Saturday, July 25, 2009

Update on progress towards full-timing Part 10

It has been quite a whirlwind since my last post!

We started interviewing Realtors the week of July 13th and talked with the wife of someone I used to work with on Thursday, July 16th. We clicked with her so good that we decided we did not need to interview anybody else so we signed with her the very next day. After signing she took pictures and video for the ad and went to her office to put the listing online. While she was putting the listing online she got a call to setup a showing on Sunday morning. We spent Saturday mowing and weeding to make sure the outside looked good and we had more things to do when we got a call from the scheduling service that a showing would be in less than an hour. We needed to take our showers since it was getting close to time to go to Mass so we asked for an hour and 15 minutes later which was OK to the interested parties. While I was taking my shower we got another call from the scheduling service and another couple wanted to see the house at the exact same time. They waited in the driveway while the first couple was there. We went to Sam’s Club to kill a little time and then to Mass turning our phones down. Leaving Mass I checked my phone and there was a message from our Realtor saying one of the couples wanted to see the Seller’s Disclosure statement which indicates high interest. This info is supposed to be online but there was a glitch. Our Realtor gave permission for the agent to go back into the house knocking first in case we were there since there were two copies of the home info with disclosures in the binder on the island. We were to put a copy in between the locked front door and unlocked storm door after we got home. When we got home one of the packets was missing so we thought he might have been there but put one in the door anyway. Shortly after we got home we got a call and were told there was an offer and our Realtor was on her way.

The first offer was not all we wanted so we countered and they had until 5p the next day for the counter since by now it is about 9:30p on Saturday. We did not budge much due to the short time on the market and the incredible interest. On Sunday they countered back and we countered and then they countered. With the house on the market less than 24 hours and the incredible interest we decided to hold our ground and sweated out a few minutes before we got the word they had accepted. We feel very happy with over 98% of asking price and we are paying none of their closing costs. We close on September 4th and they take possession on September 7th pending a successful inspection and appraisal and financing on their part. They have been pre-qualified and are getting a 15 year loan so without asking for any help on closing costs we think financing should not be a problem.

We signed the contract for the house sale on Monday. We had already spec’d out the fifth wheel and were already in the queue for it to be built but the formal order was received in the mail on Monday which we had to sign and get back to the dealership in Michigan. Offline for the fifth wheel is expected the week of August 31st meaning we may be able to do our inspection of the fifth wheel before we close if we can get there and back. We then drove to a Ford dealer and ordered our Ford F-350. Delivery time is between 6 weeks (week of August 31st) and 8 weeks (week of September 14th which is the week we have flights to Denver). On Tuesday we interviewed Estate Sale people and set that up for August 27-30. We also called Extended Stay places and reserved one. Although we could stay here in one of the bedrooms we would have to be out every day from 9a-6p while they are setting up the sale (August 17-26), running the sale (August 27-30) and cleaning up for a few days after the sale. A few days would be OK but more than 2 weeks would not be fun so we will go on a mini-vacation. On Wednesday I reserved a slot in the RV park south of here. Estate Sale, extended stay, RV park are of course all dependent on the timing of the house sale.

That is assuming that the inspection at 3p on Friday, July 24th does not torpedo the deal. We thought we were told it takes about 2 hours so we gave them 2 and ½ hours but they were still there. Now they were walking out the door when we drove by but they were STILL there. We started freaking out so we called the guy who was filling in for our agent since she was on vacation and he said he would call the buyer’s agent and call us back. The buyer’s agent said the inspection went “pretty well” and that he would get the Inspection Report on Saturday and meet with the buyers. We may hear on Saturday or at the latest Sunday the 26th.

If the inspection does not torpedo the deal, which we think it won't but you never know, we will begin deciding what goes with us on our mini-vacation and the rest goes into storage until we can move it into the fifth wheel.

It will be hectic over the next few weeks and stressful until we hear about the inspection but we know it will all be worth it and cannot wait to start full-timing.

Til next time!

Bob & Jo

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NOTE: See our photos from places we have visited at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobandjotravel/sets/

Monday, July 13, 2009

Update on Progress to Full-timing Part 9

Although we still have a few things to work on before the house is shown by Realtors we have taken a some huge steps in our progress towards full-timing. We have finished everything that needed to be done before we called the two couples who already expressed an interest in the house. Well we have called them, one couple said they would like to see the house and we will try and set that up early this week and one couple said no that the thought of a move was too overwhelming so no.

Achieving this milestone made us realize it was time to pick out our new home. After an exhaustive search of units already at dealers determined that none of those had the options that we needed, especially dual pane windows and extra insulation since we will be full-timing, we have decided to order a brand new unit. Dual pane windoews and extra insulation have to be done at the factory and usually are only put on units that are ordered. We have selected a 2010 Carriage Cameo F35SB3. For 2010 Carriage has made options we were going to buy anyway standard with the Cameo and with no price increase a 2010 could be cheaper than a comparably optioned 2009 so we are happy about that. We are currently getting bids from 4 dealers and will choose the dealer this week that provides the lowest cost for our new home delivered to an RV park near here. We will not be getting our tow vehicle, a Ford F-35o dually diesel, until our home sells. A couple of the dealers are a fair distance away but are very competitive in their pricing so this should be interesting considering the added cost to deliver the unit. We plan to live in our new home while the Realtors are showing our old home. We are low maintenance people and the hassle of keeping the place clean and not worrying about the cats getting out if we are not there. Plus we figure it would be best for prospective buyer to not see liter boxes and wonder about pet odors, etc. Ordering a unit instead of getting one off of the lot that takes 6-8 weeks may force us to live here for awhile, but hopefully only a short while.

While all this has been going on we have compiled our list of Realtors and will begin calling them this week to setup appointments. We also want to talk to one Auction company and explore that possibility. Depending on what advice the Realtors offering for further staging, or for the need for professional staging, will determine when the house goes on the market.

We do have to correct an earlier posting, the one dealing with the end of an era for airline flights. We have a trip planned to Denver in mid-September that we originally thought was going to be after we were full-timing and more importantly after Bob had some experience driving the rig. Since it took longer than expected to get the house on the market we will not have the tow vehicle by mid-September so we are taking good ole Southwest to Denver and staying in the Hampton Inn.

Since we are in a mad dash to get the house sold and our new house ordered we can now guarantee that any travel related posts (Albuquerque, Clearwater Beach, etc.) will be after we move into the 5er.

Till next time,

Bob & Jo

You can subscribe to this blog posts and/or comments by making selections under 'Subscribe To' or you can join the yahoo group which will notify you whenever a post is made, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bobandjotravelblog/,

You can also signup to be a Follower of this blog.

NOTE: See our photos from places we have visited at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobandjotravel/sets/