One year on the market

for anyone who has been following our story in a friendly, caring way....here is an update. any others....just don't read this! it's as simple as that.

on june 1, 2008, i put my condo on the market at $125K. my realtor assured me that the property would sell within 60 days. that price was smack in the middle for comparable properties in this area, and i had the nicest unit available in my area.

it was sure to sell RIGHT away, he said. his boss had said so.

on july 12, 2008, dave and i got married...still having absolute faith that my place would sell, because the condo market had not yet crashed.

in august of 2008, however, condo sales in the chicago area were reported to have suddenly dropped 80%.
there was news all over that the condo and townhome market was tumbling exponentially fast, and that the value of this kind of property was plummeting faster than a bowling ball tossed off of the roof of the Sears tower.

by august of '08, i had not had ONE showing on my property, and my realtor had not done half of the things he had promised to do, so, with the news at hand, i fired him.

(he was a long time friend, so this was a very difficult and painful process for me)

he had not yet hung a key box in the lobby (building rules-no keybox on the unit door), he had not come by to take photos, he had not put a flier together, and his internet ad was incomplete, and did not even indicate the price of my property!

so i called to complain about him, and, as a result.... i hired his boss.

we did the first price drop at that time. she did all of the things he had promised, and not done, ON HER FIRST DAY.

i got a lot of showings all at once, because she put together the virtual tour, she hung the keybox, and she put out fliers.....but the one person who wanted to purchase the property (immediately after i hired the new realtor!) had to go FHA, and FHA won't give a loan when someone wants to purchase a condo that has an ASSOCIATION.
(show me a condo complex WITHOUT an association! there's no such beast, that i know of!)

months passed, showings came and went.....then, four months with not ONE showing, despite multiple price drops. no one was looking at real estate anymore, my new realtor said. friends said this to me, too, after reading their local papers, or talking to their neighbors.
i knew i was not alone!

then, in march of '09, the showings started up again, but still, there were no offers.

ALL of my financial hope, and most of my "net worth" is sunk into this condo.
to not be able to recover that money has been extremely stressful, and difficult.

not nearly as difficult, however, as having to live apart from my new husband.

this has been a year of pure, unadulterated hell, for the most part. anyone reading this who doesn't GET THAT, i implore you to refrain from comment. (the one person who came from the Radio Paradise site, and left a comment on my blog, is probably laughing out loud right now. he/she is calling me names, and trying to think of something witty to say..but, i beg you, keep it to yourself, because until you have walked in these moccasins, you have NO FREAKIN' IDEA of what this has been like!!!)

i have now dropped the price on my property as far as i can. from $125K to $105,900.

the last price drop was 2 weeks ago, and i took another HUGE dip of $3K all at once ( i did that once before, and got a flurry of showings).

not.
one.
call.

$3K drop, and no one came to look. no one. does anyone have a clue what that means, or how it FEELS???

at this point, i literally cannot take an offer below $104K, and still be able to afford to sell this place.

if i go any lower than that, i will LITERALLY have to take out a fuc*king LOAN to pay for the closing!!!

do you understand what i am saying, here?

a year has passed, and the only thing that has happened is that the value of my property, the ONE THING in this world that was supposed to be a stable investment, has completely vanished.

i know that i am among thousands, in that regard. i do not claim to be unique in my situation.

but i do feel that there is an aspect of my situation that is NOT all that common: the one in which my property ownership is forcing my husband and me to live 800 (or so) miles apart from one another, holding on to nothing but faith that things would work out for the best, somehow.

there are those who have advised me to abandon my investment, and my property, and claim bankruptcy, and throw away EVERYTHING that i have worked for, for love.

i'm sorry. i understand the romantic appeal of this, i really do!! but my daddy didn't raise a stupid woman.

i am a true romantic at heart, believe me, but i simply cannot justify throwing away EVERYTHING i have worked so hard for!! i can't justify ruining my financial standing, and that of my husband.

my vulcan blood boils at the thought...."it is not logical!"

so, two more days on the market, and we reach one year.

dave and i agreed that, at the one year point, i would have to abandon hope of selling, and start to look for a renter.

i don't want to be a long distance land lady, and i don't want to entrust my precious investment to a total stranger, who could trash it, and further deplete it's already non-existent value!!

but there are no more choices left.

things have not worked out for the best.

but renting the place is the next step. no more options remain.

as of june 1, 2009, we start looking for a tenant. my brother in law told dave (but not ME) that he would be the local contact person in charge of this property.

i guess that means that when the tenant puts a hole through the wall, or breaks the balcony railing, or puts a shoe down the toilet, my poor brother in law will come investigate.

i hate putting a family member in that position, but, at this point, the only way to protect my investment AT ALL is to take the road i have dreaded, and not wanted to take, from the get-go: becoming a long distance land lady.

while some have advised me to jump ship and throw everything away, others have assured me that keeping the property, and renting it out, could be a GOOD thing.

all i can say is, i sure as hell hope you're right.....because i have no faith in that idea yet!

but...here it comes.

Long weekend

I am still, after 4 weeks, dealing with sinus issues. I was thinking maybe it was allergies, because it's just not going away.

Copious amounts of discharge, that reminds me of eggwhites. Ew.

So, I tried taking some drug store allergy medicine. No change.

Sigh....

The cold sores are mostly healed. They got so very ugly and widespread that people did, indeed, stare at me, and make comments like "What the hell happened to you?"

When I'd answer, they'd say things like "OH! I thought maybe you fell on your face or something," or "Geez---I was gonna ask how the OTHER guy looks!"

The scabs are peeling off now, but the size of the red patches is shrinking. Trading one version of ugly for another. But at least the outbreak is overwith, for the most part.

Been trying to catch up on sleep this weekend. Friday night, into Saturday, I slept 11 hours. Last night, it was 10 hours.

The trouble last night was that ALL of my dreams were nightmares. I hate it when my daily anxiety seeps into my dreams.

In other news, I will be seeing bridezilla today for the first time since the wedding. There's a gem and jewelry show we go to almost every year on Memorial Day weekend.

I didn't go last year because I was not spending ANY money on anything but my wedding.

This year, there is no wedding to plan, and May has a third pay period, so I can actually spend a little.

The social dynamic ought to be interesting. My co bridesmaid and good friend P will be there, too. That should make things more pleasant.

Tomorrow, no plans.

I DID actually get my guitar out yesterday! I had not had it out for MONTHS. Maybe even a year. It felt good to play, for about 2 minutes....then....ouch! I want to get back into playing, though. It's good for me, and is something that has also been showing up in my dreams a lot lately.

It will take me a while to build up stamina, strength in my left hand, and callouses.

I've done it before, a thousand times, since I got my first guitar at age 10, though!

A friend of mine is a musician, who writes her own songs, and is trying to get some material together to record her first cd. She's mostly a coffee house performer, but wants to get more serious about it. She invited me to play mandolin on one of her recordings!

That means I have to get my chops back (not that I ever really HAD actual "chops!"), and since guitar was my first instrument, I am starting there.

Oh, and last but not least....after my THREE THOUSAND dollar price drop, not ONE phone call.

An end

The virus is at an end, so, of course, this means that now, my nose is completely covered in cold sores.

Big, painful, ugly cold sores. Quite honestly, the worst outbreak I have ever had IN MY LIFE. The entire external surface of my nose, on the left, is covered. All the way up to where my glasses sit.

Both nostrils are ringed on the outside, and on the inside, and at the base of each nostril. In all, there are seven patches of blisters, the largest being the one covering the left side of the nose.

I have never had cold sore pain like this before. It's excruciating, and radiates up into my eyes.

And I cannot begin to express how ugly they are, and how much uglier they will get. People will stare. Literally.

Great. As if suffering with a bug for THREE WEEKS wasn't enough. Oh well, at least it's finally gone.

Minor congestion left, a little of that deep, rattle coughing. But, at least now, the coughing doesn't wake me at night.

I still sound like a life long smoker when I cough, but it's happening less often.

Changes in the home selling efforts include another 3 thousand dollar price drop, and an increase in the commission to the agent who finds a buyer. This is truly the last ditch effort.

I can't go any lower and still sell.

Looked at other units in the complex with my realtor, and mine really is the nicest. All of the ones we looked at were either not updated at all, or only partly updated, and all of them had visible damage of some kind somewhere.

My place does not. It's only partly updated, too, but it seriously was the nicest one of the lot.

Got confirmation yesterday that one of my parents' surviving friends has passed away.

She and I exchanged cards and notes, and I drove past her house every day on my commute.

I had noticed lately that the name was gone off of her mailbox, and that her car was not in the drive anymore. I had not seen her out at her mailbox, or at the grocery store, for a long time. Weeks.

Then yesterday, a card in the mail from her grand daughter.

I recall a picture of my parents, and her, and her late husband....when they were young, and wild, and beautiful. Before kids. Before illness, and age, and death. Before everything....

Holding martinis, dressed to the nines, and smiling into the camera...all glamorous and polished and happy.

I choose to remember them all that way.

(note to my brother....it was Vi. Mike died a while back.)

What IS THIS???

I can't remember ever being THIS sick for THIS long in my life.

It started with a fever and a raging sore throat on April 27th, and it continues into today.

There has been laryngitis, there has been a treated secondary sinus infection, there has been dry, spastic coughing, and loose, rattling coughing. There have been sleepless nights, sweats, fevers, and missed work.

I was back at the doctor yesterday, because, after so many days of suffering, I was feeling worse again, instead of better!

It seems that I am having some kind of relapse, now that the antibiotic is out of my system. But it's the virus, not the bacteria, so says the doctor.

She counseled me to try to rest, stay home, if I can, and keep doing what I'm doing. Since it's a virus, all I can do is hope to outlive it! (her exact words!)

I was home from work on Monday, after being pretty miserable all weekend. I worked yesterday, but just kept feeling worse, so I called and asked if I could get in with the doctor.

Stayed home today, again, on doctor's advice.

Finally, today, the coughing is less severe. That's been the worst part of this whole thing so far. It wakes me from a sound sleep, and wracks my body until I gag.

Unfortunately, the congestion has all moved back up into my sinuses. My nose is now chapped raw from constant blowing. I just hope I don't get another sinus infection as a result!

ENOUGH ALREADY!

Finally green

I went for a walk in the woods today, with my camera.

It started to rain just as soon as I got onto the trail, but I just put my hoodie's hood up, and kept going. The rain brought the fragrance of the woods and the creek to a new level of pungency that was very pleasing.

The nice thing about the lowering clouds and gentle rain was that people left. I had more space to myself.

Things have FINALLY greened up around here. Like last year, spring has been late in coming again.

Steady rains over the past few weeks have left the creek at a very high level, and there is standing water in the woods where none should be. It will be prime mosquito breeding season pretty soon, so it was good to get out and walk today, before that starts.

Since I have been so sick, and am still dealing with a pretty strenuous cough, I walked and rested, walked and rested.

During one of my rests, I got to watch and listen to a pair of orioles flirting with one another. Their color was striking, against the steel gray sky, and the bright spring green of the new leaves.

I went to one of my favorite out of the way spots, and lay down on the bench under the shelter. I just lay there and listened to the woods. It was very good for my soul to do this.

Little leopard spotted frogs were raising a chorus in the cat tails, and there were lots of mallard ducks around.

I didn't see the resident muskrats, or any beaver, but I did see the handiwork of the beaver.

The clouds broke up and brilliant blue shone behind the thunder heads, and I went on my way. Spotted some of my favorite wild plants, including hepatica and rue, pictured above.

It was a good walk. (remember, you can click directly on the images for a full screen view)

He's Gone

Another painful good bye, and my husband and I are 800 miles apart again.

I think he had a good visit. He certainly seemed to have fun! The only downer was the fact that I was sick the whole time.

I did my best, though, going along with our plans despite fever, laryngitis, cough, and misery!!

I had a lot of fun, too, despite feeling like crap for almost all of our 8 days together.

Back to status quo, now. And I hate this staus quo.

Talking with the realtor about our next step. I have not dropped my price for a couple of months, on her advice, but everyone around me has, so now it's time to consider another drop. I've already come down $18K from my original price.

The trouble is, we are getting to the point now where values have dropped below what I need to get in order to be able to sell WITHOUT having to BORROW MONEY to pay for a closing.

When that window closes, selling is no longer an option at all, and it's looming very close.

So, last night, we discussed other options.

I could quit my job, move away, and stop paying my mortgage.
This would trash my credit and make it possible for me to do a short sale.

The mortgage default part of my credit trashing will recover in about a year, HOWEVER, the association dues part will probably take years to clear. That was not something my realtor talked about...she only talked about how I would qualify for hardship recovery on the mortgage.

Alternately, we could find a tenant and rent the place out. I will still be losing money every month, because I won't be able to charge enough rent to cover BOTH the mortgage and the association dues. AND there's always the risk that a renter will cause damage to my property.

Lastly, find a tenant who wants the option to buy. I can charge more rent, BUT I would have to put that "extra" money aside for the tenant, toward his or her down payment at the end of the lease when they buy the place.

So, technically, I will still be losing money every month.

One good factor of that scenario is that if the tenant chooses NOT to buy at the end of the lease, I get to keep all of that money that was held back from their rent.

Lots to think about.

My realtor is taking me around to the other condos in this complex that are for sale, in order to compare prices and condos. THAT is the first step in determining if we are even going to consider another price drop.

If the other units here are of lesser quality and lower price, then I should be OK keeping my price a little higher, and I can still hope to get an offer for my required minimum.

However, if they are of greater quality and lower price, I am basically completely screwed. We won't know until we go look at them on Monday.

This was not supposed to happen. I was supposed to finally be on track in my life, and in love, and everything was supposed to go smoothly for the first time.

WTF??

Dead night

There was a second show added last night, but we couldn't afford to tack it on to our agenda, dangit.

Tonight, Allstate Arena, The Dead. I can't wait!

D's visit has been good so far, despite the fact that I was sick before he got here, and just got sicker as time went by.

Ended up at a convenient care place on Friday to get help. Was diagnosed with an ongoing virus, and a new sinus infection. Got some antibiotics. Finally, today, I feel almost normal again.

A full week into D's stay, and I finally feel up to par. Sigh...oh well. He's been very caring and helpful.

Last week, we took the train into the city, and took a bus to the Field museum.
We had a massage lesson.
We dealt with my illness.
We watched movies.
We ate out.
We went to a Cubs' game on Saturday.
We celebrated with friends on Sunday.

Yesterday, because of the hierarchy at work, I had to go to the office. My sister and brother in law took D back into the city for a quick afternoon jaunt. They did the Hancock observatory.

Then, home, where I met them, and we had a quatro di mayo dinner and some margaritas.

It's been busy, to say the least.

Tonight's show is the highlight for me. I've been a Deadhead most of my life, and disagree with those who say that Jerry WAS the Dead.

Like any organism, the band had several integral parts. One of them is gone, never to be replaced....but the energy is much the same, and I need an infustion!

I'll be scanning the crowd for old familiar faces, and new acquaintances. It will be fun!