We listed our house on a Saturday and started showings Monday. Sunday afternoon we’d had several friends over for lunch and had a family drive up thinking we were having an open house. We had a good laugh and I told them to call the realtor for a scheduling when they asked to see the house anyway.
We had several showings Monday and Tuesday. A few people were interested but didn’t have financing or chose not to make an offer. Wednesday we had 3-4 showings scheduled starting at 2:30 in the afternoon. It started to rain sometime during the night and rained all day long. Now, I don’t know how much you know about living in the sticks when it rains, but the roads turn to slop. Like off roadin’ mud truck tires kind of slop. Not only that but no one wants to walk around 7 acres in the pouring down rain. I was pretty discouraged and thinking we were wasting our time with ANY showings that day.
None the less, we headed off to my in-laws with dogs, kids and my computer in tow so I could work that afternoon. As a side note…wet, muddy dogs in a mini van with kids smells exactly as bad as you think it would.
Kerry met us at the farm after work for supper and we hung out until the last showing was over around 7:30 or so. It rained all evening. When we left to come home we were both feeling so discouraged. We had hoped we’d have an offer by now and the weather was so miserable no one was going to want to buy the house after driving on those muddy country roads.
We were in two cars coming home since Kerry had driven out straight from work. I always drive a little faster so didn’t think anything of it when he was behind me a bit pulling into the drive. Then he sat in the car while I got kids in the house. And he continued to sit there and sit there. I’m thinking “He must be listening to a really great song”. When he finally came in he said “That was Ron (our realtor) we have an offer on the house and another one that should be coming tomorrow”.
Ron said he’d spent an hour or more walking the pasture in the rain with one of the couples who’d looked at our house. His words may have been “I’ve never been that wet unless I was taking a shower”. He also said that we’d be getting a written offer within the hour. It would be for what we’d hoped to get with the understanding we’d close in 30 days.
I think I was shaking when he told me. I was excited and grateful…then the panic started to set in. Pack, organize, and move 10 people and clean out the shed in 30 days…while working a full time job and managing the usual household stuff. I was a giant ball of overwhelmed, slightly terrified excitement.
