Selling/Buying a House: Update

IT IS OVER! No, I haven't sold my home. It is now off the market, THANK GODDESS! Darlings, you would not believe - well, maybe you will, if you have been following along the saga since its inception last November. A bit of a recap: I had put my foot down during the holidays when I was expecting guests. NO VIEWINGS. At one point, I had gotten so p'o.'d at these obnoxious brokers that I declared no viewings until AFTER Superbowl. Turns out Superbowl is some time in early February, but as the Packers are not playing, it is of no interest to me. So I said, no viewings until after January 22nd, when my guests will be gone. Anyway, the brokers do not know how to read, because I was being constantly badgered for viewings all during and after the holidays, which I said no to most of them. But I did allow a few, when the schedule of my guests and I permitted viewing that throwing us out of my own house! Was I thanked for this effort and accomodation? NOT ON YOUR LIFE. I was badgered for more showings. The culmination came last week Thursday when I absented myself from my own home for an hour (my guest was in Chicago and returning home later that evening), only to arrive home lugging two canvas bags filled with groceries to see that the people were still in my house 40 minutes after their 7 p.m. appointment. Now I ask you, what the hell were they still doing in my house when I arrived close enough down the street 40 minutes later to see cars still in my driveway? My two brokers were well aware of the fact that I do not drive, do not own a car, and walk or bus it for my transportion and to have to "disappear" from my own house for 20 minutes or so is a pain in the butt, to say the least, particularly in the winter. Particularly at night, particularly when the roads and sidewalks are icy and the windchill is below zero. You get the picture. Where the flying F*** am I supposed to "disappear" to while the "viewing" is going on? There is not a convenient Starbucks parked across the street, or even a mile away! After complaining about this aggregious breach of broker/buyer etiquette (not to mention just plain common courtesy of putting someone out of their own home on a weeknight for more than 40 minutes), I heard exactly -- NOTHING -- from either of my brokers. SIX DAYS GO BY AND NOT A WORD FROM EITHER OF MY BROKERS. Fast forward to yesterday. I receive an email from one of my brokers saying something like hooray, we have received another offer! The offer was attached. While I cannot be certain, I suspected it was from the aggregious encroachers. The offer was for $19,000 less than my listing price. Our local market is not THAT depressed. It was an insult, pure and simple. In a remarkable exercise of restraint, I waited until I was calmed down and then emailed one of my brokers and told her that I was not interested in accepting any offer for less than full list price. I INSTRUCTED HER TO PREPARE AND SEND ME A COUNTEROFFER SETTING FORTH FULL PURCHASE PRICE, I WOULD SIGN IT AND FAX OR EMAIL IT BACK TO HER EITHER BEFORE 5 P.M. YESTERDAY OR SHORTLY AFTER 8:30 A.M. TODAY. I HEARD NOTHING FROM EITHER OF MY BROKERS FOR NEARLY 24 HOURS. These brokers totally disregarded their fiduciary duty and dismissed AND DID NOT EXECUTE my clearly written and emailed instructions to tender a counteroffer back for the full purchase price, which should have been done before 5 p.m. yesterday. Around 7:30 p.m. last evening I received yet another emailed request from one of my brokers for a viewing of the house today between 5 and 5:15 p.m. I wrote back, as I had so often during more than the last month, that no, my guest was not leaving until January 22nd, and then it would take me a day or two to get the house in order, and showings could be scheduled after that. I was quite prepared to terminate the contract for cause and haul them before the Licensing Board on a complaint. It would have been a pleasure to do so, believe me. Instead, finally - sometime between 2:30 and 3 p.m. this afternoon, I receive a call - AT MY OFFICE - from BOTH of my brokers. The old double-team gambit. I will spare you the boring details and their self-serving bullshit. It was clear from the start that they were determined either to browbeat me into allowing them to "negotiate" with the buyers who tendered that ridiculous offer OR they were determined to cut me lose (I suspect that they had consulted their legal department on how to deal with me, such a problem client, and cut me lose without terminating their precious Listing Contract). Now, it was my original intention to negotiate an acceptable purchase price in the face of the ridiculous offer - acceptable to me. My instructions to my brokers to tender a counteroffer for the full purchase price had reasoning behind it. Only consider, If I had instead tendered a counteroffer for anything less than full purchase price, I am automatically cutting off some of my legs and negotiating strength. Now why in the hell would a rational person ever do something like that? My reasoning was that if these buyers really wanted the property, they would counter the counter - negotiations would commence. But if they were just trying to jack me around and were not really interested in buying my house, they would say to hell with you lady and walk. Lots of time saved and the bullshit and stress kept to a minimum. But my brokers weren't interested in hearing any explanation of MY negotiatging tactics from me. Not that I was obliged to explain anything to them, in any event! NOOOOOOOOO, THEY WANTED TO NEGOTIATE but - not follow my wishes. But who is employing whom here? Whose wishes are supposed to be supreme - the employer's? Or the employees'? Why was it incumbent upon ME to say oh yeah, all right, I'm just going to roll over and say do it to me whatever way you want, buyers. And I'll smile and thank you for it too. Yeah, they wanted me to negotiate all right. They wanted me to negotiate ON THE BUYERS' TERMS INSTEAD OF MY OWN. But I'm paying THEM to work for ME. Well, I wasn't about to play that game, not after the fiasco of the LAST offer they conned me into accepting. Guess what, brokers, you out-smarted yourself out of a nice juicy commission because it was quite obvious from day one that there was a lot of interest in my house - the brokers were so kind as to send me statistics of viewings of my property at their website to prove what a great marketing job they were doing, just putting my property out onh the internet (gee whiz!). If they had just given me peace and quiet as I'd requested, until January 22nd. Instead, I was accused of - gasp - not marketing my property aggressively enough! Thankfully, I am now free of those numbskulls! Thank you GODDESS! No more requests for showings on less than 24 hours notice! No more attempting to maintain an impossibly spotless house 24/7. No more non-responses to my emails. There were PLENTY of non-responses to MY requests to view properties and to MY requests to not badger me for showings until after January 22nd. I was so fricking stupid, too. I actually trusted their market analysis in pricing this house because they work for a big-name local broker and I figured they knew what they were doing, and I trusted that after I explained to them the limitations on viewing during the holiday season and the limitations on viewing in general (because I do not have a car that I can just "jump into" and drive to the mall for an hour at the drop of a hat), that they would actually HONOR my instructions. I trusted them to carry out my instructions and have my best interests at heart. I should have known better, but I didn't. Incredible that at 58 I am still so naive. If I were a bitch - I'm still thinking about that - I would not hesitate to write up these two brokers to the state agency that oversees such activities. I am also considering writing a complaint about the listing broker on the house I did write an offer on, which was terminated on December 23, 2009 (which I did not receive written confirmation of from my brokers until a week or so later. Gee thanks, ladies). I have yet to receive a refund of my earnest money deposit, despite two requests for same. Of course, I tendered those requests through one of my brokers - and I have only her "word" that she passed the requests along to the listing broker. Like now I really trust her, yeah. The language in the Offer says that the earnest money is to be returned within "a reasonable time." Tick tick tick. That brokerage gets to keep my earnest money for going on 30 days, and what I received today (via one of my brokers) is a vague comment that I will get a check "sometime next week." I am going to sleep on this for 24 hours and see if I have a better-nature - or not. In the meantime, my key is OUT of the lockbox and that obnoxious sign of theirs in my front yard will be removed in a week. My house is being delisted from the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) pronto, because - of course - they have to pay for THAT! But they also have to pay to have someone remove the sign, so they are not so fast to do THAT. The original owners of Wauwatosa Realty must be rolling in their graves at how much their formerly great customer-oriented service company has degenerated. I was around when the original "merger" took place - I remember what it was like before then. It is very sad. These brokers weren't working for me. They didn't give a rat's tushy about me, their client. They were only interested in scoring a quick and fat 6% commission while doing as little work as possible and prodding me to do as much as possible to make their job easier! They are dishonorable people.

Friday Night Miscellany

HOUSE WOES! Hola! I was so put out last night, I couldn't do a single post. There was scheduled a 7 p.m. showing of the house, for which I cleaned for 2 days beforehand and ran home from work last night to do last minute dusting and putting away of this and that, leaving the house before 6:45 p.m. just in case someone should show up early. I took a leisurely stroll to the Walgreens and then the Pick and Save supermarket a mile away, and took an equally leisurely stroll home, a mile back, and got within sight of home sweet home about 7:40 p.m. Guess what - there were STILL cars in the driveway. I couldn't frigging believe it! Mind you, not only was it cold and extremedly damp out, we are experiencing our first January "Thaw" in years and it's more "raw" than usual out there, with all the semi-melted snow constantly fogging into the air. I was tired and bitchy as hell and lugging two heavy bags of groceries. I had envisioned arriving home, finally kicking off my shoes and warming myself, having a large glass of wine, and eating something - anything. I was starved! (It's hard to believe that photo was taken about 2 months ago!) NOT! I was pissed! But I dutifully lugged my groceries a couple of blocks away from the house and then a couple of blocks back - and those damn cars were still there. So, I say to myself, "Self, that is your house. GO HOME!" And so I did. As I was putting my key into the door, it opens and there is an older man holding a flashlight. A FLASHLIGHT? There are several people behind him. They all seem intent on looking at something on the carpet by the heat register. What, I think - is there a bug that decided to appear through the grating? Or a dead mouse? I take off my glove, roll up my coat sleeve and look - POINTEDLY - at my watch. What happened to the 7 p.m. viewing? It is now 7:45 p.m. FINALLY, as I start to muscle my way into my own home, one, two, three, four, five - six people come out of my house, the last being a young attractivl lady who must be the broker, at least I hope she was because she has the key in her hand and puts it back into the lockbox hanging on the doorknob. I would have slammed the door on their butts, but with the weather-stripping in the frame there is no way it slams anymore. Damn! THEN it takes them another ten minutes to leave. What the hell are they doing out there, I wonder? Having a pow-wow? Smoking crack? This house ain't exactly Buckingham Palace. It would be a stretch to say it would take 30 minutes to THOROUGHLY view it from top to bottom - and that is only if one decided to go through the hatchway in the upper hallway into the attic and also crawled around the outside foundation with a FLASHLIGHT on hands and knees. So, I fire off an email to my less than useless brokers reminding them that they told me at the beginning of this incredibly stupid waste of my time and energy that a viewing takes TEN MINUTES - in and out, they both said. Yeah, so what happened to that TEN MINUTES STRETCHING INTO FORTY PLUS MINUTES? And I hear - nary a word. From either of them. So now I am doubly pissed off. The house is coming off the market. I'll do the letter and send it out certified from the office on Monday. Enough of this baloney. On a more pleasant note, Kevin the Wonder Handyman called me on Sunday morning about some work I wanted him to do - but I didn't have a list prepared and so he said he would call me on Wednesday. Well, he didn't call me. So if I don't hear from him this weekend I will give him a call on Monday because now I have my list! More things to be done around here - for me, ALL FOR ME. Bwwwwaaaaahhhaaaahhhaaahhhhaaa! I have decided that crown moulding will look wonderful in the family room, with it's classic Phi proportions :) And I am going to more seriously attempt to track down some painters who have the means to do this two story living room of mine and make any necessary mends to the drywall inner and outer corners, etc. That is, if it comes in less than $2,000. Otherwise, forget it! For that money I can go back to New York for a week. Darlings, do me a favor. I'm not sure if this will work, but please try it. Please click on this link and feign lots of interest in Maison Newton's listing, as if it were the mansion of someone like Pi Diddley or Rush Limbaugh or Mama Gaya - oops - I mean, Lady Ga Ga - rather than a mere Goddess like me. MOONWALK FOR BREAST CANCER I had not heard of this wonderful way to raise funds for this worthy research cause - I think it must be a Euro thing - they have a lot less hang-ups than us pseudo-prude Americans. We have the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure to raise funds for breast cancer, which is a worthy cause, indeed. But I have to tell you - the Moonwalk sounds like a lot more fun! All of the participants must wear bras. The kids, the women, the men (yes, men and boys too). All to make a point, er - no pun intended. Yeah, you know the kind of bras, like gals wore back in the not so old days - the real pointy ones, with seams and tips! Like Mae West worek, and Jane Russell wore! Like Madonna wore during her early Whore-Look Days. Yeah - THOSE BRAS! Playtex Pointies! The mechanics of which were patented by an engineer employed by Howard Hughes, no less. Remember THE OUTLAW? Banned in its day - yeah, baby! And, you've got to check this one out - I dreamed I was half-naked... Hey, sometimes I do. I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried! The theme of this year's Moonwalk (and I think, the Sunwalk too), is "SHOWTIME." The imagination runs wild :) What fun! STAY TUNED! A couple of Las Vegas Show Girls I happen to know have been asked to render assistance in designing some costumes for this very special walk... BUYING MOVIES AT BLOCKBUSTER It has recently been bandied about the financial pages of various newspapers and websites of late that the business model of Blockbuster cannot be sustained and DVDs have gone the way of the dinosaur. Well - tell that to Milwaukee! Five days a week, I happen to walk past a relatively new Blockbuster bricks-and-mortar location on my way to and from work - and sometimes I walk past it on Saturday and Sunday too. The parking lot always has cars in it, no matter what time of day. I have walked past in early morning, to late at night, doesn't make any difference. I had been thinking for the past few days about re-activiting my Blockbuster "membership" and renting a movie or two for the weekend since I recently discovered less than a week ago that Netflix bumped up its basic membership from $4.99 a month to $8.99 a month. RIP OFF! TOTAL ABSOLUTE RIP OFF! I freely admit it - I'm a cheapskate when it comes to stuff like this. I cancelled my Netflix membership a year or two ago when I decided I wasn't getting my money's worth at $4.99 a month. Ha! But with the new year, and with some movies out there that I wanted to see, and hearing that the coming season was going to have several more films that I thought I'd like to see when they are eventually released into DVD, I thought I might renew my membership. Only to be disappointed at the doubling of the cost to re-join. NO THANKS, NETFLIX. So - there was the Blockbusters building. i was walking up the hill past it on my right. On an impulse tonight, as I was nearly past the building, I decided to stop in. It was right around 6 p.m. A busy time! There were lots of people in the place and more cars pulling in the parking lot even as I was taking the sidewalk off a side-drive toward the entrance. At this particular Milwaukee-area location, they are doing okay business-wise. I go in. Lots to see - but my eyes zero in on tables where they are selling "used" DVDs. Some are 4 for $20. Some are 3 for $20. Bargain! I picked out three and gladly smacked down $20 for these DVDs: Harry Potter: Half Blood Prince; Angels and Demons (which I will watch and have fond thoughts of our 2009 May trip to New York, where I first saw this rip-roaring film in my first visit to a high-rise cinemaplex); and Julie and Julia! There are at least 3 more films I quickly spied that I will gladly purchase next pay-period :) and more after that - some not-so-recent releases that I would like to add to my film "library." I was in and out of the place in less than 10 minutes. I'LL BE BACK... So now I'm cutting this short, because I want to watch a movie tonight and forget all my relatively stupid and slight cares and woes.

Selling/Buying a House: Update

Lots of crap has gone on since the last report. Suffice to say that I no longer have a buyer for this place and I no longer have a pending offer on any other place. However, I now have a fully insulated basement and I have to say that I feel some difference in the ambient temperature in the house and it has definitely decreased the condensation on the windows during those 20 below zero windchill days. Or perhaps it is just my imagination once again running away with me, ohhhh, it is just my imagination running away with me.... Amazingly, after all of the bullcrap that the brokers have dished out to me, one of them dished out more on Monday - and I've got it in email. Heh heh heh. Fortunately, I did not run around frantically cleaning for all of the people who were sooooo eager to view this place, although I was sorely tempted to do so. Talk about conditioning, geez! As it turns out, this particular broker who stated that there were several interested people (including a cash buyer) who wanted to view my house, is a liar. Only one (or two - a couple), will view the house - tomorrow night. It fits my schedule, otherwise I would not have agreed. I don't get this lying to me stuff - why do they do it? Anyway, in the hope of moving this along, I decided to reorganize the family room. That is no easy task. I have two heavily laden bookcases in the family room. In order to move them, all of the books and the movable shelves must be moved, and then I huff and puff and heave and shove and eventually get the bookcases where I want them to be. Doing this is worse than a "Biggest Loser" work-out. I won't bore you with the gory details. Suffice to say that after spending nearly an entire day shoving the unloaded bookcases first here, and then there, and then back again, and then split, and then this way, and then that way, and then upside down hanging from the ceiling (kidding about that), I reached a point of such utter exhaustion that I settled for the arrangements shown in the photos. Does this look spacious enough to you??? Since I'm not going to burn my books and banish the bookcases, this is the best I can do to make the available space "roomy" and light-filled. Personally I give a hoot about "roomy" - I want convenient. I like having the bookcases closer to the kitchen table, where I spread out and do research. Alas, that looks too "cluttered" for the brokers. At this point you are asking me, why do I give a flying "f" about what the brokers say. Unfortunately, I would like to sell this place, if I can, to get that $6,500 current owner as seller credit, while downsizing and getting a house closer to my necessaries of supermarket and buslines in a new place - if I can. This mile walk to the Pick and Save supermarket, and then back again, every time I need a quart of milk or wine or 5 lbs. of birdseed really sucks. But the house has been on the market more than 2 months now, and frankly, I don't think this is going to happen. No one wants to pay me what Maison Newton is worth according to my calculations, and I'm not going to sell for less. But the place sure is looking spiffy, with all the rearranging of furniture, and scrubbing of walls and painting, finally completing the staining and painting of woodwork that was not done 19+ years ago, spackling up nail holes, sealing up settlement cracks, not to mention the work I had Kevin the Wonder Handyman do, etc. etc. I definitely have this place underpriced :) Above are two photos of the newly arranged family room. You really can't tell from these views, but yes, that really is Xena, Warrior Princess, riding high atop that black elephant on the top of the entertainment unit. A mother goddess with a spiral at her naval is also centered in front of the clock, right next to a photograph of some of the Newton family members, taken many moons ago, just to remind one how time flies :) The chessboard in front of the sofa is ready for a game.

A Different Target

Hmmm, well, things are developing on the home sale/home search front. Today I signed papers to release myself from my offer on Home #1. Suffice to say that the foundation issues were enough to scare me away, and I don't scare easily. Today I also received information that indicates to me more than ever that the buyers of my house have developed a bad case of cold feet. I have once again offered to release them from the contract. I have not heard anything back on that, but perhaps it is just a matter of time. With no potential buyers in sight, all of this may be an exercise in futility, although the folks who came through last Saturday found the house fetching. So - we shall see. In the meantime, I have set my sites on Home #2 (photo above). It needs lots of TLC but has great potential and, most importantly, has (1) excellent location for my purposes; (2) more space than House #1 and includes a natural fireplace and unfinished patio area conveniently located to the house, which House #1 did not have; and (3) is less expensive. So - we shall see. If I get the clearances from the seller on House #1, I will put in an offer on House #2.

Bogged Down and Holding Tight

I wish I had some positive news to report on the continuing saga of selling Maison Newton and buying a different house (la Petite Maison Newton) but, alas, I do not. I am currently bogged down in finding a structural engineer to inspect the basement of the potential la Petite Maison Newton. Seller has provided me with one analysis and quote to remedy a bowed basement wall - and nothing addressed as to the others, or to the grading situation outside that led to the basement problems to begin with. The selling broker's response to my concerns was 'grading is NOT a material defect.' Yeah, right. So, instead of addressing the entire situation that led to deflected basement walls in the first place, Seller is doing the minimum necessary to make the house "saleable." Ruts of ruck, Seller. If I walk, some other potential buyer is going to raise the exact same issues I have. At this point, I do have the option of walking from my purchase contract for technical reasons peculiar to the contract and, believe me, I am very tempted to do so. But not for any reasons related to the potential la Petite Maison Newton. Nope. I've already invested a mini-fortune in repairs (all needed), improvements (greatly desired and the place is looking great) and today I even managed to do some cleaning in the basement (Super Yech); not to mention a "moisture" test I hired an expert to run on Maison Newton, and spending $$$ hiring a home inspector for the potential la Petite Maison Newton. I want to sell this place, and I want to buy potential la Petitie Maison Newton. And so I'm contemplating spending upwards of $700 more to hire a structural engineer to give me an independent analysis of the basement problems at my potential purchase. I want to know, one way or the other, if I will need to undertake substantial basement reinforcement work somewhere down the line - and get a handle on how much it may cost. Given the amount of money and time already invested, I would like to go forward, pending the results of the structural engineer's report - once he or she is engaged. I spent Thursday and Friday making frantic calls in between serious bouts of work -- this is one of our busiest times of the year because people are aiming to get lots of things accomplished by December 31. This whole process is just a nightmare. I don't have the time or the energy to be dealing with all of this BULLSH*T, but I am attempting to do it anyway. The muck in the stew, however, is MY buyers. Goddess, how frigging stupid I was. When I was presented with their offer to buy my place, I asked some questions, and got dumb looks from both of my real estate agents. I knew something was up. I persisted in questions. Eventually - reluctantly - one of the agents presented me with a print out of a brokers-only Multiple Listing Service info sheet on the house my buyers are trying to sell. I was ASSURED THAT WITH THE PRICE DROP the sellers/my buyers were putting into place, their house would sell QUICKLY. Well, guess what - I accepted their offer to buy Maison Newton on December 6, and as far as I know, they still have not received an offer on their house on this, December 19. Like a row of dominoes, their offer to buy my house is contingent upon selling their house, and my offer to buy potential la Petite Maison Newton is contingent upon my selling this house. That is par for the course in the world of buying/selling homes, BUT - - what I had failed to notice on that MLS print-out until TODAY, when I took a closer look at it, is that my Buyers' home was, as of December 6, 2009, already on the market for 206 days and had failed to sell. Of course, this information was shown near the bottom of the page, where I didn't see it. Shame on me. Evidently they have been dropping the price all along the line and STILL the house is not selling. It seems obvious that something is grossly wrong - either with the house itself, or with its location. And so, at this point, it appears that I have been royally screwed. But it's my own fault. I should have paid more attention to that MLS print out. I shouldn't have accepted that damn offer to buy this house. Even should I wish to go forward with my purchase of potential la Petite Maison Newton, I can't do so unless my current residence sells and closes. And thus - I ran around like a maniac once again this morning cleaning this and that to get the place ready for another showing -- "sometime between 2 and 3PM." After I swore up and down ten times that I would NOT allow any further showings until after Superbowl. Methinks it is time to throw a big hissy-fit, even bigger than the one I threw over the telephone on Monday night with one of my real estate agents. I think she finally GOT it that I was "somewhat upset" with what has been going on. DUH! Bottom line: I don't trust my Buyers, I don't trust the Seller of the property I have offered to buy, I sure as hell don't trust my real estate agents, or any real estate agents at this point. I have spent a small fortune for tests and inspections with the prospect of spending even more $$$ and have absolutely nothing to show for it. Hmmm - logically, in this situation, perhaps it is time to end this particular game.

An Exhausting Weekend

On Friday afternoon I received an email from one of my brokers asking if they could show the house on Saturday between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. Despite my insistance on no showings during the holiday period and while I have guests, since my guests aren't here yet I said okay, reluctantly. So, instead of spending Saturday cleaning closets out as I'd intended, I started cleaning at 9:00 a.m. and didn't stop until 2:00 p.m. when I threw on some make-up, a different top, bundled up for outdoors and headed to the hardware store at 2:10 p.m. Fortunately it was a mild day - in the 30's - after Thursday and Friday spent with windchills well below zero. The sun was shining, there was no wind to speak of, and it felt positively warm! I even had my sunglasses on - alas, not my good old sunglasses which were lost a week ago Saturday when I was looking at houses. Somewhere, somehow, the were left behind or fell out of my pocket and I am still lamenting their loss. I've had those sunglasses since before our trip to Amsterdam in 2001. They've been all over with me. Sigh. Sometime that morning, I received an email from one of the brokers with the buyers' inspection report attached. I was surprised to receive the entire report, they did not have to share it with me. I spent some time reading through it, wondering what it all meant. Yes, I knew I had some grading issues and moisture problems in the basement. The basement walls seemed to be in okay shape but tuckpointing was indicated. It wasn't something I'd ever had done, that's for sure, so it must have been done sometime during the construction process. I was surprised by a few things - something broken on the water heater (which must have been done when brother-in-law Fred installed it back in 2003), a broken stem pipe(? - not sure what it's called) on the sump pump connection to the storm sewer pipe discharge, wrapped in duct tape -- yes, I saw that many times, I just never thought anything about it, LOL! The sump pump seated too high in the crock? Well, I wouldn't know anything about that. Because of some missing insulation in the sill wall cavities, there was frost build-up (well, it was 25 below zero the day the inspector came, geez), and yes, the basement windows are flimsly and have always leaked cold air and have mold streaks on them. The main thing is that the house is not a danger to me or anyone else, and isn't about to collapse. That's good news! All the mechanicals work too. Anyway, I hiked a good mile to the hardware store where I picked up some needed house thingys, and then backtracked to the Walgreens and spent some time there looking at Christmas cards on sale (I picked out some really cute ones) and a few other things. Before I knew it, it was 3:45 and I checked out and made the mile walk back home. The fine day had clouded over, the wind had picked up and it was colder and bitingly damp, but still well above zero. It was definitely bearable and I took my time, savoring the relative warmth after two days of bitter cold windchills. When I got home I could tell that people had been through the house. The shower curtains were askew, the curtains in the master bedroom had been pulled apart (why do people look out the windows in the master bedroom???), the basement light was left on, etc. etc. and the broker(s) had left a card which, my brokers had previously informed me, was not meant as a solicitation but to signal that they had brought people through the house. When I got home I was too tired to do much of anything. I went to bed at my regular time and didn't sleep well, getting up at 3:45 a.m. to try relaxing in the recliner. I did get some additional sleep and woke up about 6:45 when it started to get light outside. I was wondering what my buyers would come back to me about on that inspection report, how much it would cost, and how I couldn't afford anything at this point, and the entire package deal of buyers/sellers and three homes was going to fall apart. Would the sellers of 110 Street sue me for non-performance? Would my buyers insist on regrading work (that could cost thousands of dollars) and would I tell them to kiss my grits? I washed my hair, read the newspaper, got ready for an investment club meeting. We met at Meyers and had a delicious breakfast, as per usual, and I caught up everyone on the continuing saga of attempting to sell this house and attempting to buy a new one! I told them about my table pounding incident (last week Saturday) and they laughed and and laughed. Well actually, it was rather funny. We asked an obliging waitress to take our photos in front of the lovely Meyers Christmas tree in the main dining room. I haven't got them emailed to me yet (they are on Sue's and Angie's cameras) but will post them here when they arrive. I think we are all gorgeous despite being women of a "certain age." After breakfast we adjourned to my house, admired my beautiful Christmas tree, and had our gift exchange. What fun! But - the Packers were playing the Bears at noon in Chicago (I had mistakenly thought they were playing in LEGENDARY LAMBEAU FIELD), so some wanted to get back home in time for the game and others of us had other plans, and I wanted to change clothes and relax in my new official Green Bay Packers blankey-snuggy from Georgia and Michelle. As the meeting was breaking up, my phone rang. Sue said "It's your broker," and she was right. LOL! The upshot is that I need to get a consultation with a home performance expert (that is what the WE Energies website calls them). After doing some research myself on the internet, I located one that sounded promising and, lo and behold, he is actually on the short list of name one of the brokers provided to me. So I emailed him - we shall see. The buyers' primary issue appears to be the potential for air infiltration leading to moisture build-up leading to mold in my basement. So, I did some research on that and learned about foam insulation, so that seems the way to go. The costs - well, from what I read not too bad, but we shall see what we shall see. The lousy basement windows - hmmm. I don't want to think about house stuff any more today. However, I have the Purple Heart picking up on 12/15 and so I cleaned out the linen closet - two very heavy bags of towels, sheets and curtains that I will never use again. Now I will tackle the front downstairs closet, where I have two boxes of unused towels and other linens and assorted stuff stashed. Most if not all of that will join the stash for the Purple Heart pick-up. Only two more closets to go through after that. In between bouts of continuing to attack/shovel the ice/snow on the driveway. Speaking of which, since the Packers won I pledged at least another hour's effort. Oy - my shoulders hurt! It's like chopping ice.

My Bare Naked Master Bedroom

I love how the color of the walls turned out! No matter how many paint samples you look at, and even bring home mini-paint samples and paint them on the walls, you really don't know what the final effect will be until the entire room has been painted. This picture doesn't do justice to the nuances of the color with the various levels of light that play about this small master bedroom (11' x 14'), "Powder Puff." It looks white in photo 1, but it's not white at all. Goodbye to the soft pink and grey floral scheme I had for 19 years. I loved it for the first 10 years here, and then, like lightning, my tastes changed and I wanted something different. But by then I had gotten really busy with other things related to chess, and it's only gotten busier since 1999/2000! And so I procrastinated for years until a few months ago my friend Ann told me about Kevin the Wonder Handyman. The rest, as they say, is herstory. Kevin did a first rate job painting out this room. I don't like this bare-bones look, but this is the look the real estate brokers PUSH in order to sell a home. I have lots of framed artwork and photographs that would flesh out the room and add some warmth and my personality to th walls, but I didn't put them up. They are currently stashed under the bed :) Also banished is my desk-top computer. The desk-top is now out of commission because in order to move it to the middle bedroom cum den, I had to disconnect it from the something-or-other and ever since then I have been unable to restore a network connection, no matter what I do. When Mr. Don arrives in less than 2 weeks I will put him to work on the Mystery of the Computer That Refuses to be Connected... My bedroom is formal room, I suppose, modeled after classic traditional design. The winter comforter is on the bed rather than the summer-weight taupe/beige/white scalloped edge quilted toile-patterned coverlet with matching pillow shams. LOL! The red/white/black logger plaid is plush, lush and heavy. I love to snuggle under it this time of year since I keep the house at a chill 64-65 degrees F and it never fails to keep me toasty. Out of view is a deep gold and cream spiral pattern rug on the right side of the bed that cushions my feet with warmth when I get in and out of "my side" of the bed. I broke the rules when I took these photos by restoring to its place of honor on the triple dresser my old jewelry box that was given to me as a gift by my daddy when I was 7 years old. I have kept it safe and sound all the 51 years since. It is a sort of Nile Green color, faux alligator skin! It has a build-up of discoloration over the years that I occasionally attempt to wipe away with a barely damp cloth, and a few dents and one small tear (when did that happen???) on the top. Otherwise it is in perfect condition. The inside lining is pristine. I have this box filled with cheap costume and the real-thing jewelry. It, and another smaller oriental-styled rosewood jewelry box that Mr. Don gifted to me several years ago, hold my most valuable possessions. This bedroom set is old and not good quality, being a combination of some wood, "wood product" and plastic finished to look like wood. I still vividly remember falling in love with it when I visited the Hack's Furniture Store on 13th and Mitchell Streets in the early 70's, and I paid some $300 for the full-sized headboard and bed frame, matress set, night stand, bureau and the triple mirror and dresser. That was totally high-end to me back then, when my take-home pay was $78.75 a week. I still remember! I was on cloud nine. I have lovingly cared for this suite of furniture since I first purchased it when I didn't know any better and thought it the height of fashion and quality. I still love the delicate lines of the "French Provincial" style, the "fruitwood" finish and the hardware. It is exquisitely turned and actually made out of metal. I just don't know what kind of metal, but with more than 30 years of wear and tear none of the goldish/bronze colored finish has worn off. This set has held up through dozens of moves since my early 20's, to my first home in 1986, to this, my second home, in 1990. The finish on the tops of the dressers and nightstand is somewhat the worse for wear from years of holding plants, books, belts, tons of junk, etc. etc. I have water circles that raised the grain of the real wood tops where water overflowed from the cache pots, and various marks, scuffs and scratches - both shallow and deep, nail polish spills clean up over the years, etc. etc. The finish could be fixed, I suppose. Except I like the worn, scuffed and marked-up look. This furniture has traveled with me through my adult life. I am not yet ready to "fix it," let alone say goodbye to it. Wherever my new house will be, this not-quite-vintage cheapo faux French Provincial bedroom set will come with me. BTW, the mattresses are relatively new. I finally replaced the original mattresses (!!!) in 2002 with a nice plush set made locally by Verlo. No more back aches, but I went from a what was then "standard" depth mattress of 7 inches to 15 inches. I had to get all new sheets! I am stuck with four sets of pink and white/pink and black/pink and beige/pink and grey sheet sets that don't fit any modern-day mattress. I have been amazingly reluctant to part with those sets, but with selling this house, the linen closet MUST be cleaned out, and so those extinct but still pristine condition double-bed size sheet sets will be donated to the Purple Heart. The Purple Heart was the first charity that called as I happened to be making a list of things to clear out, and so they are the winner. I have been donating things to them for a long time and yet the closet never seems to be emptier, so they regularly call. The Purple Heart charity is coming by on December 15th to pick up my latest donations. Little do they know all I am intending to donate. I hope they have a big truck! The boxes and double-bagged in giant black plastic lawn bags will be overflowing my tiny front porch! Tomorrow I grudgingly agreed to another showing, sometime between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. allowing another invasion of my sacred space, when I will have to disappear. My father's gift jewelry box has already been hidden away, which makes me very sad.

The Continuing Saga of Selling/Buying a Home

Last night, I was left dangling, waiting for a promised counteroffer that didn't come. When I arrived at the office this morning just before 8:30 a.m., I checked my email and had not received the counteroffer for the 110th Street property. Oh oh. I didn't receive word until 9:26 a.m. I REALLY wanted to say nope, too late, our deal is null and void because the seller missed the response deadline. But then common sense kicked in. I have already looked at the cream of the crop houses in my price range in the area that are on the market, and the house I offered for was THE one. To have to start all over again, with that fear of not finding a suitable house to move to if my buyers are successful in bringing things to closing (assuming all the stuff would fall in place that I've been going through with my offer on 110th St. -- an offer on their current home being accepted, suitable time lines, my house passing inspection by their expert, etc. etc.) Oy! So even though it left a bad taste in my mouth, I signed acceptance of the damn counteroffer cutting my time to get to closing by a month - the deadline is now officially February 26, 2009. I do not for a single second believe that this will be achievable. But now I have to go forward and have an inspection within 10 days and write the check for the earnest money deposit. Cha ching! In the meantime, I have a meeting tomorrow with that loan officer from my current mortgage lender who doesn't know how to tell time - but it may be a snow day tomorrow and the office may be closed, in which case I won't be downtown and won't be making that meeting! Geez - looking out the window at the moment it apears as if everything is now coated in ice, and that 40 degree F temperature when I left the office at 4:30 pm. as since dropped down to 21 degrees F. The worst of the snow has yet to arrive...

More Adventures in Selling/Buying a House

Photo: Maison Newton. This is the main photo from the real estate brokerage website. If I do say so myself (and I do), it is a pretty home. You can see the trees (bare now), behind the roof line in the back yard. This is not a McMansion of shoddy construction, and it is just the right size. Although built in 1989-1990 (I moved into the house on August 1, 1990, had it built for myself), the floor plan has held up very well. The back of the house overlooks the back yard. It holds the kitchen, a large dinette area with sliding patio doors to a deck, and opens to a 12.6 x 18 family room that has a service door to the garage and a utility closet that shares a wall with a 3/4 bath on the first floor, that could, with minor reconfigurations, be turned into a bath with shower over tub (right now it has a full size shower, but no tub). By running a narrow wall of closet space against the family room wall that backs to the garage, and adding a wall with a door, or perhaps some french doors to cut the space off from the dinette, a main-floor master suite could be constructed. Well, that was the original plan when I had the house built. I had envisioned a private and spacious retreat/bedroom for my parents on the first floor, in the event they needed to give up their house for whatever reason. Things did not turn out that way, but the possibilities remain. I believe I am not constitutionally designed to deal with the processes of selling/buying a house. Something must have significantly changed in my genetic make-up and/or my disposition that prevents me from dealing comfortably with all of the stuff and nonsense that must be dealt with - at lightning speed! The last time I did this was 19 years ago, and it was sure a different world back then. The fastest thing we had were faxes and overnight fedex deliveries! Now - it's all BANG BANG BANG - everything has to be done with 24 hours or less! That's b.s., frankly. The entire process these days is designed to short-circuit people's brains so they do not have time to really think about what is happening and what they are doing and what they are signing. The brokers are only out for their commissions, they don't give a flying f about you. When I actually pounded the table last Saturday after viewing the houses I wanted to see protesting about how fast the agents were pushing for everything to happen, and told the agent that I wanted to READ certain provisions in the purchase contract, she was shocked! SHOCKED! I could tell she was scared crapless that moment, because she made an excuse to leave the conference room we were in at one of her firm's conveniently-located offices. Perhaps she was making an emergency cell phone call to her back-up agent. Don't get me started about the back-up agent. I have already hung up on her, obnoxious pushy. I realize she has a job to do and she wants to earn that nice big fat commission she could earn by selling this house. But this is my life. Yesterday morning - a Sunday, mind you - since when has it become routine to transact business on a Sunday? - this really bothers me - it was stressed how important it was for me to obtain something called a "prequalification letter" and what an EASY process it is to obtain such a document. So, this morning at the office I attempt to locate a telephone number for the local branch of the bank that holds my current mortgage, figuring that it would be an easy process for it to issue such a letter since they already have all of my records and best know my payment history, etc. etc. Except - I couldn't find a telephone number in the phone book; online, there was no direct telephone number listed for the branch where I make my monthly payment, and if I did not live here, I would never have recognized 400 East Washington Avenue as meaning 400 East Wisconsin Avenue as the location of the branch nearest to me. Geez! So, I call the number that I got online and get a recording saying "hello, this is so and so. I am no longer at this number. You can contact me at blah blah." So I call blah blah, wondering if so and so is still working for MY bank, or if he works somewhere else? So, I get in touch with Mr. so and so, but he can't help me, he's not a loan officer! He gives me the name of another Mr. so and so, but no telephone number, and says he will have Mr. so and so call me. So - I dig out the materials I received from my real estate broker. That company as a subsidiary that is a mortgage brokerage firm. I call that firm. I get run around and finally connected to someone's voice mail and I leave a message. Forty minutes later I receive a telephone call, and after answering a few questions the person from the mortgage brokerage says oh, you have to talk to Ms. so and so, I will have her call you right away. Then, it's 10:30 a.m. I have been on and off the telephone and online attempting to track down phone numbers and in the phone book, etc., since 8:30 a.m. AND I STILL DON'T HAVE THE PREQUALIFICATION LETTER THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A SNAP TO OBTAIN. Meanwhile, work is piling up on my desk. I am supposed to be working at my job, that is what I am being paid for. I am NOT supposed to be pissing away 2 hours trying to talk to SOMEONE who can get me the letter I need to take care of personal business! Mr. so and so from my current mortgage lender's mortgage branch calls me back on a cell phone which keeps cutting out - so we are shouting at each other and missing every other syllable. I do eventually understand that he is on his way to a closing and will call me "in the afternoon." Someone calls me back from the real estate company's mortgage brokerage firm. Fortunately, she is calling on a land line and I can hear her - and she me - perfectly well. She gets some information and says she will pull a credit report and let me know what's up. Of course I miss all calls, because I always manage to be away from my desk doing actual work when my telephone rings. Finally, I receive a voice mail from the real estate company's mortgage brokerage firm -- the needed prequalification letter has been done and sent to the less experienced of my real estate agents. I have excellent credit, a very high score. Well duh - they could have just asked me. But I know people lie about this type of stuff. Why they lie when it is so easy to be caught out, I have no idea, but they lie anyway. I don't waste my time lying, not even "social lies" any more. Now I just keep my mouth shut if I can't tell the truth "oh yes, Minerva, you look positively divine in that peplos that is supposed to cover all of your lumps and bumps but manages not to do so, and you've got a flabby-looking breast exposed, by the way. Gross!" Again while I am away from my desk I get a voice mail message from my current mortgage lender -- it is not yet afternoon when this call comes in. I take people at their word. If they say "I will call in the afternoon" that means after 12 o'clock noon. He calls before 12 o'clock noon. Call me back, he says. So, I do - after lunch. Again, the cell phone thing, with the call fading in and out. He does not sound too happy that in the meantime I had obtained what I needed from my real estate broker's mortgage lending company. and starts to go into all the reasons why their mortgage rates are better and less expensive closing costs, etc. I ruthlessy cut him short. I am in NO MOOD to hear anything other than "I will kiss your feet once a week on Friday evenings for the next 20 years if you give your mortgage business to our bank." Meanwhile, time is ticking away on receiving an acceptance or counter-offer from the sellers of the house for which I put in an offer. My real estate agent had been so confident that it would be accepted; I was skeptical. Turns out I was right to have an expressively raised eyebrow at the protestations of my real estate agent. I left the office at 5 p.m. without any word - not a call, not an email. It is remarkably amazing how silent the agents can be when they are not badgering you to sign sign sign RIGHT NOW! I arrived home, after a long, hard, difficult day, and cold to boot. We are expecting our first blizzard to hit sometime tomorrow evening before 5 p.m., and so I determined to stop at the supermarket and stock up on as much as I could carry: emergency rations of wine and chili fixings and milk. When I got home, there was an email waiting from my real estate agent that she had received word from the sellers' agent (on the house I offered to buy) that she thought they were going to counter to move up the closing date by 30 days. This proposed change has a domino effect on the offer that was made to buy my house yesterday. Those people now have to speed up their entire process by at least 30 days (probably more) and hope to hell they find a buyer for their house in early January who can sell their house and or come up with cash to close, etc. etc. Good fricking luck with that! Meanwhile, my real estate agents (I think when the younger one gets scared of me she brings the other one along for reinforcement) just cannot understand why I had, a few days before, called a halt to any further showings of the house until the end of January. They seem to be unable to comprehend the meaning of CHRISTMAS AND NEWS YEARS AND COMPANY VISITING ME, AND NOT ROUSTING MY GUESTS OUT OF THE HOUSE SO THAT PEOPLE WHO HAVE NEITHER THE INTENTION NOR THE MEANS OF BUYING THIS PLACE CAN COME THROUGH AND GAWK AT IT. So, that's where we are at the moment. I can reject the counter-offer I am supposed to be receiving from the sellers of 110th Street, because realistically, there is no way I would be ready to close the deal and move out of this house into 110th Street. And if those sellers think they are going to receive a cleaner offer, for their price, who can close by the time they want - well - miracles do happen every day. Did I mention the basement issue? No, I didn't. The sellers of the house I offered for obtained a condition report on their own as part of their preparing for sale, and were alerted to a potential basement problem. Basement problems in Wisconsin are par for the course. In this area we have clay soil that holds excessive moisture long after other soils dry out and stay dry and shrink to extremes long after other soils expand with moderate moisture. This kind of extremism has a devasting effect on concrete block basements, which continue to be build all over the state despite known problems with our soil vs. concrete block. Oh well! By the way, a copy of this report has not been provided to me. I am required to spend $400 plus to obtain my own home inspection. Is it just me? Isn't there something grossly wrong and really fricking crazy about this whole process? I have also just realized that I have ZERO protection in the event my offer to buy 110th Street falls apart, but my buyers somehow manage to come up to scratch. I will be out of a home with no place to go by February 26th. NOT ACCEPTABLE. My listing agent, who is acting as a "seller's agent", but also signed a separate contract with me to act as my "buyer agent" neglected to point out this little blip, and stupid me, I didn't spot it until now. Hmmmm, now I am really pissed off...

Photos of Maison Newton

(These are photos of the guest bedroom, which had been my temporary bedroom (north end of the house, upstairs). I had taken over this room, which had been the former guest room, earlier this year. This newly constituted guest bedroom (moved from the center bedroom), is a dummied-down version of what the room looked like while in the center bedroom, before I decided to move it lock stock and barrel into the north bedroom, and move what had been my room back into the "master bedrooom" on the south side of the house last week Friday, several days after Kevin the Handyman completed the painting. What a nightmare. But I got it done). The guest room is now "showing ready" - which means stripped of almost all personality, including anything other than generic "art work" on the walls. Bah. Humbug. I took down much, but not all, of my personal photographs and art work. It looks okay, generically speaking, but I think it sucks. It is a pretty sad state that America is in if potential buyers cannot possibly imagine what a room would look like if they "make it their own" without it being stripped of almost everything that makes a home comfortable for the present occupant.