No word from the people who saw the house yesterday, so I'm assuming that means they aren't interested. Today when we left for the showing we went to get lunch. When we came back at 12:50 the realtor and her agent were here and already in the house. They stayed until 1:30! So that makes me think they must have liked it. We saw them when they came out. It was a mom with two little kids (a baby and maybe a 2- or 3-yr-old). I can't imagine that she'd have stayed for 40 minutes if she wasn't interested. But for now I can only wait. We have one more showing scheduled tomorrow afternoon at 3:00. I'll update if I hear anything else from any of them.

Keep us posted and try, TRY to relax.
I know, easy for me to say...

Our realtor e-mailed yesterday. The people he showed the house to on Friday liked the house and the neighborhood but aren't ready to make an offer. They just started looking in this area and ours was the first house they'd seen, so there's a chance we'll here from them later on if it doesn't sell soon. The ones that came yesterday liked it. They are going to look at another house in our neighborhood that has the same floor plan without the renovations we've done. Ours was converted to 5 bedrooms, the other one is still 4 bedrooms (but is listed as 3 bedrooms plus a den). The two houses are the same age, but ours has been completely updated, theirs has not. Our pool is 3 yrs old, theirs is older and the deck needs resurfacing. Their yard is nicer, and they have a tile roof which some people really like, and they have a hot tub which we don't. But theirs is also about $25K more expensive than ours and is on a main road (more traffic). So it kind of depends on what the family is looking for. It's encouraging to me that they are interested, though. I'm also anxious to see how the showing today goes. This is the family who drove over from Orlando to look, drove thru our neighborhood and saw the sign and called our realtor. I don't know if they're looking at other houses in the neighborhood or not, but they seem pretty interested in ours. Pray for an offer from someone, and soon! My husband has to call our builder in Texas by this evening to give him an update. We're pushing the limits on time on our contract there. We have 60 days to close so we're fine there, but we have to choose our options within the next week or so and pay 25% down on those. Once we do that, the 25% is non-refundable if we have to pull out for some reason. So we really want to have a firm offer on this house before spending that money out there. Originally they wanted us to order options by Dec. 20, but he hinted that they might give us an extension. Hopefully that's what my husband will find out when he talks to him today. We don't want to lose that house, but also don't want to lose the 25% down on options (which could be as much as $5K, altho' probably not that much).

Okay, we ended up with TWO showings today. Our realtor showed it to the guy from Orlando (and it was just one man, not a family) and another realtor called at noon to schedule a 2:30 showing. I don't know anything about that one. But we saw our realtor and the Orlando guy go into the house at 3:00. At 3:20 we saw them drive up to the other house in our neighborhood that is our competition (and had an open house today). We came home, thinking they were finished here, but another car was on the driveway so we left again. I'm assuming that was the 2:30 showing just running a little late. We came home again at 3:45 and everyone was gone, but the Orlando guy's car was still parked on the street (he had gone in our realtor's car with him). Around 4:30 they came back and sat out there talking for quite a while before they both left. I haven't heard from our realtor yet, but I'm hopeful. While we were driving around waiting we went to the open house and my mom and daughters went in to check out the competition According to them, it is no competition at all, not nearly as nice, and smaller, and has some major repairs that need to be done. I'm hoping we hear from our realtor tonight so we'll have an idea of what this guy thought of the house.

I got an e-mail from our realtor this morning. He has not gotten feedback from the 2:30 showing yesterday. The guy he showed it to liked the house and thought it was a good value, but his wife is sick with the flu and was not able to come. They are planning to come back later in the week when she is well to look at the house again. So that sounds really good, but means we have to wait some more. I have not heard any more from the ones who were going to compare our house to another in the neighborhood, or to the guy from earlier in the week who said he liked it but had to get financing. But that is at least three possibilities. AND we have another showing, #25, scheduled for today at 12:30. Lots happening here! I just hope one of them turns into an offer very soon!

We have another showing scheduled for tomorrow morning. This will be #26. We're still waiting to hear back from #20, #22 and #24. The rest were not interested for one reason or another.

Okay, the people who came on the 9th (I think that was #22) are coming back tomorrow for a second look and the buyer is bringing her father. Please pray, especially tomorrow around noon, that this goes well and they make an offer (preferably a good offer ) The people from Orlando (#24) still haven't called back, and the guy trying to get financing (#20) still hasn't gotten it, so that doesn't sound very positive. But #22 sounds really good! I'll let you know how it goes.

I got another note from my realtor tonight. We may actually have two showings tomorrow. #22 coming back for a second look, and a new one, which would be #27, I think. We're supposed to get a call in the morning confirming the times, but they are tentatively both coming between 12:00 & 2:00.

Okay, #22 came back for a second look. This time it was three adults (husband, wife & grandparent) and two older kids. They were only in the house for about 5 minutes, but our realtor said they were coming on someone's lunch hour so I don't think they had a lot of time. I'm hoping they had pretty much made up their mind and this was just a chance for the rest of the family to see the house before they make an offer. I guess we'll find out soon enough. I'm praying an offer comes in tonight!

We're getting very discouraged with this! #20 never got his financing, so it doesn't look like he's going to. #22 came for a second look but we haven't heard a thing from them since. Our realtor tried to contact theirs over the weekend but got no answer. He's going to try again today, but he thinks if they wanted to make an offer they would have contacted him by now. #24 said he was coming back when his wife got well. That was 8 days ago and we haven't heard a thing, so it isn't looking good for him either. No one else has expressed an interest. We did find out that another house in our neighborhood that was part of our competition sold the end of November. I guess that's good, since it's one less house to compete with. But other than that, we're getting discouraged and wondering if our house will ever sell! We did get good news on our house in Texas. As long as we sell this one by the end of January, we will still be able to have that one built but we don't have to pay anything down on the options until we sell this house. They will go ahead and begin construction, so the 4 months waiting time begins now. If we don't sell this one in time, they'll just sell "our house" out there to someone else But at least we have another 6 weeks or so to get this one sold. If we have a contract but can't get to closing on time, they will extend it another 30 days, so that's really good. We just have to get this one sold!!

I am praying for you. Have faith, God will bring the right person to buy your house!

Well, we still have not heard back from any of the people who expressed an interest in our house. But, today we had another showing! I've lost track, but I think this was #27. They called about 1:30 and scheduled the showing for 2:15/2:30. They didn't actually get here until 2:50, but then they were here for a looooong time! We saw them go into the house at 2:55 and they were still in there at 3:20. We drove around the neighborhood again and came back. They were outside then, but another car was there, too. It looked like a mom and daughter that came with the realtor, then a man in the other car (I'm assuming that was the dad). So I'm thinking maybe Mom liked it and called Dad to come see it. That would be nice! They stood in the yard talking for probably another 30 minutes. We finally left the neighborhood and drove further, then came back 30 minutes later and they were gone. Hopefully we'll hear something from them or their realtor in the next day or so.

Well, another disappointment. Yesterday's lookers don't want the house. Actually, she did, he didn't. They weren't looking at it as a home, but as an investment, to resell in a couple of years. He didn't think they'd make enough off of it, I guess. We had another showing today, #28. I don't know anything about it, except it was just a man by himself with the realtor. Maybe another investor? We'll see. Our realtor wants us to do more to the house to make it show better. Repaint a few rooms, maybe take out a wall we had added, maybe change the laundry room/garage back the way they used to be. We're going to paint, but not sure yet how much we can do beyond that. My sister (also a realtor) suggested that instead taking out the wall, we put in double doors, giving the option of closing it off or opening them up. I like that idea better, and then we don't have to redo the flooring like we would if we take the wall out completely. I think we're going to get estimates on having that done, and the garage redone, then make decisions from there. We'll start painting in the next day or two and at least get that done before my hubby goes back to Texas. It's all vey discouraging!!

I'm not feeling great either which doesn't help at all. I don't feel sick, I'm just exhausted all the time. I think it's the medication making me sleepy. I sleep well at night, but wake up still feeling tired. By mid-day I can hardly keep my eyes open. Not a good thing when we get a call at 1:30 and they want to show the house at 2:30. It's hard to move fast getting things ready when just walking is a chore! I'm hoping my body will adjust to the meds, but if I'm still feeling this way after Christmas I'm calling my doctor again.

Thank you all for your prayers. Please keep it up! It's what keeps me going some days, just knowing people are praying for us. This will happen, I know it will. I just need it to be soon!!

I got a glimmer of hope this morning. The guy from Orlando (#24 I think) is still interested. His wife was sick when he came over to see the house, and then he got sick. He's started his new job (which is over here and the reason they are moving) and they hope to get back over to look at the house together next week, after Christmas. So that means more waiting, but at least they're not out of the running yet. No word on yesterday's showing. All the others have pretty much dropped out for one reason or another. The Orlando couple was the one we had the most hope for, so pray they make it over next week if not before, and that they both like it! In the mean time, we looked at paint colors last night to start repainting our son's bedroom and our room. We hope to get started on that this weekend, so maybe we can get it done before the Orlando couple come back. We'll also be getting estimates on some work we might have done (unless they come and make us an offer before we have to do anything!)

I e-mailed my sister, who is an RN, about how I've been feeling. She said it could be the blood pressure medication I'm on, and my body should adjust to it in the next week or so. In the mean time I just have to be careful and move slowly so I don't get dizzy and fall (which has almost happened a couple of times). So I have an excuse to NOT hurry all the time I just have to keep reminding people "I can move slowly, or I can fall down. I choose to slow down." Maybe this is God's way of forcing me to rest more.

I got an unexpected call from our realtor. A military couple looked at our house back in September. At that time they were just looking, not ready to buy. Apparently they put an offer in on another house, and today their deal fell apart. They are in temporary housing now (on base) but said they have to be out by January 2, so they are scrambling to try to get into another house by then. I don't know if that's even possible! But they may be coming back for a second look, and if they put in an offer (and assuming we accept it) things could happen really fast!

Also, the Orlando couple is still interested, just not sure when they can get back over here. This may hurry them along, though, if they know they have competition. I'll let you know how things go (if I have time!)

Still no word from the military couple or the Orlando couple, but we had another showing today (#31). This one was totally unexpected. Our realtor called at 10:00 and wanted to show the house at 11:00. This is a guy who was over here on business from Clearwater, which is about 3 hours away (and just happens to be the city I grew up in and that hubby and I were married in ) They were here between 11:00 & 11:30 and then our realtor called us a short time later. He said the guy likes the house and plans to come back later this week and bring his wife. If she likes it, we may be getting an offer. Nothing firm, but at least there is hope. In the mean time, hubby is painting and I'm cleaning everything in sight! I told my husband while we were out (we took the girls to lunch during the showing) that I hope our realtor realizes how rare it is for a house with 4 teenagers living in it to actually be clean the day after Christmas! But ours is, so we were ready for them. I'll let you know if we hear any more from them.

Still more excitement! We had Showing #32 this evening. I got a call at 4:45 and they wanted to come at 5:30. Thankfully we hadn't had time to mess anything up since the earlier showing. I don't know anything about these people, except the same realtor showed the house on the 23rd. I don't know if it's the same client or not.

I have wonderful news! We sold our house!! Our realtor e-mailed the offer to us this evening, we counter-offered and e-mailed it back, and he called us within 10 minutes to say the buyer verbally accepted our counter-offer!! We go to closing on January 5 (yes, that's right, ONE WEEK from Friday!). The movers are coming January 3 & 4, and we should be on the road by the 6th and arrive at my sister's house in San Antonio on the 8th. I am SO excited!! Obviously we have a TON of work to do in the next week, so I probably won't be on here very much. But I'll check in now and then (when I need a sanity break ) Thank you all for your prayers!!

Congrats! Cheryl