Random 5 for January 3 – House sales, buyers, neighborhoods, holidays, mice

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It’s not real until the sign goes up – The “for sale” sign went up on our house on Saturday. I hate the selling process. Somehow I feel so cheap with a sign in my yard!

But then – About an hour later a car stopped in the front and for ten minutes checked out the house. Not sure if they were trying to access data on it. As far as I know it’s not on the internet yet. Since I live on a cul-de-sac road with no through traffic, I took it as a positive sign. When I was house hunting I would do a drive-through in neighborhoods where I wanted to live. Sure hope they have a big bank account. I couldn’t tell by the car. I was a black SUV-looking thing.

A fond adieu – We have new young neighbors on our street that moved here at the end of summer. When they heard we were going to sell, the husband told the beloved husband they are hoping for young people to come in and change the neighborhood. Yep, let’s get out all the old people! We don’t care. Come with a nice check and it’s yours.

A not so fond adieu – The holidays are done. Our house is pretty with the mantle decorated and the tree so I might keep them up for a few more days. When they come down they will be transported to the new digs. The holidays were bizarre this year. We decorated somewhat but not too much. People can’t get together so most of what we did was pack or watch Hallmark movies. Even this introvert craves people. What? I may have to take curmudgeon lessons to get back my snip. I wonder if they have those on YouTube.

Source: Google

Mice – From time to time we get mice. Cute little critters with big eyes. If I don’t catch them, the cats bite off their teeny tiny heads. There is a basement area that is blocked off from cat entry. We have storage there. As I was pulling down a box from the top shelf, a load of mouse poop landed on me. We have had no sign of mice since the fall but I’ll be sure to clean it up before prospective buyers come through. Our property backs up to a water retention area (that rarely gets water). It gets pretty overgrown so we get lots of critters. Our home takes an outdoor person who appreciates the privacy and the critter visits. There is nothing more beautiful than watching a fox family come through for a drink at the pond. As I was enjoying their last visit, papa fox grabbed one of my well-fed squirrels for breakfast. I wasn’t happy about that but it’s the circle of life.

So how was your week?

 

 

51 thoughts on “Random 5 for January 3 – House sales, buyers, neighborhoods, holidays, mice”

  1. My cats both came dragging in mice in this year. Argh! Friskie let hers get away before I could get to her. Misty had a dead one about a week later. I am hoping it was the same one, otherwise I have one still loose somewhere.

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  2. I can’t imagine how odd it must feel to have people “checking out ” your house, and yet, you can’t sell it without that step. Once you’ve made the transition we’ll send up a flare of congratulations.

    Our week? Oh nothing much! We are 10 months under what I have come to call “house arrest,” so I’m as boring as dried oatmeal. But all is well. Staying home does keep us rather conflict-free!

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    • During these times it’s beyond odd. During normal times it’s stressful but at least you can go out for dinner or shopping while they are violating your space. We’ve been going to the new house to eat fast food! 🙂 Dried oatmeal? Yikes!

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  4. Yes, a yard with a little bit of privacy and critters is a must for me! How boring to just watch humans run around. Animals are more fun to watch. I have a fat squirrel that visits me at my window now. I think we might become friends. I would have to swipe at your fox. Hope your new home has critters to welcome you.

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  5. You’re moving right along with moving and house-selling preparations. Good for you.

    I think we do have foxes in WA, but I never see them. They’re beautiful creatures. We’ve been having more coyote sightings this year.

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  9. I have a strong feeling that your house will sell quickly. I haven’t been house shopping for a long time but I love to snoop around open houses. It’s amazing the mess some house are in – both from clutter and bad layouts. Yours is beautiful

    We live in an older neighborhood too. Whenever a house goes up for sale, I think “I hope someone our age buys it.” Then, I remember that people our age aren’t buying 4 bedroom homes with yards. Oh well, we were once the younger couple in the neighborhood.

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  10. Hope the house sells fast for a ton of reasons namely so you can be done with the selling process. My friend who sold her house in November had an interesting issue. A neighbor who wanted it for her daughter put a cash bid in with the stipulation that the offer went up $1,000 every time someone else bid. She got it, and my friend got bonus cash over the asking price.

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    • I never heard of that but then again there is a lot of different techniques going on right now. When we were looking there was a deadline to put in your best offer. The seller had several offers and would decide at a specific deadline. House sold over asking price.

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  11. I hope you get a quick offer, Kate. Before the holidays, our neighbor listed their house. There was a bidding war the first twenty-four hours. The “winner” made a cash offer well over the asking price, and the sign came down the next day. Let’s hope any mice lay low until you’re out!

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  12. When we first moved in, our neighborhood was almost all older couples and it was so quiet (when school was not in session). I loved that. But young families have taken over. I’m grateful my son had playmates, especially when he was in preschool. Now, though, they’re just plague vectors!

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    • When we moved in almost everyone on our street and many in the development were our age. We had progressive dinners and parties. Loved it! Then they started to move as they aged out of the larger homes. At this point There are two couples our age (that we know) still living in a two block area. No parties and no dinners. Our former neighbors live at the new neighborhood and it’s middle-aged people on up. They have said it’s much more socially active. We’ll see. I don’t have the screened porch but I do have a very lovely deck and huge beautiful windows on the east and west sides of the house.

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  14. The “drive-by” of a possibly interested home-buyer is a GOOD SIGN. I hope you don’t have to wait for an offer too long. It’s always nice when things fall into place especially a move. I moved a lot in my younger days but I must say I will dread the next move whenever that is. It used to be easy to pack, move boxes, clear out all the detritus we tend to collect in our “nests” but don’t want to transport to a new home…….our next move will be the last. Some sort of continuing care/independent living combo probably. Fingers crossed for the sale Kate!!!!!

    Hugs, Pam

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    • My next move will be in a pine box! The longer I spend packing the more ruthless I become in tossing. There are some things that I wonder why I have kept this long. We considered an over 55 community but in our area they are outrageously expensive and full of restrictions. Four cats is over the limit. Deal breaker!

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  15. If I were a betting gal, I’d wager that your next post will be about a bidding war for your house!!

    Funny about the mice story – well, not funny for you, of course, but just this morning I quipped to hubby – Hey, good news about 2021 so far – it’s a mouse-free year!

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  17. Good luck Kate! Wish we were in a position to find somewhere else without having to sell first. Had we known the healthcare here was so abysmal, we would never have moved here. We love the town, love the people and neighbourhood, but our GP surgery lets it down. We’re hoping for new management!

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    • We thought it was funny and I’m sure they didn’t mean it the way it came out. They have a new baby and a toddler. We don’t have many young people here as the price point for houses is high. Our next door neighbors are young (30-ish) but the other young folks have at least their oldest child in college. No need for admiration. It’s been very stressful and I wouldn’t do it again.

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  21. Well, we had no mice poop but we did have a huge Sandhill Crane fly over the house and pool cage and let go a load. It was amazing… it covered an area from the roof of the house, over the whole top of the screened cage where it managed to splat an almost artsy blob in the pool and then dribble down the other side of the screen. I mean, what could it have possibly eaten and why didn’t we take a picture of it?
    I hope the black SUV was driven by young people that loved your house and that they do bring you a very nice check so you can get to your new house and get on with life!!!! You are going to be so happy to get settled! I know about the circle of life but I don’t like it. We quit naming our squirrels on the Tiny Ten when the owls and hawks kept using it for an open buffet. Good luck, Kate. I hope you get a call very soon!

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      • It never occurred to me that a load of bird poop would come through the fine wire mesh screen. But now we know that is totally possible and I’m sure it won’t be the last because we are in the flight pattern of the Sandhills. We find new interesting happenings every day. Did you know that wild boars roam the neighborhoods in Florida and root up a whole yard in one night? They do. Especially if you are surrounded by a Preserve.

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