Wednesday, April 17, 2013

H is for House



House. I'm currently obsessed with that word. Selling the one we have. Picking out a new one. Watching HGTV with the zealot-ism usually reserved for the Facebook Jellies.

I do have news. And, for once, it's not evil.

Re-cap: We had an offer on our house, with the condition of a home inspection. It wasn't a stellar offer, meaning we would have a shortfall of up to $16,000 on closing day. We were convinced it would be the only offer we got, so we took it. The ensuing inspection revealed we had vermiculite in our attic. Only 10 per cent of attics with vermiculite insulation also contain asbestos. A test was done. Asbestos was found. I called an abatement company and was told it might cost us $10,000 to clean the attic. The people who wanted to buy our house wanted us to pay the bill. Dave and I were devastated at the thought of handing over our beloved property AND paying $25,000.

We decided I would fly out to Alberta and spend some time together. We told our realtors we would discuss our options. We did not want to shell out that kind of money, money we didn't even have. We thought maybe we could rent out our house until the market improved, and rent a place in Cold Lake, Alberta (where Dave is working and where we are moving) for the interim.

Dave picked me up at the airport in Edmonton and we started the three-hour drive to Cold Lake. We hadn't gotten very far when the phone rang. It was our real estate agent.

"You're not going to believe this," she said, "but I have another offer on your house."

Dave and I pulled over and did a happy dance at the side of the road.

Turned out this second out-of-the-blue offer came from a guy who saw the place three weeks ago. He called to see if the house was still available and was told there was a conditional offer on it. He was also told all about the asbestos in the attic.

The guy didn't care. He had experience with vermiculite/asbestos clean-out and he was willing to do the work himself. His offer had no conditions, no strings, and came with a faster closing date. Dave and I couldn't believe our good luck.

What that means is the people with the first offer have until this Friday to decide if they want to buy the house, asbestos and all, or walk away from the offer. If they decide to buy it, our house is sold. If they walk away, our house is sold to the guy with the second offer. Either way, our house is sold.

It's all kinda hard to believe.

I just want to say how much your words of support have meant to me. This has been a trying time and I've been depressed and anxious – so much so I have abandoned my blog and many of the things I love.

Well, it's now catch-up time. Yes, H is for House, and the fecking thing has now sold.

WOOT.

23 comments:

  1. YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so, so happy to hear this news!!! Good things happen to good people.

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  2. Yay!!! :-)

    As I said on FB - I can get up off my knees from praying, thank goodness!

    I rather hope the second buyer gets the house, hopefully you'll be less out-of-pocket and it'll all be resolved quicker!

    But Cathy, have you decided whether you'll rename you blog, as you move away from the Muskoka River....?

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    1. Your poor knees!!!! (Thank you, Sue! :) )

      I don't know about my blog name yet! I guess I should.... I don't think I will though, not until we have actually moved and have the keys to our new house in hand! I'm so afraid some crappy thing will happen if I jinx it!

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  3. That is a dose of awesome, right there! Happy for you and may it all progress as smooth as silk!
    tm

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  4. YAY it all worked out! That's awesome Cathy!

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  5. That's awesome Cathy-very happy for you.

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  6. Cathy, that is awesome news! Either way, you win.
    And you got to see Dave again.

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  7. Yeh!!!! And now, happy house hunting! :)

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  8. Now there's some GOOD GOOD news. Hooray!!!!!

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  9. That's excellent news, Mizz Cathy! I'm really happy for you and Dave. It's a great feeling knowing that you can move forward with things.

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  10. Welcome back. Tony and I drove by last Sunday and I told him of your luck. Let me run upstairs and tell him the great news!!

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  11. So happy for you! They say there's a buyer for every home, eventually. Glad you found yours.

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  12. Happy tears here. I am very happy for you. And for Dave. (And I hope the first offer falls through - I don't like them.)

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  13. Oh my gosh! So exciting that you are back, but even more exciting that the house sold...yay!!!

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  14. Wow! Two offers on your house. That is so good.

    And thoughts of a new home in your new town.

    Hope things keep working well. And glad to see you back. I missed you.

    Blessings and Bear hugs!
    Bears Noting

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