August 5, 2008 | It's not a regret, it's an "experience", Woohoo!
503 days ago a realtor came to my house in New England and put a giant FOR SALE sign on my lawn.
Five. Hundred. And three (don’t forget the THREE!). Days ago.
For 397 days I have carried two mortgages. More accurately, for 397 days Otto has graciously both paid the mortgage on our house AND listened to me whine and wail as I paid the other mortgage.
This morning the sale of that house closed. It sold for almost 20% less than the original asking price. My “net proceeds” don’t even cover the conservative loan I took against it so that we could buy THIS house. Negotiating the equity split with my ex was slightly less enjoyable than that time my finger got slammed in a car door.
And none of it matters any more, because it’s over, and I am celebrating. I’d done a pretty bang-up job of repressing exactly how stressful this was, but now I realize I should totally be given a medal just for not becoming a junkie in the last year.
August 5th, 2008 at 11:28 am
Congratulations! So, does that need you’ll be needing more buckets again? *ducks to avoid flying bricks*
August 5th, 2008 at 11:31 am
Congrats!! At least the house sold, right? Now you no longer have to worry about making sure it is taken care of, nor do you have to pay a mortgage anymore! Par-tay time!
August 5th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Purple heart with clusters for: carrying two mortgages, coping with the Summer of Sucklicious Parental Visitation and dealing with Hey You’re Still Standing, Let’s Sling Some More Delicious Crises Your Way!
Congratulations!
August 5th, 2008 at 11:36 am
What a relief!!!
August 5th, 2008 at 11:36 am
Woot! Time to pick some of that irrepressible MINT and make JULEPS with it!
August 5th, 2008 at 11:45 am
Or Mojitos!
August 5th, 2008 at 11:46 am
Rock on!!! I hope you knock a few of something back (Juice, smoothie, beer, whatever you choose). That is seriously wonderful. I know how happy we were after our house sold after 10 days so I’m pretty sure I can’t even fathom the relief of 503 days. Go you! And congratulations!!!!
August 5th, 2008 at 11:47 am
CONGRATULATIONS!!
August 5th, 2008 at 11:49 am
Congrats. The kids and I are currently living 13 and 1/2 hours from the husband because we can’t sell this house and we can’t afford 2. He’s living in basically a dorm room on base. Very despicable officer housing. Hopefully we can reunite before my kids go off to college. It is very stressful and you did a fantastic job of not complaining about it… at least on your blog :-)
August 5th, 2008 at 11:52 am
Yes!!!!!
Congratulations!
August 5th, 2008 at 11:52 am
Congrats. I’m glad you get to take a stress off the worry list.
August 5th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Congrat.s on being one mortgage lighter. I take it you weren’t relishing your role as landed gentry.
August 5th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
I can COMPLETELY relate to how freeing this is. Go celebrate with some new shoes! And ice cream! Though preferably not together.
August 5th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
yeah! makes a dent in the suckaliciousness of the summer, yes?
here’s to this being the start of better trends.
August 5th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
YAY!
August 5th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Congrats, but please tell me the woman who’s children broke the soap dish didn’t buy it. 20 percent less, that is so sucky.
August 5th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
I think a big medal on a ribbon, bigger than the Olympic medals. More like what the Lord Mayor of London wears.
http://www.knowledgerush.com/kr/encyclopedia/Lord_Mayor_of_London/
And a cake!
http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2008/05/comguads.html
May yours look better, taste great and be spelled correctly.
Congratulations!
August 5th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Woo-hoo! Congratulations!
August 5th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
What Megan @ 11:33 said. I think you should celebrate with MINT juleps.
August 5th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Glad it is finally over. You certainly deserve something to celebrate.
August 5th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Twenty percent had to hurt. But it’s a small price to pay for sweet, sweet FREEDOM! Time to hire a sitter and celebrate.
August 5th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Yay, Mir! Are you down to two pieces of real estate or just one?
August 5th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Hooray! Congrats!!
August 5th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Congratulations! That’s got to be a huge relief.
August 5th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Woohoo! I mean, to the done-ness. The low price ya could’ve done without, but I’m thinkin you’ll take it, eh? Gosh. YAY ONE MORTGAGE!
August 5th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Great news! My parents house has been for sale over two years. TWO YEARS! Good grief.
August 5th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Yeah for exhaling! Congratulations! I agree with Mom, Ink that you should prentend like you made a couple of hundred less and have a night out (be crazy - don’t even use a restaurant.com gc).
August 5th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
CONGRATS!
Party it up have a few for me!!!!!
(I had my place listed for over 400 days, and ended up having to rent it out at a monthly loss. So, to say I am jealous is correct)
August 5th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Isn’t real estate fun? I swear, I’m never moving again, because I don’t want to ever have to think of any of that stuff ever again.
August 5th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
That’s why I did a happy jig even though we lost big money on our house: at least it sold quickly. So glad it’s all OVER, and you should definitely celebrate.
August 5th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
I feel you. Our house in NC hasn’t closed. Hopefully it will on Thursday. I’m not holding my breathe though. Too many things have happen to this point.
We are renting the house we want to buy in GA. My seller is getting antsy. We have a pretty tight year lease, but still….. Nothing about this move has been easy. I look around at all the things I want to do to this house, but cant because we don’t own it, yet.
August 5th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
August 5th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
What a relief for you! Congratulations!
August 5th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Woo woo! Congratulations. What a great feeling of relief and celebration!
August 5th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Unfortunly the market has become clogged with houses. what use to routinly takes any wherre from a month to 4 months have streched out a lot longer that expected. too many houses not enought buyers. not to mention that the market tanked a while back.this is due to the subprime mess that the banking indusrty created, that and big realestate companies pushing for moe and more sales.Agents putting people into houses that they really could not afford than when those mortages failed more houses on the market dragging home values down.
August 5th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Congrats on the home sale! No small feat up here where things seem to sit on the market forever.
August 5th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
^^^ Really? There’s a housing crisis? I figured everyone just smelled the stench of a bad marriage in there …
-otto
August 5th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
(And I’m going medal shopping.) (I hear they have lots made in China right now …)
August 5th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Yay!!!!
August 5th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Hot damn! When I moved up here to MA last september, there was this lovely little house for sale near me and I always fancied that it was actually YOUR house (though I’m sure it wasn’t because this house is in the middle of nowhere and I remember you saying yours was in a neighborhood or something?) Anyway! It’s been for sale ever since but last weekend it BURNED DOWN! And even though I know it isn’t, I couldn’t help buy go “OH NO! Mir’s house burned down!”
So, crazy aside, I’m glad that wasn’t your house that burned down and also glad you finally ridded yourself of the REAL one.
August 5th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Oh, you hurt my heart. You wound me, you really do. Because seven days ago, a New England realtor put a “For Sale” sign on my lawn.
Four-hundred ninety-six days to go.
August 5th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
That’s wonderful! Congratulations! Now a time to celebrate!!! I can’t tell you how to celebrate, but I hope it’s big.
August 5th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Oh, Otto, you crack me up! Hip Hip Hooray!! Glad you’re out from under that 400 lb. gorilla. Now, if only MY house would sell. And if only it would sell more quickly than 503 days. Lord-a-mercy that’s a long time!
August 5th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Congratulations! You deserve chocolate. And bacon. And alcohol.
August 5th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
WOO HOO!!
August 5th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Yeah! I finally sold my old house last week! We should get together and our husbands can celebrate not listening to us complain about the houses anymore.
And you can see our cutest pumpkin baby (no really, she’s round.) Or maybe someday we’ll actually send pictures!
August 5th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
You deserve a medal made of bacon!
So glad that albatross is off from around your neck.
August 5th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
CONGRATS! (and sorry that sucked so much.)
but mostly congrats!
August 5th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Wooo Hoooo! Congratulations. You really need to go out and celebrate tonight!! That is so stressful and painful. We move often and often end up with two mortgages and once we had three. I thought we wouldn’t survive. We lived to tell about it and now that we have just one, I hear rumors of another move. UGH!
August 5th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
I am glad it sold, because I was very close to packing up the kids and hubby and moving to New England. Mainly, because I like saying we live in New England. I was really feeling bad for you. So, whew that is a load off my mind, too. ;)
August 5th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Dude, you have SO earned a mojito. Chased down with a pint of Ben and Jerry’s.
August 5th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
YAY! Did and done. How nice to have that Ex chapter closed.
August 5th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
And hey, you can store this chapter this in the Ex Files!
August 5th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Wahoo!!!! Congrats!! One less thing to worry about right now.
August 5th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Congrats on not becoming a meth-head. That is prideworthy. I can almost hear your *siiighs* of relief down here in FL.
August 5th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
Congratulations, and you said it– you deserve a medal.
Just become a blogging junkie instead. That, or ice cream… your choice.
August 5th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Yay so happy for you guys!!
August 5th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Many congratulations! And dare I hope that because we haven’t heard anything, maybe Otto’s mom is doing better? Best wishes to you all…
August 5th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Yay!
Now it’s time to buy another one and play “Flip this house.”
That’s how it works on TV, anyway.
August 5th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Woooo!
“Congratulations! You deserve chocolate. And bacon. And alcohol. ”
What about a chocolate martini with a bacon twist?
August 5th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
Champagne. A magnum.
Drink it out of the good glasses, too.
August 5th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
In this market, 20% less is pretty good.Sorry.
Glad it finally sold.Glad you did not do drugs.
You are beginning a new chapter.
August 5th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
I think you should celebrate tonight cause Otto’s comin’ home.
And congrats. Without that anchor around your neck you may need to be careful not to float away.
August 5th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Clarification: The housewas the anchor, not Otto.
Otto is more like a navigation computer or a GPS or a float control center than an anchor.
Just sayin.
August 5th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
Congratulations! I know how it sucks to have an extra mortgage hanging over your head…my only house purchase so far, I got caught in the home equity loan trap when I had to move. Fortunately, the house went up a lot in value over the next year, so after renting it out for a while, I was able to sell (relatively quickly) and get both loans on it settled. I’m sorry yours took so long to sell but I’m glad you finally got it done, and life IS a lot less stressful without the extra payment to worry about.
August 5th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
congratulations!!
August 5th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Wow, that has been a LONG road. Glad it is behind you now!
Have some wine or something to celebrate.
Karen
August 5th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Congrats on being free from a second mortgage! Have some bacon vodka! Glad Otto is coming home, too. Does this mean his mom is doing much better?? That would be icing on the cake!
k
August 5th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Woohoo! This calls for some serious celibratin’: break out the BACON, y’all! = )
August 6th, 2008 at 12:02 am
Hooray! So glad that mortgage is gone. And now you are free to flit around the south and sign books for which you are the author! Save a signature for me, whenever we see each other again.
August 6th, 2008 at 12:14 am
Whew.
August 6th, 2008 at 12:54 am
Congratulations. I know I don’t comment much here but please know that I have been reading and have been waiting to hear news. Glad that you have finally sold the house! Woo Hoo! Doing a happy dance for you.
August 6th, 2008 at 7:39 am
From a girl who had to sell a house in a tiny tiny New Hampshire town — in winter– I feel your joy.
glad to be back to the blogosphere and catching up with everyone.
August 6th, 2008 at 8:11 am
Your dad is too funny!
Well, I had an AWESOME chocolate martini once, and some martinis come with salt around the rim of the glass - I guess it COULD be bacon salt. You have a good excuse to try it out, anyway. Congrats on finally getting to dump THAT big ol’ weight off your shoulders (makes more room for the other ones)! ;-)
August 6th, 2008 at 9:15 am
I’m so glad for you. We had two mortgages for 5 months and thanks to that stress, I gained 15lbs because dealing with that is best done with nachos with extra cheese and quacamole. And thank god, you don’t have to pay for oil this winter!
August 6th, 2008 at 10:11 am
This calls for some serious celebrating, of the I-drank-so-much-I-don’t-remember-much-after-climbing-on-the-table variety. And some highly raucous sex (hey, I hear the kids are starting school soon - I’m sure Otto could call in late some morning soon).
Screw the mint - just slam the rum straight. But do indulge and buy the good Cuban stuff.
Excellent job surviving the hell of the two mortgages.
August 6th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Hallelujah!
August 6th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Woohoo!
August 6th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Congrats! Now you can go buy lots of bacon with all those extra buckets!
August 7th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Congrats! My house was on the market a total of 20 months b4 it sold! it was such a relief!!! you poor thing!
August 8th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Thank ya, Jesus!!
August 8th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Congratulations! We closed on a vacant condo in June that took us a year to sell. Ouch! Could have been worse, they buyers swooped in and took the place in less than 30 days. As of June 1, we had no prospects. Scary stuff, but what relief!