Isn't this like the 9th time?
Friday afternoon I found myself beating the dreaded 3pm slump by perusing the local MSL listings. Party because I'm nosey and partly because I've finally geared myself up to move and we aren't freaking going anywhere.
I feel like the family dog when someone accidentally says "walk." I'm ready to go, pacing back in forth with my moving boxes and no where to go.
It's the pits, really.
I clicked on the pictures of the house we loved and wished that somehow, someway, that the house would find it's way back to us.
Fast forward to a few hours later. Mr. Berg comes home from work and says "Oh hey, our realtor called. "
Could this be a sign I wondered?
"The sellers of the house want to know what number it will take to get the deal done."
Seriously?
Didn't we just give them our number and tell them it was final? Didn't they counter back with a ridiculous offer and we said no... final offer means final offer?
After a few beers, a couple of eye rolls and a long discussion with our realtor we decided fine, you wanna play the stupid game, we're all ready for you.
So on Sunday afternoon our realtor called their realtor with our new number. A number that was only a smidgen higher then our last number with the words "FINAL OFFER" stamped all over it it imaginary red letters. We even stood there as our realtor said "This is our final offer, we are not willing to accept a counter. We are done. It's this number or no deal."
Two hours later they countered back.
Exactly what part of final offer does this group of knuckle heads not understand?
So once again...... we shook our heads, walked away and felt the slightly less hurtful sting of disappointment.
Seriously people, what the heck?
(PS- While I'm still really sad. I have to keep in mind the following: 1. We have all the time in the world 2. Seller Man and his family- not so much 3. At some point the selling price will be out of the sellers hands. We already know the relocation company likes our number 4. We are very, very patient people...... (or at least Mr. Berg is, I'm good at faking patience.)
Monday, May 23, 2016
Thursday, May 19, 2016
We Walked....
Our sellers finally countered last night.
Countered with the most bull shit counter offer that was ever presented in the history of bullshit counter offers. I'm pretty sure even their realtor was embarrassed.
As we said before, we weren't planning to continue negotiations. We decided to hold our ground and have essentially walked.
I thought I would be devastated. While I am very, very sad, devastation isn't the word I would use. I haven't shed any tears. I haven't asked God why. Instead, I find myself being very quiet, while trying to process this whole situation.
The sellers could come around. Maybe in a few weeks we will find ourselves in a very different situation.
But for now, it's back to the drawing board.
PS- That other house we went to look at. SCARY! Sex dungeon in the basement, no lie!
Countered with the most bull shit counter offer that was ever presented in the history of bullshit counter offers. I'm pretty sure even their realtor was embarrassed.
As we said before, we weren't planning to continue negotiations. We decided to hold our ground and have essentially walked.
I thought I would be devastated. While I am very, very sad, devastation isn't the word I would use. I haven't shed any tears. I haven't asked God why. Instead, I find myself being very quiet, while trying to process this whole situation.
The sellers could come around. Maybe in a few weeks we will find ourselves in a very different situation.
But for now, it's back to the drawing board.
PS- That other house we went to look at. SCARY! Sex dungeon in the basement, no lie!
Monday, May 16, 2016
And So the Adventure Begins.....
There is a huge part of me that would love to throw in the towel on life right now. I'd love to run to my bed, pull up the covers, put on Bravo and hide until all this house stuff has blown over.
Right now, the situation regarding our bigger house on the hill is out of our hands. We revised our offer on Friday afternoon and our real estate agent consulted with their agent.
Since then it's been radio silence on the sellers front. Given the situation, it's not surprising.
Prior to our revised offer:
We had separate inspections of the roof and the decks. We consulted with our attorney, an engineer, a roofing company, a builder and our real estate agent. We've had a lot of conversations, done a lot of praying, conducted a ton of research and had 3 near nervous breakdowns.
We still love the house, but we aren't prepared to pay full market value for a house with "issues." Granted, all of these "issues" are repairable. However, we don't feel that we should be on the hook for the current owner's lack of maintenance. Plus, none of the "issues" we disclosed prior to our original offer.
A huge part of me is wondering exactly how the seller's agent is navigating this situation, seeing as it was her error. I'd imagine so major back peddling is being done.
To make it even more interesting, her granddaughter goes to school with Ryan. They are total BFFs. It made for an awkward exchange on Friday when we ran into each other. She has no idea how we are, I on the other hand, know a thing or two about her. #notherbiggestfanpresently
In the meantime a house on the side of town we live on just came on the market. It's nice. It's spacious and has a few amenities the "bigger house on the hill" does not. It's also not on a hill, surprisingly.
We've made an appointment to look at it tomorrow. Right now, I'm not sold. But I realize I can be stubborn. This afternoon I'll drive by it and will probably be stewing about it until I walk through it tomorrow.
Then I'll either be entirely in love with it or I'll be creating a list of cons in my head so long Mr. Berg will never get to the bottom of it.
Fun, right?
House shopping, what fun, what fun!
Best Case Situation- We hear back from our seller's agent today with news- either way.
We've already decided our revised offer is our final offer. No countering for this girl.
I will be devastated if we have to walk away. But I know that means something better will come along.
Worst Case Situation-
I'm just not going there. I want to close one book before opening the next.
Right now, the situation regarding our bigger house on the hill is out of our hands. We revised our offer on Friday afternoon and our real estate agent consulted with their agent.
Since then it's been radio silence on the sellers front. Given the situation, it's not surprising.
Prior to our revised offer:
We had separate inspections of the roof and the decks. We consulted with our attorney, an engineer, a roofing company, a builder and our real estate agent. We've had a lot of conversations, done a lot of praying, conducted a ton of research and had 3 near nervous breakdowns.
We still love the house, but we aren't prepared to pay full market value for a house with "issues." Granted, all of these "issues" are repairable. However, we don't feel that we should be on the hook for the current owner's lack of maintenance. Plus, none of the "issues" we disclosed prior to our original offer.
A huge part of me is wondering exactly how the seller's agent is navigating this situation, seeing as it was her error. I'd imagine so major back peddling is being done.
To make it even more interesting, her granddaughter goes to school with Ryan. They are total BFFs. It made for an awkward exchange on Friday when we ran into each other. She has no idea how we are, I on the other hand, know a thing or two about her. #notherbiggestfanpresently
In the meantime a house on the side of town we live on just came on the market. It's nice. It's spacious and has a few amenities the "bigger house on the hill" does not. It's also not on a hill, surprisingly.
We've made an appointment to look at it tomorrow. Right now, I'm not sold. But I realize I can be stubborn. This afternoon I'll drive by it and will probably be stewing about it until I walk through it tomorrow.
Then I'll either be entirely in love with it or I'll be creating a list of cons in my head so long Mr. Berg will never get to the bottom of it.
Fun, right?
House shopping, what fun, what fun!
Best Case Situation- We hear back from our seller's agent today with news- either way.
We've already decided our revised offer is our final offer. No countering for this girl.
I will be devastated if we have to walk away. But I know that means something better will come along.
Worst Case Situation-
I'm just not going there. I want to close one book before opening the next.
Thursday, May 12, 2016
Slightly Lost
I'm finding myself in a sad place lately.
For the past six weeks it seems that my little family hasn't been able to catch a break. From two ear infections, chicken pox, lost time at work, lost time spent as a family and the daily shuffle, things just haven't been easy for us Berg's lately.
A week ago today we thought things were looking up. We negotiated an offer on the "bigger house on the hill" and we making plans to move out of our little house on a hill. (Before you ask if we have a thing for hills, the answer is no. We live in Central PA, it's harder to not live on a hill then live on one) Hills, aside, all seemed to be falling into to place.
FAST FORWARD to Monday.
A 153 page disclosure agreement found it's way to our emails.
For those of you not up on real estate formalities, any and all disclosure documents are supposed to be presented to you BEFORE you make an offer. Not three days after. And certainly not with inspection reports from roofers and engineers declaring the roof in need or repair/replacement and the deck structurally unsound. And no, we weren't trying to buy a shed down by the river either....
It was a devastating blow to say the least. Suddenly the rug was pulled out from under us and we felt blind sided.
Even our realtor was shocked.
Now we are find ourselves scheduling separate inspections, reviewing quotes and trying to find a way to come to an agreement on what the next steps should be.
We're sad, we're down trodden and we're preparing to walk away from a home we really, really saw a future in. It's shitty, it's just plan shitty.
For the past six weeks it seems that my little family hasn't been able to catch a break. From two ear infections, chicken pox, lost time at work, lost time spent as a family and the daily shuffle, things just haven't been easy for us Berg's lately.
A week ago today we thought things were looking up. We negotiated an offer on the "bigger house on the hill" and we making plans to move out of our little house on a hill. (Before you ask if we have a thing for hills, the answer is no. We live in Central PA, it's harder to not live on a hill then live on one) Hills, aside, all seemed to be falling into to place.
FAST FORWARD to Monday.
A 153 page disclosure agreement found it's way to our emails.
For those of you not up on real estate formalities, any and all disclosure documents are supposed to be presented to you BEFORE you make an offer. Not three days after. And certainly not with inspection reports from roofers and engineers declaring the roof in need or repair/replacement and the deck structurally unsound. And no, we weren't trying to buy a shed down by the river either....
It was a devastating blow to say the least. Suddenly the rug was pulled out from under us and we felt blind sided.
Even our realtor was shocked.
Now we are find ourselves scheduling separate inspections, reviewing quotes and trying to find a way to come to an agreement on what the next steps should be.
We're sad, we're down trodden and we're preparing to walk away from a home we really, really saw a future in. It's shitty, it's just plan shitty.
Thursday, May 5, 2016
Helen & Me
I have never meet Helen Anderson, but I'd like to think we're in the same boat.
Having walked through her house several times before offering to buy it, I noticed the similarities between us.
We are both moms of small children, we both drive SUVs, we both share an affinity for pottery barn, Zulilly, Kiehl's products and Home Goods. We both graduated for Virginia Colleges, we value our family and our kitchen drawers are remarkably well organized.
We have similar tastes in paint colors, shoes, cleaning supplies and from what I can tell, we both have a secret stash of candy hidden out of view of our kids.
My heart goes out of her. Six weeks before Christmas her husband's company promoted him. While the promotion, I'm sure, is awesome. It also meet moving from small town PA to San Diego, CA. Since January she's been on one side of the country with three small girls while her husband is on the other side waiting for their arrival.
That CANNOT be easy.
What also isn't easy is being married to a man that loves to make a deal. How do I know? I'm married to one too.
The two of them have been battling it out for the past two weeks. While I have full faith in my husband, the stressed of offers and counter offers and deals on furniture, etc. have given me headaches and tummy trouble. I'd imagining Helen is feeling the same while.
While I'm sure she's hoping to make good money on the home she's loved for three years. She is probably also looking at the calendar, counting down the weeks left of school and realizing summer break is fast approaching and the opportunity to relocate with a sold house hasn't.
I'm stressing over moving across town. She's stressing about moving across the country.
I sure hope she has access to wine and Xanax.
Like me, I'm sure she was ready for more negotiating from the man cave and pep talks from her realtor. Our realtor and I were prepping for the long haul. Dave was prepping to rage war over bar stools.... yes, you read the right, BAR STOOLS.
Thankfully, the wheeling and dealing had to wrap up early when the talk of another offer forced both our hands.
We wrapped up negotiations in record time and ended up exactly at the number we were hoping for.
Everyone walked away with a sense of satisfaction.
I'd also like to think while our husbands were busy congratulating themselves on being master of the universe, Helen and I were sitting at our kitchen tables pouring a glass of wine and making detailed lists regarding our up coming moves.
So there you have it, we're moving!
Having walked through her house several times before offering to buy it, I noticed the similarities between us.
We are both moms of small children, we both drive SUVs, we both share an affinity for pottery barn, Zulilly, Kiehl's products and Home Goods. We both graduated for Virginia Colleges, we value our family and our kitchen drawers are remarkably well organized.
We have similar tastes in paint colors, shoes, cleaning supplies and from what I can tell, we both have a secret stash of candy hidden out of view of our kids.
My heart goes out of her. Six weeks before Christmas her husband's company promoted him. While the promotion, I'm sure, is awesome. It also meet moving from small town PA to San Diego, CA. Since January she's been on one side of the country with three small girls while her husband is on the other side waiting for their arrival.
That CANNOT be easy.
What also isn't easy is being married to a man that loves to make a deal. How do I know? I'm married to one too.
The two of them have been battling it out for the past two weeks. While I have full faith in my husband, the stressed of offers and counter offers and deals on furniture, etc. have given me headaches and tummy trouble. I'd imagining Helen is feeling the same while.
While I'm sure she's hoping to make good money on the home she's loved for three years. She is probably also looking at the calendar, counting down the weeks left of school and realizing summer break is fast approaching and the opportunity to relocate with a sold house hasn't.
I'm stressing over moving across town. She's stressing about moving across the country.
I sure hope she has access to wine and Xanax.
Like me, I'm sure she was ready for more negotiating from the man cave and pep talks from her realtor. Our realtor and I were prepping for the long haul. Dave was prepping to rage war over bar stools.... yes, you read the right, BAR STOOLS.
Thankfully, the wheeling and dealing had to wrap up early when the talk of another offer forced both our hands.
We wrapped up negotiations in record time and ended up exactly at the number we were hoping for.
Everyone walked away with a sense of satisfaction.
I'd also like to think while our husbands were busy congratulating themselves on being master of the universe, Helen and I were sitting at our kitchen tables pouring a glass of wine and making detailed lists regarding our up coming moves.
So there you have it, we're moving!
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Exactly How Many Shoes Are Going to Drop?
In the past three weeks my family has gone through:
- One children free vacation
- One 10 month old with a nasty ear infection
- One Grandpa with a has on shingles, who gave......
- One 11 month old a nasty case of chicken pox
- 5 missed days of work between 2 parents (mostly just one but we're not keeping score... apparently)
- One In-Laws Visit (they brought me a free sewing kit an ambulance company was giving away as a promotional item..... don't ask, even I don't know)
- 2 Successful Swimming Lessons
- 3 Trips to the Pediatrician for one kid
- 1 first time dentist trip for the other kid
- 4 sleepless night
- 3 house showings (more on that in a few minutes)
- A stomach virus for one parent
- A toe situation for the other parent
- One 36th birthday celebration
- and about a million missed appointments, workouts, unreturned emails, forgotten about grocery list items and money spent on emergency baby sitters
Whew...... whirlwind much.
And to add to all that fun and excitement and stress (so much stress) we're putting an offer in on a new house and putting ours on the market should such offer be accepted.
Because all of that goes so quickly and easily normally (ha!)
New house is significantly bigger then our little house on the hill and is in a better school district. Not to mention it's got a finished basement, two living rooms AND a huge play room. Oh and a awesome laundry room complete with wall lockers and build in cook book shelves.
(and obnoxious blue toilets, sinks and tub surrounds but that's fixable when you're a plumber)
Friday, March 11, 2016
Good For The Soul
Last Friday we woke up to freezing rain, snow and both major highways in our area shut down due to major accidents. This morning we woke up to fresh air flowing through out open windows and birds chirping their good mornings to the rising sun. Spring decided to give us a preview this week and it's been so good for the soul. I know I've felt a little lighter, a lot brighter and refreshed.
As of tomorrow I'll complete the first set of workouts in the 3rd phase of Jillian's Body Revolution. It hasn't been easy but dare I say, it's been an enjoyable challenge. I've certainly pushed myself to go harder then I've ever done before. I'm loving the results. While I'm still about 6-8 pounds above my pre-babies weight, my clothes from the time period are fitting and I'm able to wear almost everything in my closet again. Yes, things fit differently now, but they fit none the less.
Right now I'm nursing a sore wrist. I don't think I did anything damaging to it. I think it's just tired and a little over worked. The Body Revolution has been incorporating a lot of planks in weeks 9 and 10, so there's certainly a contributing factor. That and Mr. Berg broke his wrist in February and has been wearing a fancy brace. (They don't cast adults so much anymore, don't ya know?) With the brace comes restrictions especially when it comes to picking up the kids and holding 23 pound Jacob for long periods of time. I'm sure the combination of the two has something to do with it.
All in all, I feel as though I am in a better place then I have been in some time. The mid day workouts are provided the mental break and physical challenge I need to push through the rest of the day. I have tons more stamina and I'm sleeping so much better. I'm not waking up in the middle of the night and I'm not longer waking up achy and sore. Well, sometimes I'm sore but a good workout sore, not a bad night's rest sore.
This little life change of mine- so very, very good for the soul.
As of tomorrow I'll complete the first set of workouts in the 3rd phase of Jillian's Body Revolution. It hasn't been easy but dare I say, it's been an enjoyable challenge. I've certainly pushed myself to go harder then I've ever done before. I'm loving the results. While I'm still about 6-8 pounds above my pre-babies weight, my clothes from the time period are fitting and I'm able to wear almost everything in my closet again. Yes, things fit differently now, but they fit none the less.
Right now I'm nursing a sore wrist. I don't think I did anything damaging to it. I think it's just tired and a little over worked. The Body Revolution has been incorporating a lot of planks in weeks 9 and 10, so there's certainly a contributing factor. That and Mr. Berg broke his wrist in February and has been wearing a fancy brace. (They don't cast adults so much anymore, don't ya know?) With the brace comes restrictions especially when it comes to picking up the kids and holding 23 pound Jacob for long periods of time. I'm sure the combination of the two has something to do with it.
All in all, I feel as though I am in a better place then I have been in some time. The mid day workouts are provided the mental break and physical challenge I need to push through the rest of the day. I have tons more stamina and I'm sleeping so much better. I'm not waking up in the middle of the night and I'm not longer waking up achy and sore. Well, sometimes I'm sore but a good workout sore, not a bad night's rest sore.
This little life change of mine- so very, very good for the soul.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)