are your comps crazy lady?” and we said, “Here are two of the exact same units that sold in the past 3 months and here are the extra amenities.”. Then they said, “We reviewed the info and our offer stands.” and we said “Goodbye.”.

This weekend, we had a guy come by for a 3rd showing, but haven’t heard anything since. We also dropped the price a little on Friday. Man, I am ready to sell, but I’m not ready to lose my shirt on the deal! I’m just mostly ready to be in the new house. Look how cute the new house and my boyfriend are!

p.s. We don’t usually dress in matching white outfits all the time, it was a special event in our new ‘hood.

Plus two more showings, which aren’t reshows.  I’m thinking that it’s time to play hardball with the low-offer.  There’s still plenty of interest out there.

So, after a showing the realtors have an opportunity to give feedback via the web.  Last week, only a couple of people made the effort.  My realtor got back from vacation on Saturday and has been soliciting others for feedback so that we can decide if the house is over-priced, or needs work, etc.  I thought I’d share the feedback here - it’s all good when it comes to the house.  But some of it is “interesting”.

Hello. My buyer thought this home looked good and was ready for move in.  However, she has not made her short list yet and should this one make the list, I will be sure to let her see it again. Thanks.

really cute place.  well decorated and shows beautifully.  furniture choices maximize the limited space in the living room.  clients not sure about commercial across the street.  this unit is to the high end of their price range.  we are still looking.  all the best.

She liked this unit but is leaning towards a new construction in the Heights – I will let you know which she decides on. Take care

HI Cathy,  These buyers are not very focused.  They generally did not like the area location and surroundings.  It’s a nice property and I wish you well with it.

Client decided against any & all Perry homes on the fact that Bob Perry owns the company. Who knew?!?!?

So, we had one showing per day last Wednesday through Saturday and an open house + 3 showings yesterday.  That takes us up to a total of 15 over 12 days.  I fully did not expect anyone to come on Sunday outside of the scheduled open house hours, so we were lounging around watching the end of Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man’s Chest (Lots of action, disappointed with the cliff-hanger ending! This is a movie, not a TV show!) when we got the first call.  I don’t think we’ve ever moved that quickly!  Thirty minutes for us both to shower and get ready and to tidy the house.  We left 5 minutes early (at 10:55 am) and STILL ran into the potential buyer on the way out.

Then we got a call whilst at the grocery of someone wanting to come from 12:30 to 2:30, even with the 2:00 - 4:00 open house.  I explained that we really wanted to do some vacuuming and cookie baking prior to the open house and that 12:30 was not good…so we comprimised with 1:15.

We raced back to the house and hoped the 11:00 - 12:00 people would be gone (and they were) and then vacuumed and dusted and baked cookies.  Twenty-four cookies to be exact.  Well, ok, really 22 because I ate 2 raw.  We left a nice note and headed to the pub at 1:05 or so.  We were going to have lunch and then invade Pat and Sara’s as they were out of town, but the pints just kept on flowing so we stayed.  We were finally about to leave at 4:10 and got a call that someone else wanted a showing from 4:30 to 5:30!  Wha?  Ok, we’ll have another pint if you insist.

When we finally did get back into the house, 14 cookies were remaining (after I ate 2 more).  So based on the inventories, 6 cookies were eaten.  And we’re guessing the open house lady had one.  In the words of Megan, “You either had one really hungry dude, or a few people come through.”.  We should find out soon which scenario it was.

Early this morning, we got an extremely low ball of an offer from the “10:55 buyer” who we ran into when we were leaving yesterday morning.  She was 15% lower than list.  I mean, I guessed that some people might start at $230K as a very lowball offer (it’s listed at $255K), but $225K?  My realtor agrees that it is almost insulting, especially considering the amount of interest.

The potential buyer didn’t put a time limit on when I need to respond to the offer and we had another second showing at the open house (a guy brought his gf by after seeing it himself), so I’m going to wait a day or so before we even respond to the first offer.  But “yay” finally an offer!

Interesting days to follow!  We close on the new house on Wednesday and move Patruck’s stuff in on Saturday.  I think we’ll start living there this weekend, but without all my stuff.  It’ll be like camping.

Showings Thursday: 2

Showings Today: 3

Showings Tomorrow: 2 scheduled so far

Offers: 0

Staging this.

But now I’m in LA - about to go for sushi with Sepps.

P.S. We also buried another St. Joseph!

…Before my allergy attack made it such that I can no longer work in the dusty closet.  Yuck.

Guess I’ll try to find some non-dusty jobs (which can be a major challenge in my place).

So, I’ve taken today off to tidy/stage my house and finish up some odd jobs like touching up paint.  I also have to choose a paint colour for our new door and sketch up how we want the steps off the deck.

The problem is that the task of attacking my house seems so daunting that I don’t know where to start.  I’ve been purging for a while now, but I am also about to receive a bunch of Patruck’s stuff while he moves in here until we get the new house (of course, right when mine is going on the market).

After a little thinking, I’ve decided to start with the master closet.   Because when it’s a bit tidier, I’ll have space to put away my ironing, etc.  For those of you who don’t know, my master closet is about the size of a one car garage.  And the soundtrack to the closet, shall be the Wrens, Meadowlands because I haven’t listed to that cd in a long time and it rocks.