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.