moody peach » Blog Archive » in which we almost sold our house and moved

Six months, 32 showings, and two price reductions later… we finally sold our house. Considering the crappy local housing market, it was a great offer, just barely under our last asking price. No more long commutes for George, and NO MORE HOUSE SHOWINGS! We were Pittsburgh bound at last!

BUT. The offer was a bit less than we still owed on the mortgage, so we signed the contract under the contingency that we would be able to secure money for the remaining balance. It was just a formality, in our minds. Our agent had calculated an estimate before we reduced the price a second time in July: We knew we had more than enough saved up to cover the balance, plus our part of closing costs and her fee as the agent.

What we did not know was that the total amount we needed to bring to the table, with all the bank fees and taxes and such, would end up being ALMOST TWICE the amount of that initial estimate. It was too much. And we didn’t want to use up the rest of our savings (which is meant to be used towards a down payment for our next house) or put ourselves into more debt (since we’ll be paying back George’s law school loans for a long time yet) to make it happen.

It was over before the first box was packed. Not just with this particular buyer, but Altogether Over. Because if this is the best offer we can get right now, we can’t sell the house. Period.

We are pulling the listing. We are not moving to Pittsburgh. And the worst part is, ALL THAT WORK– the endless cleaning I did from weeks 20 through 38 of my pregnancy, even with a pulled abdominal muscle, and then afterward with a newborn… all the late nights and lost weekends… all the long commutes on George’s part… all the sacrifices we made as a family and, most of all, the sacrifices the kids were forced to make with us… it was all for nothing.

George will probably look for another job back here again. We will continue to save up and make a couple more upgrades to this house, and in two years (God willing) we will be in a great position to sell again for a MUCH better price. Meanwhile, on the bright side, we will have time to find our Dream House. But it will be here. If we can’t move now, while Oliver is just starting first grade and before the other two kids are in school, we will stay in Ohio.

And I can’t put into words how we feel… how paralyzed, how humiliated, how devastated.

We wanted so badly to make Pittsburgh our home.

We came so close.

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16 Comments so far

Oh, Melissa…I’m so sorry to hear all of this
Allison´s last [type] ..Giving Up

Oh Melissa, there are no words that I can say other than I am so sorry this happened. Hugs to you.

I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine the frustration and exhaustion you are feeling after all of that. Hoping your new direction helps you find some peace.
Michelle´s last [type] ..1,000 posts and what do we get?

Oh, that makes my heart hurt for you. So sorry.

Oh, gosh, that stinks! I am so sorry!
saly´s last [type] ..More Pregnancy Minutiae

I’m so sorry to hear this. I cannot imagine the grieving process for you all.

Oh crap. This totally sucks, Melissa. I’m so sorry.

I don’t think you need to be humiliated…I mean, what kind of estimate is a full 100% off the final amount? That sounds crappy to me, on their part.

Sending big hugs to you.
Janet´s last [type] ..girl names up for grabs

oh Melissa! HOW was that agent so terribly off in the estimate of cash needed? That’s terrible! And NOT your fault at all- no need to feel humiliated, seriously. What a terrible mess, all of this. I am so sorry you had to go through this whole year of crap to get… nowhere. And it STINKS that you’re not coming here!

Giant hugs. xoxo
Jen´s last [type] ..pocket full of posies

I’m just so sorry for all the hassle and sacrifice that you have been through. It is heartbreaking to have a dream fall through. I’m sorry, friend.

NO! This is crap. You have no reason to feel humiliated. You were screwed over by a very bad estimate.

You have no earthly idea how horrible I feel for you and your fam right now. Praying for you!
Mel´s last [type] ..Recipe! Fattoush!

So sorry this all happened. Hopefully something else better will come around. In the meantime, go enjoy that beautiful family of yours!
Becca´s last [type] ..Tax-Free Weekend

Oh my word. I asked Jen to keep me updated on your move. When she sent me a txt yesterday about the house sell fell apart I had no idea it was that EVERYTHING fell apart.

Heartbreaking, heart wrenching, disappointing are the only words I can come up with… Your dreams and plans are done with one fell swoop. And then to think about all that work for nothing! I… I can’t even imagine how you feel right now. You take your time to mourn this loss. No matter what else you’ve lost this year and the magnitude of this one compared to your other losses, it is still something that is gone from you.

Although we won’t be able to live close physically, you’ve been in my prayers and heart for a while now. I will pray for peace about this for you. And happiness at your current home. And that George finds something back in Cleveland (or Youngstown, or somewhere reasonable!) quickly! Oh Melissa, I am so upset that this happened to you.
Andrea´s last [type] ..I’m now one of Them.

[...] decided to quit being down about not moving to Pittsburgh this year because there are a lot of reasons to be glad we’re staying. Here are my top ten: 1. We [...]

[...] I didn’t want to decorate until we moved; in the meantime, I dreamed about it. But of course, things turned out differently than planned, and we were right back where we [...]

[...] and wall decor to fill the holes and paint over them before we put our house on the market. Things didn’t work out as planned, but we left the walls mainly bare, figuring we’d try to sell again in early 2013. Now it [...]

[...] of our bedrooms on the internet! telling everyone when we finally got an offer and then explaining why we’re still here!—well, it’s a bit humiliating. But everyone has been incredibly supportive and that [...]

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