The "More Later"

We almost sold our house this weekend.  Almost.  But that moment has passed and it looks like we'll be landlords in the end after all.

Early last week, our realtor called with some very compelling comps for our area (it was sobering to realize just how much values have dropped since the middle of last year - and our pricing - and maybe our pride -  has always been a little too far behind the downward curve), convincing us to reduce the price of our house several thousand.  And it worked.  We had a second showing Tuesday night (someone who'd looked months ago), a third showing Thursday morning, and an offer by Thursday afternoon.

Thursday was our tenth anniversary and Jeremy and I had plans to have dinner together that night.  But it was also the first test flight since Jeremy's arrival - what he came here to do.  Despite knowing all too well (from our time in Korea) how unpredictable a test flight can be, we forged ahead with our dinner plans.  Jeremy went into the control room - where he has no way to contact the outside world - around 2 p.m.  I didn't hear from him again until 7:30 p.m.  In that time, the offer on the house came in (several thousand below our new price), a friend came to pick up Gideon, I got all dressed up, and I spent hours pacing, wringing my hands, worrying about submitting a counter in a timely manner and wondering just how long I'd have to wait to talk to Jeremy.

To make matters worse, I couldn't seem to get in touch with anyone - not one soul - over the phone.  Neighbors, family, our realtor.  All were tied up, unreachable.  Basically, it sucked.  I felt very, very isolated and alone.  By 7 p.m., I'd given up on dinner and headed to my friend's house to pick up Gideon.

Negotiations continued on Friday, but mid-afternoon, we got word that the buyers we'd been scrambling to accommodate by the buyers' incentive deadline did not, in fact, qualify for the incentive (she's a realtor, so I still have a very hard time believing she didn't know already they didn't qualify).

We lost all sense of urgency after that, but they didn't and by Sunday morning, they'd submitted an offer than matched our last offer Friday.  We had everything clarified and agreed to by yesterday (Monday) morning.

But it was too late by then.  You see, because the relocation company Lockheed uses will actually sign as the seller on the contract, all of these negotiations were verbal.  Once a verbal agreement is reached, the buyers sign a contract that goes to the relocation company and they sign.

So since it was all verbal, even though we'd agreed to all of the buyer's final terms, they could still rescind the offer, which they did yesterday afternoon, no other offer proffered.  We tried a last-ditch attempt, which was rejected late last night.  I think they've completely lost interest or just do not have the money to follow through.  Either way, they're done.

And so are we.  I'm not sure why now, but it appears we are meant to keep this adorable, cozy little house just a little while longer.  And hope that someday in the not-too-distant future the market will allow someone else to see all that it has to offer - what a fabulous neighborhood it's a part of, what a great home it can be; it certainly was for us.

Until then, I guess we'll be renting out the experience.