23 July 2005

wha?

well, our house officially went on the market yesterday (friday, july 22). we got a call from our real estate agent, a couple of hours after it listed, as we were driving to a friends house to play cards. she asked if we would be home to show the house. wha? it just got listed. apparently, the market in Salt Lake is so tight and crazy that this isn't unusual. well, we declined the showing. we had better things to do.
today (saturday, july 23) we had someone show up at 10am. we weren't ready, as we thought the first appointment (of 4 already scheduled for that day) was for 11:30am. it turns out this 10am appointment was not scheduled properly, or something. anyway, we showed the house, as we went about cleaning things up for the later appointments. this was the very first time we've ever had someone snooping through our house. it's an odd feeling.
at 11:30am, the people who wanted to see the house the night before showed up. they had 3 kids with them. there's no way a family of 5 can live in this tiny house. oh well.
then, at 1:30pm, the third appointment came by. he was a nice guy, asked lots of questions, walked around quite a bit, then said, as he was leaving, that he was going to make a "full-price offer" and fax it to our agent. the wife and i were ecstatic. we couldn't believe that there was already an offer after only 3 showings. and it was for our asking price. it seemed too unreal.
4 more showings ended up being scheduled and, of those 4, 3 made offers. and as crazy as that seems, the 3 were ABOVE list price, one being $7500 above! wha? i nearly shat myself (seriously, i had mexican for dinner last night, so i was experiencing that next day bowel evacuation thing that mexican food always does to me). then, i nearly shat again because of the offer. crazy. 7 viewings, 4 offers. and one of them some 5 or 6% above list.
anyway, things are going pretty good. we've countered with some things we wanted changed in the offer (earnest money, settlement date). but, it looks like we'll be getting more than we had originally asked (and hoped) for. pretty cool.

like i said above, the market in SLC is nuts. "California" nuts right now. the thing is, with the fecundity of the mormons creating the highest birth rate in the US, with the immigration rates being as high as they are here, with the number of people moving here for jobs and skiing, there are so many people looking to purchase a house, and so few houses, that people make offers LIKE THAT, and bidding wars (even after just 24 hours on the market) are not unheard of. what this means for us is more money, and i'm cool with that.

and, the only thing we can say about everything that happened today is: wha?

6 comments:

j.b said...

thanks, chris! yeah, i hope we make a killing, too. we should hear back today or tomorrow (tomorrow at the latest) on whether they accept our counteroffer; or if one of the other 3 bidders comes in with a counteroffer that tops the offer we countered.

Kat said...

Bidding wars! YAY!

j.b said...

yeah, i know, Kat. tell me about it. we were so freaked out, but now it's sunk in. but, we've some busy, busy days ahead getting the shit packed up and thrown away and split between storage and apartment. getting addresses changed and utilities off here and on there. etc. ugh!

Kat said...

justin,

Not to be the MOM! but I've moved I think at last count 16 times in the passed 20 years...You just need to make lists....I know it sounds goofy but without those lists I would have been sunk. And now, I've got it down to a science. :) It's stressful but once you are in your new place it will be just a memory...sounds a lot like child birth...
:)

j.b said...

haha. yeah, we've actually started making lists. who/where to change our address. what to turn on, what to turn off. etc. etc.
it'll be helpful for sure. why have you moved around so damn much. stay put, woman! :) or maybe, you're some kind of agent working ultra double secret for the CIA and you've had to move around in order to keep your identity so covert. i bet that's it. ;)

Kat said...

Do you know how many times I've been asked if I am part of the witness protection program? We aren't...We are a cable family...You go were the work is. Plus, I have a gypsy soul. Seriously...I love moving. The way you never know what will happen...I know..I'm weird but you knew that!