If you read my last blog, you know that my kitty cat and I have been stressed. I've lived in Columbus for fifteen years. It's twice as long as I've ever lived anywhere else. And, my kitty has been here for a decade. (Also, longer than I've ever lived anywhere.) But, life happens and situations change.
It's time for a move.
I've been thinking about this for a while. I started searching for places late last year. I considered around the area where relatives live about an hour north. I absolutely hate the largest city in the area, but I considered smaller communities. I couldn't find anything I liked. So, I expanded my search. Much to my surprise, the places I liked the most were in Mt. Vernon, Ohio.
Yep, I found about six homes that I really liked. I was looking for a place big enough to be converted into a duplex. (I thought rental income would be very helpful in my life.) But, as I piddled in my decision making, five of the six homes were either sold or tied up in contingency from other buyers. It came down to one house, and it happened to be my favorite among the six.
If you have ever been to my home, you'd know that most of my furniture pieces are antiques. A lot are from my mother, but I've picked up a truckload or more of them on my own. They will all fit very well into a Victorian home built in 1900 in the historic section of town. It is really beautiful.
There was a drawback. Photos on realtor websites can be deceptive. The rooms were not a spacious in real life. There wasn't enough space to divide the home into a duplex, and it appears that is against zoning regulations. So, I almost scratched the place off of my list. This particular home didn't have a garage, but it had an old carriage house in the back. It's a carriage house with space for my car, a garage junk storage location, and room upstairs for a rental unit.
I found my place!
The owner accepted my offer, and I was given until the end of March to sell my condo in Columbus. That's not as much time as I would like since it took my home in Belgium about nine months to sell. But, I had a good realtor, and we were going to give it our best try.
Of course, events like this are rarely stress-free. This was no exception. One morning, my realtor called and said, "We have a situation."
Those are not words you want to hear.
Fortunately, the situation wasn't about my place. It was about the home in Mt. Vernon. More specifically, it was about the carriage house. Recently, Central Ohio experienced the fiercest winds I've ever seen here. And, it wasn't just in Columbus. The winds were in Mt. Vernon, and they blew a giant tree over. It smashed in the middle of the carriage house, knocking it off its foundation. The insurance company claimed it as a total loss. Very fortunately, it was insured and the building will be rebuilt. Very fortunately!
I'm so very glad that it wasn't currently under my ownership when that happened.
Meanwhile, back in Columbus, there were several Open Houses scheduled with very limited success. Not many people showed up. On two other occasions, realtors who were also buyers came to explore my home. I spoke to one of the men, and once he met me, we had to go back into my place for a retour. My home isn't like normal habitations. I have souvenirs from around the world. I've been told on multiple occasions that I should sell museum tickets upon entry. This man loved my stuff. He would have been more inclined to make a bid if I would have tossed in half of my furniture.
That wasn't going to happen.
So, as I marked off days on the calendar, not enjoying limbo one little bit, I wondered if the place would sell. Last week, I received a call that a realtor wanted to visit my place and would be there in ten minutes. That was barely enough time to catch a cat, stuff a litter box in the garage, and mop up the bathroom floor. In fact, there wasn't enough time for mopping. I just sprayed the room down with a whole lot of air freshener, grabbed the cat, and fled.
On this occasion, it was the same man who wanted to buy the furniture. I figured that a second visit was a good sign. I was right. Twenty minutes later, my realtor called to say that he wanted to meet with us and make an offer. A lot of my "limbo stress" was lifted. Relief, not joy, was the main thing I felt.
Stress was not lifted completely. The offer came on a Thursday. We signed papers immediately on the spot. Then on Friday, he called the realtor to renegotiate the contract. (I guess he didn't understand that a signed contract is a signed contract.) He said he didn't want to offend anyone (which he double did). There was no further negotiation, but he was still interested.
The next step, I have learned, was paying a $500 earnest deposit within three days, with the actual signing and transfer set for the end of April. The deposit was due first thing Monday morning. It didn't actually happen until the end of the workday on Tuesday. So, my "limbo stress" was justified.
However, I haven't been wallowing around waiting. No, I have been busy taking down the museum. I don't know how many things normal people put on their walls, but I've had to plug up over 100 nail and screw holes. Yes, I have treasures from around the world. Lots of treasures. Many go up on the walls, even more take up space in shelves and display cases. I plan to move the more fragile things personally and have a moving company take care of the furniture. Some friends want to form a caravan and bring the fragile items to Mt. Vernon in order to see the new museum location. The move may be in very early May, but I'm already close to 75% done with my packing. I have a few more crates to pack and several more holes to plug. I've learned that the big holes take a couple days to do properly. (Plug them, sand them, plug a second time, sand once again, and check to see if they need more filler.) Fortunately, the buyer will repaint the condo in whatever colors his wife selects. It doesn't matter what the walls look like as long as they are smooth.
Hopefully, this all works out as planned and I get the home I want. Originally, I thought, "If my place doesn't sell in time, then it must mean that I'm supposed to stay." However, now that I've taken down the museum, I'm out of here. It'll most likely be Mt. Vernon. If something goes haywire, I will live in limbo until this place sells and continue my search.
I'm not installing the museum again in this condo.
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After eleven days, my buyer cancelled the sale on me. Not only did I lose the sale, but I lost the bid on the house I wanted in Mt. Vernon. Now, I have mo limbo.