I have not been on here for a while, and here is my excuse: Somewhere towards the end of February, out of the blue, my husband got offered his dream job in Calgary... starting the beginning of April. From that point on, life became a blur of packing, storage, moving companies, agents, listings, open houses, de-cluttering, and even a quick jaunt to Calgary to look at houses. Any spare time was spent on the internet flicking between mls, google earth, and the calgary school board school finder page. Entirely too much wine and coffee was consumed.
Last night we sold my beloved house, the subject of so much of this blog.
It actually felt kind of nice to "stage" my house for sale - I felt quite proud of the photos and virtual tour, and was happy to pack up a lot of the chaos to let the house shine. Sure, maintaining clear surfaces was a pain, but it was lovely to sit in the evenings with my bottles of wine and think "I did this!" I made this warm and cozy space.
The downside is that, despite my efforts polishing bathroom fixtures, filling in the nicks in my painted bathrooms floor with a Sharpie, hauling my toaster oven out to the trunk of the car every morning, and scrubbing every handprint from the walls, we received but one offer. Happily, it was for our asking price, but somehow the hype of the Toronto real estate market had me secretly hoping for more. With all the press around multiple offers and bidding wars, scarcity of product and rabid buyers, it was generally assumed that for a house like ours, in the neighbourhood we are in, people would be lining up at the door. I know that sounds like hubris, but this message was reiterated and reinforced over and over from friends, agents, and armchair analysts. Day in and day out, the real estate sections of the papers crowed about the seller's market, the unstoppable prices, the results that exceeded everyone's expectations.
So when we had one agent quietly submit the offer last night, I felt relief to have received our asking price, relief that this big component of our process was finished, and relief that we could bring the toaster oven back in permanently. I even felt really happy for the nervous couple that were no doubt waiting outside in their car with their fingers crossed. But I also felt a little... rejected. So many views online, so many showings, such successful open houses, and one offer. No one wanted my beautiful house.
Now, before you all start reassuring me that this wasn't the case, I have a beautiful house, I should feel proud (cause I know you guys are amazing and sweet and kind and will do that!), or chastising me for being so greedy, know that I consciously and rationally accept that it was not the house, it was the lack of parking. Parking is a huge hairy deal around here, and that was the overwhelming feedback from the viewings. Our neighbour, who has had his completely top-to-bottom renovated fancy house on the market since November, has been having the same frustration. The other issue is that the school zone right next to ours is apparently the one everyone wants to get their kids into. Plus there are a LOT of really beautiful houses around here. So I am very very grateful to have had someone buy it at the price we were asking (which seemed huge).
All the same... it sort of stung.
HOWEVER, this morning I am feeling much more upbeat about the whole thing, and concentrating on the full-to-the-top glass and not the missing overflow! Our house still sold in a week, for a very silly amount of money. Three of these seven days we were all out of the house and didn't have to worry about wiping the fridge handle every time we closed it or camping out at the coffee shop while people toured the house. I already have a large chunk of the packing done. It was a quick and painless process, when it could have dragged on and on and on. It is a huge financial relief, and we now know what our budget is for Calgary and that we can move forward on a house there without worrying about carrying two mortgages. HOORAY!
Amazing what a good night's sleep can do for one's perspective. :)
Now everyone sing along with me:
