The POD is delivered
We expected a much smaller footprint. Larry even wanted it on the southside of the driveway. It wasn’t until the deliveryman had it sitting smack in the middle of my driveway, that it occurred to me I couldn’t get my car out of the garage. Apparently he deals with homeowners like me frequently. He cheerfully moved the POD back onto the street so I could remove my car. Sorry fella.
The whole process was so amazing, I took photos.
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The POD arrives!
Like everyone else in the world, I too lament about the really cool business ideas I wish I would have thought of…first. FedEx, Kinkos, Starbucks and PODS.
We had a POD delivered today. POD is an acronim for “Portable On Demand Storage”.
They deliver a POD which is a big storage unit to your home (or site) and you fill it up with stuff. They then take it away and store it for you or take it to your new location. You unload it, they return and take it away.
Needless to say we have a lot of stuff. The house will look so much nicer when all the stuff is in the POD. So this weekend I will put un-needed stuff in boxes.
We are going to donate a lot of stuff too.
Anybody want some stuff? 
WOMG!
Now we have to put our house on the market.
While living in it.
Every Realtor should be required to move at least every 3 years. We tell people how to do it like it’s easy.
It’s not.
We have been planning this for a long time. Last summer we had the exterior painted, not just because it really needed it, but because we wanted the house to be ready to sell in the spring.
We also had the roof inspected. That was a good thing because it needed minor repair. Funny thing the guy who we told to come out and repair it came out. Only problem he repaired the wrong house.
We got the bill, Larry paid it, but I questioned, “what did he do?”. Larry called and through that we determined he fixed our neighbors house down the street. Geeze, and we didn’t even get a Christmas Fruit Cake from them!!!
The furnace got cleaned. I had the tree guys come out and cut back the forest. WoW! Did that every make a difference. Our home was once the builder’s model, when they did the landscaping they truly over did it. Now mature it was obsuring the house. It was one of those expenses that I wish I would have made a long time ago. The results were amazing.
Thankfully all that preparation is complete. Now we have to deal with the interior.
My painter was available within 2 days! The guys are now painting away.
Even though the trend is color right now, I am painting Navaho White. It’s the same color I’ve been using for years. It’s easy, it’s plain. I know it’s not the current trend, but it will give a new owner a clean palate to work from.
I hope they like it.
Seeing the light.
Our offer was so good and so fair. The seller was acting out of emotion and not reason. They wanted $2000 extra for the refrigerator.
Tell me where do you buy used refrigerators for $2000? OK, keep your refrigerator plus pay to have it shipped across country.
Duh.
Days passed. We began to feel ambivalent about the transaction. There are soooo many homes on the market.
Not ones that fit our needs.
We rewrote. Upped the price slightly, kept the dates and the refrig.
This time they signed it and had it back well within the time frame.
Done deal.
Seeing the light is good.
Treat all offers with the dignity and respect they deserve.
The Offer
After a couple days of thinking about the townhome we were both convinced it would be a good move for us. Now we had to figure out how to do it.
Just like unRealtor people, we were not ready. OK, so we didn’t heed our own advice. We have a house to sell and it’s not on the market.
We didn’t want to make the offer contingent upon anything, so we got a loan in place without having to sell. We prefer to sell our home, but if we don’t we will rent it, no problem.
The offer was made basing the price on current sales, no contingencies. Only thing we were asking was for a 60 day close date. That I know was not what they wanted, but then they didn’t have any other takers at the moment.
It should fly.
It didn’t. Like a typical seller, they had a non-contingent offer, but they countered with a first right of refusal.
Huh?
What is it about no contingencies do you not understand?
The listing agent said, “they just wanted to throw that in.”
OK, but it didn’t make sense.
NO go.
Bikes for sale
For Sale:
2 Special Edition Odyssey Bikes for sale.
Special heavy duty road bikes built by Raleigh (an American Bike Manufacturer).
Slightly used. Highly Experienced.
Traveled the world in 2000.
47 Countries, 6 Continents.
Great companions. Come complete with more memories than I can remember.
Cost: Priceless.
Sorry, I can’t sell my Odyssey bike.
A Gravity Well
I always tell people they will know the house when they feel “it’s pull”. After you have looked at enough homes, may that be 2 or 20, you will know the one that is right for you by the way it feels.
The townhome was feeling very right for us. It meet most of our needs, it was only lacking a 3rd garage.
OK, do we really need to store 7 bicycles and all that other assorted junk?
I think not.
We can keep 4 bikes. The rest must go.
Score!
While the 2 story was still strong on our minds, I stopped by an open house at a Lone Tree Townhome.
It only had a two car garage, but I have always loved the brick exterior of this complex. In the past we have shown units that came up, some were better than others, but they were always different.
This open house was the best I’d ever seen. Mountain view, big kitchen (a little dated with a tile countertop), walks out to a great patio. Formal dining room, with a tray MIRRORED ceiling (that’s gotta go), 3 fireplaces, great room, den with a bar. Master suite actually had a view of the front range, two walk in closets, fireplace and a sitting room. The downstairs was a walkout onto a deck with some nice landscaping.
Humm.
It really felt good. I called Larry, he was actually within the neighborhood so he cam right over.
He felt the same way I did. It felt good.
A Contender
Larry found a real contender today. It’s a two story that backs to open space. It’s in Highlands Ranch, which ok because it’s still close in. The home has really good “bones” and lots of very special upgrades.
The kitchen is spacious, but it has white cabinets. As much as I don’t care for the cabinet color, the house has so many other redeeming features I’m ready to over look this negative.
The other hesitation was the small secondary bedrooms. My office would be so tight in one that I figured I’d need to spread out and use two bedrooms.
OK so this one was close, but not perfect.
Too bad, the sellers must be motivated, within a week they already had a price reduction.
Searching for a Home
Larry has bought into the moving thing more than me. I figured it would happen when it happens. I wanted to finish a redo of a website before tackling the move thing. Focusing on two different things at one time has never been one of my strong points.
Each week Larry has set appointments and taken me along to see a house.
We eliminate them based on various factors, mostly they just don’t meet our needs.
Big houses with tons of space we won’t use, for big prices.
I’m beginning to think we should build on our own.
That thought gets dismissed quickly. Neither one of us have time to devote to that. Our energy from work is used up on a daily basis, adding another dimension would wreck havoc on our lives.
No thanks.
This site brought to you by Kristal Kraft, a licensed Colorado Real Estate Broker