Surprise Move

Ever since our house has been on the market, we have had to make sure that it maintained a "lived in" look. Apparently, research studies have shown that homes with furniture in them sell better than empty houses. (Although when we were looking at houses and condos, I much preferred touring the ones that were vacant.) We abided by the rules set by Jim's company's relocation representatives because they were the people who would be buying our house from us if we didn't sell it on our own. Having a buyout offer as a back-up, even though it was a lower price than we had hoped, was a relief. So we kept our furniture in the house, and Jacob and I stayed there whenever we were in town. I cleaned and cleaned the place each time we went out the door in case a potential buyer breezed through for a peek. After almost 100 showings, no one wanted to buy it. (Ok, we did have a few offers, but none were above the company's buyout price.)

Last week when we were in the Upper Peninsula, our realtor called to inform us that we had received a decent offer on the house. As we drove down I-75 towards home on Friday afternoon, Jim was finally able to get the consent from his company to move our furniture to the condo. Jim was due to fly back to Texas on Sunday, so that left us one day to move all of our stuff. We rented a truck on Saturday morning, and Richie, Fatty, Rob, & Nancy came over to help us. Even with over half of our couches, dressers, and beds in Texas, it was still a grueling job! We managed to get all of the large items out of the house, leaving only small, lift-able things for Adam, Jacob, and I to finish moving. The house is still under contract with the pending offer, Jim is back to work in Houston, and the condo is now quite messy & unorganized. My fingers are crossed that all goes well with the sale, which is due to be finalized before the end of July.