con artists

You know, I told my realtor that I had a bad feeling about these buyers right from the beginning.

Sure enough, the day before the option period is up, they come back with a list of repairs (all of which were disclosed on the previous inspection report), asking for $15k.

The worst part is, 2 years ago my inspector noted some foundation movement and said that it didn't need repair, just to water and monitor. The most recent inspector noted the exact same foundation movement, but he said that it needs to be fixed. 

Judging from the way the initial bargaining went and my intuition, I think the buyers wanted to find something wrong so that they could get a better deal, and I think they made sure the inspector delivered just that. I really have a feeling that this inspector is crooked, not the foundation. I could be wrong, but it's what my gut is telling me.

There is no difference in the foundation in the 2 reports, just 2 different opinions. Of course the buyers are going with the opinion that gives them more bargaining room, and insisted that the foundation be "fixed," to the tune of $10k- cash at closing.

I want to tell these people to hit the road with their con artist demands, but the problem is, now that a "foundation issue" has been "identified," I will have to disclose it to any future buyers. Even if I get a third opinion who says that it's fine, that one person saying it needs work is enough to raise a red flag.

Essentially there is now a big fat scarlet letter on my property. Which means I either have to make an expensive deal with these people, or put it back on the market with "foundation issues" and everyone will run away.

Still negotiating, but it's going to cost me a huge chunk of money either way. These people fucked me.

 

I am so mad but at this point if I can just sell it and not have to deal with it anymore, it might be worth the extra money. 

cleaning tip

I have to share. 

I have a white comforter with a stain in the middle. Cat puke that sat for a while, eew. Then I washed and dried it before noticing that it left a stain.

I tried all kinds of things. Spray & wash, bleach, peroxide, etc. But nothing took the stain away.

Then I had a thought: You know how those zit creams with benzoyl peroxide will bleach your towels and clothes, if you're not careful? Well, that's exactly what I needed.

I rubbed a little bit of zit cream on the stain and let it sit for a while. After I washed it, the stain was gone. Awesome!

Friday whew

My stomach is bothering me and I'm out of CBD so I tried one of those edibles that we smuggled back from Vegas on our last trip. Well, about 1/20th of an edible. I'm so cautious about stuff like that. I'll be taking a personal drug test tomorrow and in the meantime, hoping that little nibble is enough to settle my stomach. I don't want to get high, I just want some digestive relief!

House/Relationship update:

I think it's odd that I've been keeping an eye on the real estate market since January, watching cute houses come and go in FG's neighborhood, but now, when I'm ready to buy one, there are NO houses on the market. What the hell. FG says the universe is telling me to move in with him. Not only would it be financially better for both of us, but I would get coffee in bed every morning. And when the mortgage is paid off in a few years we can get a lake house. Great plan, right?

Well, we had another talk about that and I openly aired all of my concerns. After our talk, I feel better. If I moved in I, he agreed that I can change whatever I want, redecorate, organize, make it more "ours" instead of "his," and he's ok with it. I can probably deal with that but I suppose we'll see what the universe has to say. 

Right now I would really like my own space and I don't really want to make Pumpkin (or myself) live with a dog.

BUT first- I have to wait out this option period. I've heard nothing since the inspections, and I'm trying not to get too anxious.

Work update:

I worked my last scheduled 5am shift and holy shit I'm tired. I hit a wall today. I can't do this anymore and I'm glad it's over, or at least I get a break. I have a couple of things scheduled for next week and then I'm hoping to get some office days. 

And THEN, I'm on PTO for a week and we're supposed to go to Key West. We considered rescheduling due to the covid madness, but things are opening up and we need a break. Even if we have to hang out on the balcony socially distant with grocery store wine, I think the change in scenery is necessary. 

Ok, I'm starting to feel more relaxed. G'nite.

brains

Hello.
Yes, I'm still a zombie. My sleep schedule is all over the place.
Working that 4pm-midnight schedule made for calmer mornings, but late nights and more lost sleep still suck. I do not adjust well! As it stands, I have 3 more 4am days scheduled for next week and then, just maybe, we might be done with this.

I accepted an offer on the house last week. It wasn't a great offer, but it was within the range that I said that I would accept. I've learned not to get excited until after the option period.
Inspection tomorrow, which normally means it's time to get nervous. I don't expect anything new to be wrong with the house, because the last inspection was only 2 years ago and the buyers have already seen it. However, this is when things typically get hairy. There is always something that comes up after an inspection.

I'm not stressing. Either they want the house or they don't, and everything can be worked out. If it's meant to be, by June 30th I will be homeless.

If not, then I'll be making my bed for a little longer.

little breather

I woke up so happy today... at 8am. The sun was shining through the curtains and I felt un-rushed and rested.

I have been waking up at 4am every day for the last... however many days. I feel like I've been a zombie, going through the motions of getting up and going to work and being tired all the time. I did not adjust well to that schedule.
Especially now because the house is on the market and before I leave everything has to be show-ready. At 4am. 4am. Did I mention 4am?

No, it's not over. I got myself shifted to a different schedule. 4pm to midnight, while not ideal, is WAY better than waking up early. Plus now I don't have to work Saturday. I'm hoping for a proper break but trying to rally because who knows how long this will last?

The short of it is, I hate this job right now. I'm ready to go back to loving my job.

The house. I had 1 almost-offer and 1 very low offer. Lots of showings, which surprised me because the market is still a little slow due to covid, but I guess it's picking up. Since I'm not in a hurry to sell I'm not stressing. The right person will come along. Now if I happen to find the right house for me, THEN I'll be in a hurry to sell. Not trying to have 2 mortgages here.

In the meantime, I'll keep making my bed and putting away my toothbrush and having faith that it will all work out.

Pumpkin had a UTI. She looked so sad and sick that I really thought she was dying, but it was all taken care of by antibiotics. The vet found a heart murmur and she's lost more weight, but she hasn't reached the point where she's obviously hurting or miserable. She still plays and seems happy and enjoys treats so, okay.

I'm going to go finish my laundry, make some banana bread, do some grocery shopping, and maybe take a nap before work.

a couple big things

Two very different vibes going on in my head right now.

First, I met with Helen the Realtor. We were discussing the market and how to price the house, and the current listings are selling for a price per square foot that would make me lose money on his house. Then we looked up what my old house sold for, and it sold for WAY above the average price per square foot at the time. Which is remarkable considering how much work it needed.

I said I had a good feeling about it and the angels might shine down on us again. So with that in mind, Helen said she wanted to list it ASAP, before the market picks up again. At this point in time, my house would be the only 1-story in this square foot range on the market. Yes, please.

So. My current scenario is to wake up at 4am, go to work, come home 9 hours later to continue making everything absolutely spotless and pack up every tiny bit of clutter.
Repeat.
Photographer comes on Friday, we want to list the house by next week.

I'm excited about this and I'm confident that someone will walk into this house and love it... and want to pay a lot of money for it.

The other thing is, this afternoon, in the midst of packing/cleaning, I happened to notice that Pumpkin was sitting on the rug by the door, motionless. I walked over to her, and sat down to pet her to see what was up. When she moved a little bit, there was a small puddle of blood on the rug. Alarmed, I grabbed a paper towel and mopped it up to be sure, and when she moved again and there was another bloody puddle. I found several more, along with some vomit, around the house.

Oh, Punk. I called the vet and am going to drop her off tomorrow. But first I had to call my boss because I'm expected to be at work at 5am and the vet doesn't open until 7am. Don't even get me started about that whole thing. Both he and the lab manager were sympathetic about me being late, but it would be nice to have some help when situations like this come up.

Here's the thing with Punk. I know this is probably a UTI that can be easily treated with antibiotics. But what's next? She's 17 years old and has kidney disease. She's lost so much weight that when you pet her, you can feel her backbone. Recently the vet said she was healthy-ish, and she seems okay and even wants to play most days.

But how do you know when the quality of life has declined enough to consider putting her down? She walks around meowing all the time and I can't figure out if that's her way of trying to tell me she's hurting? Or maybe she's bored? Either way, bloody urine was pretty shocking.

I don't want my sweet kitty to suffer and I've never been in a situation where it's time to put a pet out of it's misery. How do you know when it's time?