House for Sale???

We met with the realtor tonight to hear the sales pitch. He was very thorough in explaining how he came up with a price for our house. The price he is suggesting sounded acceptable - then the catch - the commission. We about fell out of our chair. Although we now the commission rate local realtor's charge, it wasn't until you see the rate equated in real dollars that it hits you like a ton of bricks. Bottom line, after the commission, we will have sold our house for less than we paid for it 10 years ago. Now I am no rocket scientist, but that doesn't make real good business sense. To say that we are disappointed is an understatement. Guess we will have to re-evaluate this whole thing and make some tough decisions. Should make for an interesting holiday weekend.

The Hometown Banker

We met with the bank loan officer last night to see about getting pre-approval for our new home. As I said before, this is my least favorite part of this process. We have banked with this bank for almost 20 years and have never had any problems with them. Not sure why I feel so uncomfortable going to the bank - well, maybe I do. Pardon me for my regression. My dad had a strong dislike for bankers - not personally, but professionally. He used to say, never trust a banker. Maybe that has something to do with my apprehension.

Anyway, back to last night. We met with Keith for almost 90 minutes. To make a long story short, he simply told us he would just mail us the pre-approval letter on Monday. That was it! Wow! I guess that is why we continue to bank with them. They make the process SO easy and painless! I did sense a hint of envy from him as we showed him our floor plans. I just hope this house turns out to be as nice as we are envisioning. Only one more step before we start digging - what is our current house worth. We will find that out on Wednesday.

Calling the Bank

We have banked with the same bank for almost 20 years. However, the thought of asking for money still causes me to break out in a sweat. I convinced Jo Nel to call the bank to set up an appointment so we could see about getting pre-approval for the house.

As I sat and listened to the phone conversation, it was like she was talking to a friend on the other end; school, work, kids, etc. We are meeting Keith at 4:00 pm tomorrow. Now to find the documents he wants - I think I put them in that pile over there!!!!

The Realtor is EARLY - UGH!

We have spent the last week breaking our backs trying to get our current house ready to show the realtor. With our busy schedules, we have just started piles in our basement with the good intention of taking care of it later. Well, later never came and now we are left with the results.

Pat Murphy was to come over at 4:30 today to take a look at our house. Both Jo Nel and I rushed home after work to do a few last minute items like vacuum and dust. I was in the middle of vacuuming the great room when the door bell rang. Crap - it is only 4:00 - they can't be early! Sure enough, they were early. Oh well, considering how much time Pat and Nancy actually spent in the house, they were not going to care if the floors had not been vacuumed in a couple of days.

Nancy jotted some notes about the house and they will go back to their offices and come up with a marketing plan, including what they think the house should be listed for, and meet with us next Wednesday at 4:00.

Next stop - the call to the bank!

The Price Tag

We got the news tonight - I think Jo Nel about choked when she saw the price Jay proposed. Considering what we are getting, I think it is a steal. His proposal includes the lot and he carries the construction loan. He was flat out honest with us saying he wants this to be a winter project for him and he is pricing it for us so we will build.

The next step is to talk with a realtor to get an idea what our current house will bring. Conveniently, Jay's brother is a realtor - kind of a package deal. Jay will have his brother call us to set up an appointment.

Our House

Very little has changed on our last revision and we both feel this plan will be our new house. We met with Jay again this evening to make sure this is the house we want him to build. We also decided to build on Lot 7. The house is setting at 2, 197 square feet on the main level. This is lot will allow us to have a southern exposure on the front of the house - nice for those Iowa winters where you want the ice and snow to melt off your driveway. Our next step is to have a formal proposal drawn so we know exactly what type of money it will take to build this house.

The economy continues to concern me (along with the fact that the U.S. Government looks to be in control of the Democratic Party). I struggle with building a house before my current one is sold but Jay tells me I just need to 'get over it' - thanks Jay - LOL.