My last update was about the house that I really really like...5 acres on the creek and near a runway. I little more on that...a couple weeks ago I found out the owners were coming to town again and going to be listing their house for sale with an agent on a Tuesday at 11am. I was excited. My father-in-law told us they were "desperate" to sell the house this time. So I was thinking, "Sa-weet!"
I wanted to know what they were going to ask for it this time...(Reminder: it was $500k last winter, $440k last April, then $400k last summer, and it's been off the market since about September or so.) I called and spoke with the man and he said they were going to be listing it at $400k. Inner dialog: "Uh...wait...rewind...I thought they were desperate? Yeah, that's what Chet said they said...ok so maybe they're just starting high to give them some wiggle room." I asked if he would consider a lower offer before listing, since real estate fees would have been about $25k. He said he figured they would end up getting about $370k-$375k for the house... That to me meant if our offer was $370-$375k...then offer away, before they're listed.
So I told Mike and he agreed that that was a little bizaar for being desperate. Their 2009 tax amount and assessed amount are not in yet, so we couldn't see if it went up or not. Ours and others in our area lost about $6k in value. No biggie. Mike said, well, offer $325k and see what happens. I was stoked to even be in the position to make an offer. It was informal, because they weren't listed with the agent yet. The guy had given me the home phone number so I didn't have to call their cell long distance. I called the house at about 3pm on Monday or so and left a message saying I wanted to talk to them about the house. They didn't call back Monday night. So I figured, either they were busy, out with friends, or didn't want an offer since the next morning they were going to be listing.
Tuesday morning came...my mom and the girls and I were heading out the door when I realized my phone was dead! I was spazzing, thinking I missed their call...and this was about 8 minutes before 11 (the time of their apt. with the agent). I quickly plugged my phone in the van and turned it on, only to find I didn't miss any calls or have any voicemails. Bummer dude! So we went shopping and while we were out, I got a call from the man. He said they listed it for $400k. I said, that Mike and I would like to give you an offer to think about, and offer for $325k. He quickly and with a bit of a scoffing tone said, "No, I'm not interested in that amount. Have a good afternoon." I said you too.
That was no where near the outcome I was hoping for. Though we did accomplish letting them know where we stand when they really do get desperate. They have our phone numbers as well as our offer starting point.
I looked up on the Alaska Real Estate website and found something that just made me giggle...this same thing happened last summer. The real estate agent's page has the same error. It has pictures from the house next door (the other one they own, that was for sale at the same time last year.) Though the virtual tour is correct, the initial pictures you see are all wrong! One the real estate agents page, even the first picture is wrong...on the AK Real Estate page, it has the right front view, but all other photos are wrong. Good for us...bad for them. We'll see what happens.
We are signing papers tomorrow to refinance our house from 5.125% to 4.8% APR...this refinance is taking us back to 15 years again, but we're paying off my student loan...which still had a HUGE chunk left to pay, and it was at 5.55%. That alone will free up $385/month, and our payment will be about the same...maybe within $100 less that what we were paying. God is good...no...God is great! Praise God for providing for our family. We're getting a good hold of our finances, and desire to use cash to pay for everything...perhaps using the envelope system...at least on computer program I have called Money Map Software.
Have a blessed day, check back soon...I have another blog to post, just don't know when I'll get to it.
-Stephanie
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