Houses

My house hasn't sold..which bewilders me quite frankly. Admittedly, it does have a couple shortcomings, but that house is adorable, a great size, an excellent location, wonderful landscaping, a good and very fair price and is of course staged brilliantly (by me!). I know the upstairs bathroom sink is ugly and could be replaced and that the downstairs bathroom shower is odd, but it's functional. And those were the next two things on my to do list before I moved and if I ever had enough money to do them.

I did rip out the horrible pink carpeting that covered the main floor
I did redothe kitchen (icluding a new stove, new countertops, new cabinet hardware, a dishwasher &garbage disposal which were non-existent before, and new flooring)
I pretty much painted every room, and even retextured some walls!
I put in new carpeting in the stairwell and basement,
I took down wallpaper from the 3 rooms it was in.
I got rid of paneling.
I took all the lace down that had been glued to every shelf in the house.
I put in a newer and much more appealing cabinet in the bathroom.
I spent hours and hours working on the yard and flower gardens.
AND...I got rid of the hideous ruffled nightmare that were otherwise known as curtains in the main living room and dining area.

To top it off, my smart do-it-yourself mind thought to take before photos and have them in a little book for any potential buyers to see...so they can appreciate just how much HAS gone into that house.

Yes, its only been on the market for about a month. Yes, winter is not the ideal time to sell...and YES, I realize the economy is not helping my cause.

But, I've moved, have a new job (2 actually) and am currently residing in my parents basement with my two dogs until someone realizes my house to be the treasure that it is!

There really is not much on the market here..which is another problem. I've only looked at 3 houses thus far. All three which have tons of potential. 2 would be definite fixer uppers...1 quite surely being out of my league (it still had electrical fuse box rather than a breaker box, it didn't have central heat and air, only window units and a floor furnace, part of the foundation needed redone, the old porch had been closed in, but left unfinished and would need to be turned back into its former glory or a sun room of sorts, the basement had been framed, but never completed, the kitchen and bathroom needed an overhaul and the other the basement would need a bathroom put in). Pretty much more time and money than I have, and more stress than I need.

The first one I looked at was a foreclosure. It was obvious the people were angered by that, as they had gone through the entire house and sprayed something bright blue and pink all over the carpets and some walls. It needed a lot of updating, appliances, a new fence, paneling removed from the entire house, new flooring, etc. It already has a contract on it though.

THEN..there's the one I really want. It is in much better condition. It has a 2 car detached garage with storage up above. It doesn't need much. I'd put in a few walls in the basement to make a 3rd bedroom, and office, and workout room (Part of that space is already finished, just need to put up walls to divide it). Eventually I'd put a bathroom down there too. The kitchen needs some painting and I'm not sure about the flooring choice. It's nice wood paneling, but it meets up with real hardwood floors that the rest of the main floor have. I don't think I like the real and fake right up against each other. It also needs appliances. The house needs a fence too, for the doggies, and the ac unit moved..as it's in the middle of the back patio...kinda bizarre. I looked at this house the day it listed and am terrified it will be gone by the time mine sells and I can make an offer.

The other options in town are either way out of my league and price range, in the ghetto, or are just falling apart. So, here I sit...waiting impatiently for some lucky person or persons to find my house to be exactly what they're looking for...so I can grab the one that will fit the bill for me.

Why can't life be easier sometimes? A little more money? A little more luck? A little less time wasted? A little more of a happy ending? I guess it wouldn't be near as interesting then. Hmmmm.