Now is the time of those disconnected pipes...

So, what has Cookie been up to....

Well, the old house is still for sale, much to our dismay.  Despite being in top condition, so clean that you can eat off of the floor, and a lawn so well manicured that it puts the neighbors to shame, we aren't getting showings.

Our real estate hunk, Chuck is advertising the bejebus out of it, and the open houses are packed, but no private showings.  Well, I take that back - we've had six in two months.  And the house was in a shaky contract, but that fell through - and not because of the house or its condition.

The feedback is as follows:

1) Charming house, but street is too busy.
2) Lovely house but the electrical pole is wrong place. 
3) Gorgeous back yard, but no deck.
4) Love the staging, not the house.  Is the dining room table for sale?
5) Really very nice, buyer might be interested if selling will fund the addition of two more bathrooms. 

I K.I.D. you not.

We have dropped the price three times.  The house appraised for $60,000 over the contract price when we were in contact with contingencies in August - that deal fell through.  And that contract made me uneasy because one of the buyers was running an unlicensed day care out of her home.  I liked our old neighbors and would never want that on their shoulders.

And now there are FIVE houses for sale on the street, all asking more than $175,000 over our asking price.

The only consolation is that they aren't getting showings either.

So we wait.

Meanwhile I have to sleep in the old house periodically to keep it occupied. No fun.

In other news, we have found a problem with the new house that the previous owners had failed to disclose by closing.  And they don't want to fix it.  Since we are in arbitration with them, I can't say anything, suffice it to say that we are "dismayed". When a decision gets passed down, then I can pass it on.