Argh, my house is on the market...

[CAT]

Getting tired of keeping the property in 'showing' condition (it's never this clean...). Getting tired of trying to find someplace to take the dog when people want to see the place (too hot to leave the poor guy in the car). Getting tired of trying to sort/sell/pack 20 yrs of junk that collected in the garage and everywhere else. <sigh>

and I really hate having to tear down my tanks :(

Just thought I'd vent a little... I feel better now :D

[Vilas]

Greetings from the other side!
If I ask, "So, is that water damage there...ahh...hmm. Do you know the taxes on this? Really? OK...huh. Great floors.." ONE MORE TIME!@#@!$#@!%$#@%
I hate realty.

We've now seen 23 places in the past week, made 2 offers, and gotten approved for six mortgages. We lose our lease shortly, and while I wouldn't mind living in a hotel for a few weeks, my cats and tank might object to homelessness!
I feel your pain in a different way...!

[CAT]

Vilas, wow! 23 places in one week? Are they all starting to blur together? :)

Yeah, I hate the 'looking' end of it too... Took me over a year to find this place because I wanted land for my horses.

[Vilas]

yeah, they're one big leaky roof and windowsill with too many coats of paint!
Cat -
I sold my horse last year, I'm still too upset about that to talk about it much. At least he has a good home - I passed up offers of massive amounts of money to basically give him to a disabled 12 year old boy who adored him.
I found Gilbert, 4 years old, abused on the racetrack, emaciated, and terrified of humans, and ended up getting high ribbons in big A shows on a goregeous creature who I could lead around without a leadrope - he'd just follow me, even when spooked. So, when I moved into the city, I made damn well sure he had someone who adored him, rather than wanting a show horse.
Sorry. I digress. I miss his kisses - he would lick your face like a big dog!
Yeah, house hunting sucks!
C

[CAT]

Hi Vilas. I'm moving to a big city (Toronto) so the next search will be finding a good stable for my mare - she's a 'National Spotted Saddle Horse' (gaited) that I use for trailriding. I bought her 4 years ago and she turned out to be in foal so now I have to find a good home for her 3 yr-old filly. That is probably my biggest challenge, because, like you, I won't sell the filly to just anyone...

Not trying to brag or anything ;) :D but here's a pic of my girls when the filly was a baby.

http://cat1113.homestead.com/files/Cat.jpg

[Vilas]

Beautiful! I should really scan pics of Gil.
As far as boarding them goes, all I can say is when you're looking, get to know the people, both the owners of the place, the trainers, the barn hands, and the other boarders. I had to pull my horse out of one place in an emergency move when I found my dirt cheap place was worth less than what I paid..I walked in when he was being brought back in to find the barn hand smacking the @#$#@ out of him with a crop. His crime? He was hard to catch. Other boarders were just looking on. Dude, I'd be hard to catch too if I'd been abused all my life, I finally find someone who loves me, and this chick comes after me daily with a whip regardless!
That afternoon, he was in the nicest barn I could find. Any animal I am responsible for..I feel I am obligated to give the best care I can. The barn I finally put him at (The kid kept him there! YESSS!) was amazing - beautiful indoor ring, 5 acres of dedicated turnout (30 miles from new york city!) staff that would lick your horse to a gleaming shine, practically, give them a ton of attention and care, etc etc. Worth every penny, he VERY quickly decided he trusted people.

Dosen't moving and homebuying suck, back to the topic? We put an offer in at 10 last night, and now..we wait...I have a knot in my stomach...third offer this week...my shoulders are tensed into little slabs of concrete.
You know, buying or selling ANYTHING ELSE is just a matter of finding one you like at the right price. "OK, I like this car/pack of gum/sofa/horse. I'll take it." Blah.
And don't get me started on real estate prices around here! We live in a rough area of town. Mission Hill. It's gone up a bit, but 5 years ago, I wouldn't walk here..many cops wouldn't set foot here. We saw a place for sale, figured we'd ask. Sure, it's three bedroom..at SIX HUNDRED GRAND! In the GHETTO! Like, there were people a block away smoking pot on the street! You'd have to chase homeless people out of the garden! Then, we saw a place in the town we want to be in, not the best area of it, for 200. Great, nice little condo, bit over our price range, but uh. 289 square feet.
Nope, that's not a typo. The listing called it "cozy" and "adorable." Cozy? Sure, most closets are! I don't think we could fit the bed AND the tank!
This completley blew my mind. Trying to buy as a first time buyer in this market, frankly...SUCKS!

bleh. Someone send the "offer accepted" fairy my way? I think we might have a shot on this place...no, not the 289 sqft place. We can wait to move to Brookline until we've won the @#$#@ lottery.


Sorry for the long winded post! The two topics I could go off on to no end, save reefs.. :)

[CAT]

Yeah, I know all about boarding -that's why I decided to build my own barn :rolleyes: I'm lucky because I have a friend here who can board the girls until I find a good place when I move - she thinks these girls walk on water - apparently, when Chris was leading her one day, my mare did NOT trample her to death when the irrigation pipes in the field next door suddenly kicked in and Chris tripped and literally fell under the mare. I gather Scout (my mare) stood perfectly still until Chris crawled out from under her legs... Needless to say, Chris spoils them rotten :)

Wow, do your real estate prices sound high!!! even with leaky roofs and windows :eek: Good luck with your offer. I agree, buying and selling real estate is way too stressful... :blown:

[Vilas]

Your mare sounds like Gilbert!! That's so wonderful, having a horse you can trust is so important. At one point, when Gil was 5 - a thoroughbred, keep in mind - I was leading him through the inside barn and a stall door just fell right off its hinges with a loud CRASH. Every other horse in the barn lost it completley, the horse in that stall ran out, three horses broke the crossties..and Gilbert just kind of looked at me a bit nervously. "Mom? Is it OK?"
Another time, a herd of deer rushed us while we were walking in the woods. You know, those pony eating deer..the ones with horns and forked tails. Almost as bad as those pony eating trash cans, in some cases! The herd ran past, Gilbert snorted at them and kept going. I was so darn proud.
I attribute some of this to using Monty Roberts' methods on him when he was terrified of humans.
How old is your foal now? You must be such a proud mama!!

[paranda]

Hello Cat,
I feel your pain! Our house is also on the market, and I don't think that it has ever been this clean! My wife and I are both packrats, so their is alot of stuff to go through! Of course, their is the added stress of trying to keep things clean when my 3 year old twin daughters just love to make a mess! They love to draw, and they think that the whole world is their canvass. (walls, floors, furniture, etc! :eek1: ) The one thing I don't understand is why are my kitchen and dinning room tables set, but I have to eat on the floor with paper plates!:confused: Of couse, the realtor had me remove my tank because it made the room look clutered!:( Oh well, it well be over soon. Hang in their cat!
Peter

[Vilas]

Remove your tank?! How?? And where did you put it? The idea of moving my 55, even an inch, is a truly painful thought. Yes, we're getting movers, but HELL NO WAY ARE THEY SO MUCH AS LOOKING AT IT. :) :eek1:

[CAT]

Vilas, I think you should be very proud of Gilbert - I've had a couple of TB boarders who were total wingnuts! :eek1: The filly is 3 1/2 yrs- old and going to be like her momma - very obedient and pretty much stands her ground. Monty Roberts, Pat Parelli, John Lyons and Linda Tellington-Jones all have some good ideas re. training horses - I just borrow what I like from each of them.

Peter, LMAO about the paper plates! :D My hubby (also 'Peter' btw) probably feels like you do - I make him keep his office etc. neat. Now young twins would be a real challenge, I have enough trouble trying to keep the dog hair under control... :rolleyes: So what did you do with the tank???

[paranda]

Luckily, the tank was FO. I was able to sell all of the livestock to the local LFS, and store the equipment. Of course, since I do have to start over I might as well get a bigger tank with a DSB and go reef! (As if my wife didn't suspect this when I had the builders install two dedicated GFI's in an empty alcove!:D ) Of course their is more than just the twins. We also have a black dog and cat with light tan carpets! It seems that all we do is clean!

[Kat]

Just a suggestion... If it's troublesome to have people wandering through your house and even harder to keep it sparkling clean enough... why not just create an online picture tour for interested buyers? ...And for those buyers who don't have access to a computer, why don't you just make a video tour of your house/property?

[Vilas]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH THEY ACCEPTED OUR OFFER! I'm SERIOUSLY bouncing off the walls here.
I was so nervous, pacing the house, my fiance finally looked at me and said "Go buy yourself a coral or something." hehe.
SO, now, granted that nothing falls through, which it inevitably will...MovingHellTime! :rolleye1:

[paranda]

Actually we do use the Virtual Tour. Our realtor distributes them to other realtor's, who then show their clients, who then want to see the house. It has worked out pretty well so far. Most realtor's give us a few hours notice so their is time to straighten up! Congrats on the house Vilas, I'll keep my fingers crossed that nothing falls through. So, which coral did you buy? :p

[CAT]

Hey Vilas,CONGRATULATIONS ,that's great!! Now as a house owner you can look forward to tearing apart everything you're paying a morgage on and rebuild it the way you like :D Especially a perfect cubby for the tank...

Hope all goes well

[Vilas]

I shouldn't have bought a darn thing, but I ended up being talked into a little rock with green button polyps. They were cheap as hell and tank propogated..I'm still completley tank propogated for corals, trying to keep it that way. :)
CAT, no kidding. My fiance has this fetish for knocking down walls. We found a place where the walls are actually about where we'd put them, brand new kitchen and bathroom done the way we'd so them, and he's insiting on living out for boxes for 3 months while we heat strip all the moulding and doors and refinish them. Oh, and have to wire the place for ethernet. While we're at it, why don't we... Gotta do SOMETHING to make it yours, I guess! I feel like a dog with a new fire hydrant. ;)

[cyclist1]

Congratulations Vilas. My wife and I toured 12 homes in Kansas City on Saturday. One home has been on the market for less than 24 hours and is several levels above all the other homes in our price range. It is a 3 bedroom 1.5 bath home with a 2 car garage and a finished basement. It has hard wood floors, all new windows and a beautifull yard. About 2700 Sq ft of living space They were asking $120,000 for it. We made an offer for it and they accepted 119,000 with them paying for all of the inspections and closing costs. They didn't want to mess with a bunch of people walking through their house, much less dealing with a bunch of people offering them almost nothing for the house. The best thing about it was they accepted the offer less than 2 hours after we made it. It was a great deal. Our realtor said we could immediately turn around and sell the house for 130,000+ if we wanted to. This is our first home and my wife and I are extremely excited about it. The basement will become our entertainment/fish room.:D

Andrew

[Vilas]

aieee! Well, we have a 2br 838 sqft place with no parking, laundry in basement, and overlooking a gas station. 198k. :eek1: However, salaries are pretty high in this area to make up for cost of living, so perhaps it's all the same in the end. Let's put it this way: rent is currently 1900 for our 2br cr@phole, and mortgage will be 1500.
But..we're right on the T (subway for you non bostonians!) we're a mile away from my fiance's school, we can walk out to a cafe or a nice restaurant..I'm a city gal, dunno why, just the way it is!
So, I'm glad to know someone GETS the hell! We finally have the offer signed, inspection is wednesday, we're signing papers this weekend. If all goes well, we'll close in 3 weeks!
With the title searches, inspector qualifications, owner occupancy, contingencies, and disclosures, I'm a mess. I went to go mix up some frozen food and selcon and tried to pour wine into the little glass I use. My fiance stopped me, pointing out that a drunk bristleworm is probably the last thing I want to deal with.
aieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
C

[CAT]

Hey Andrew, CONGRATULATIONS!!! Looks like another one got lucky :) Our agent said it takes an average of about 3 months to sell a house here :( We live in an agricultural area (read: low population density) ...

Hey Vilas, ya gotta calm down :D At least you didn't try to drink the fishie food... :rollface:

[paranda]

Congratulations Andrew! Welcome to the world of Home Ownership! Our home has been on the market for a month, but no offers yet. The market here (San Francisco South Bay Area) is starting to slow down, so we may have to lower our price some. Our new house wasn't supposed to be completed until Oct. so we were in no hurry. But now they may have it finished by the end of August! :eek1: Were not panicking yet, but we are close!
Vilas, it may seem hectic now; but before you know it you will be moved in and enjoying your new home! :) But I have to wonder, what would Dr Ron say about drunk bristleworms? :confused:

[hartman]

Vilas,

Make sure your home inspector is part of <a href="http://www.ashi.com/" target="view_window">ASHI</a> If you are buying a house or a apt, basically anything with a basement. make sure to get a radon test. I can recommend a good one we just used in Arlington. He charges $345.00 for normal and pest plus $100.00 for a computer radon test.

Also for anyone who is interested look into a 80/20 blended mortgage if you plan on putting less than 20% down. This will get you out of PMI (Personal Mortgage Insurance) which is a total waste.

Kind of works like this

200K
1st mortgage 30 year, 6.95% 160,000.00 $1,051.09
2nd mortgage 30 year, 9.5% 35,000.00 $ 294.30
5% down
Total $1,345.39

No points and closing cost of 2,400.00ish

Hope this helps
Hartman



Hartman

[signu459]

Just moved a little over month ago- What a PITA!!!

Andrew- $120,000 for 2700Sq ft WOW that is a deal. I paid more for a little better than half the area. Nice work!

For every one with large tanks take a bit of adivce from someone who just did it. First, if at all possible don't try to move it the same day you move everything else. The move alone is enough to kill you let alone worrying about killing your critters. Plan a seperate day to dedicate to moving the tank, that way you can take your time. Second plan ahead. Know exactly where you are going to put it in your new place. It usually helps if you have all your furnature there already to see how thing will fit in. Make sure you recruit plenty of muscle you will need it. I got about 50 bags from the LFS to put all my corals in and also got several 20 gallon Rubbermade tubs to move rock, water, fish and large corals. Anything larger than 20 and they start to weigh to much. Third have an emergency plan in place if things don't go well. I was a little worried about how the tank would fit in my new place. Since I couldn't really change things quickly or wait a few days to make up my mind I had asked Joy at Harbor aqautics if she would take my critters in a pinch. Hopefully you all have a good LFS that will help you out. You never know when you might drop that tank or find out it doesn't fit.


Good luck!!

[Aquaman]

Beautiful horse Cat;

My wife and I have wanted a horse for the longest time. but haven't had the money to devote to keeping one the way we keep my reef and my wifes cats. Perhaps next year we will be ready.


Shoot I've even been tempted to give up the reef for one, To bad your a long way from Florida,

[CAT]

Hi Aquaman, actually, you're sort of in horse country - if you're interested down the road, you should check out the zillions of horse farms around Ocala - must have really good pasture in that county or something :)

[Aquaman]

Cat,

Yea I know, we drive through Ocala all the time to visit friends in Gainsville. Yes the land is very good, and not to expensive. The problem is the closer you get to Orlando and all the attractions located around Orlando the price of land is outrageous.