BAH HUMBUG

4 months and counting... Still on the market kids.  It's officially been 4 months and although the showings have picked up a bit so far in December, no offers yet.  Looks like my goal of selling by December ain't happenin'. So we wait... I suppose I wont set another goal to sell by.  On second though how about I hope to sell by summer 2012.  Good God I hope its has sold by then... But for now...Bring on the vacation time and Christmas holiday with the family!!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

The Christmas season is in full swing now.  We've been enjoying all the festivities that come with this time of year.  Our neighborhood did a horse and sleigh ride last weekend and then showed Frosty the Snowman on the big screen at the club house parking lot.  It was so much fun to eat pizza outside and watch the movie. 

The house is still for sale and the showings have slowed down significantly so it looks like we won't sell until next year.  We have a small glimmer of hope from a showing on Monday night.  The feedback said they liked the house and the price and may be back this weekend.  If that actually happens I will be shocked. There is an inventory home in the front of the neighborhood that is the exact plan we want to build with most of the same options that we may be interested in if it's still there when we get a contract. We will see what happens.  Life is a big question mark at this point and we are just rolling with it. So in the meantime as our house sits, we will continue to enjoy all fun and excitement this time of year brings. Choir performances, Christmas parties, Gingerbread house making, ice skating, and travels to visit family will be our focus right now.  I feel blessed with all I have in my life and I'm looking forward to celebrating baby Jesus birth!

Turkey Time...

It's almost Thanksgiving and I sure wish I was celebrating in my new home. Still on the market with a few showings sprinkled in between the last post but no offers.  Open House number two was this weekend and again nobody showed up. I am happier with the realtor who was here this time.  He actually made a great effort with signs in the neighborhood and provided positive feedback on our home. 

As the year is racing to a close, I feel like it isn't going to sell until next year so I'm prepared for that.  I don't know if the builder will hold our lot or what will happen. A good friend of mine said something the other day that stuck.  When I start feeling down about it all, I have to remember to "let go and let God". It isnt up to me or when I want it to sell...it's God's plan for me that I must wait to unfold.  I know there is a reason I have to wait because he has something bigger and better planned. If the builder releases my lot, well maybe it's just not meant to be with THAT home but we will eventully get settled in the right home for us.

I do have so much to be thankful for this season.  My wonderful family, friends and coworkers, my awesome job, my health, my current home that hasn't let us down and provides great warmth and coziness, and for everything I've been blessed with in my life.  So next week as we all sit down to Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends, I am grateful for my exciting, sometimes chaotic life.  Let's celebrate and eat turkey!!!

New Photos- look at my green yard!!!

NOT the ones...

Meh, so the showing yesterday didn't pan out to be the buyers for our home.  They did show up and stay about 20 mins so that was promising.  I got the below feedback this morning bright and early.

"The buyers thought the house showed great! The home was in mint condition. The buyers ended up choosing another subdivision with new construction in Westhiemer Lakes. "

On the bright side I didn't have to wait all day hoping they would make an offer. So as always when I hear this news I want to fall into a slump and cry but I cant.  I have to pretend everything is peachy for the boys. 

As I said in my last post I will focus on my family this weekend and enjoy the fun and festivities of Halloween.  I thought October was the magic month but it has been a flop.  November, please be kind. I am really looking forward to our annual trip to Mo Ranch with the family so that will help take my mind off selling the house.

Look what my sweet hubby got me after I got the news this morning... just the flowers, I added in the whipped cream vodka.  So the day wasn't all bad. :)

October's almost over...

Halloween is just a few days away and I would love the treat of an offer coming in.  Scott came home today and saw a cop parked in front of our house and he took a flyer from our little tube attached to the For Sale sign.  Within the hour we got a call for a showing request.  Tomorrow morning at 10:30 am he will hopefully show up and love the house.  I have to remain positive.  It just takes one person to be THE ONE.  Last weekend was a bummer because we got a showing scheduled and they never came.  Scott was parked next door watching our house the entire time so we know they were no shows. I pray tomorrow is different. I will wake up bright and early and work super hard to get the house ready to show. I sure hope all this hard work pays off.

Please God let this be the one...

I will try and focus my energy on the kids and making it a fun Halloween weekend for them.  And maybe, just maybe I will get my treat too!

Selling your home...

The process of selling your home SUCKS!  It is especially hard when you have zero patience.  I really feel like it's making me go crazy. I actually want to slap the smile off that lady in the picture.

We did have a showing finally this past Saturday but the no feedback/no response at all from the realtor leaves me disappointed. We also had an open house Sunday if you want to call it that.  The realtor who showed up 15 minutes late put 3 signs in the whole neighborhood and they were pointing down the wrong street...awesome. His first sign didn't even start until you were in the back section of the neighborhood. So I guess the people who already live here that want to buy the smallest home in the neighborhood could find it. Oh wait, no...he pointed the arrow THE WRONG WAY.  So...obviously nobody came and we stayed out of the house all day Sunday.  It's so draining to stay away from home with the kids and keep everyone happy without spending a ton of money. I'm not sure how effective open houses really are overall but this one didn't have a chance. I feel defeated...worn out, like this is all just a cruel joke.  I'm supposed to wake up everyday and make my house perfect and beautiful and hope that someone wants to come see it.  It's exhausting.  How people do this with kids in the home for a long period of time is beyond me.  At this rate I will probably get to find out though. It really is hard because everything is put on hold.  We are a family of 5 crammed in this house, with all of our stuff packed away and I feel like everything I say is "when we get the new house". New bedroom furniture for the twins when we get the new house.  New living room and dining room furniture when we get the new house.  The kids want a pet...again when we get a new house.  The boys get a game room when we get a new house. I'm so ready to move forward with things and we cant.Yes I know it will be that much sweeter when it finally does happen but right now I'm tired of this.  It's my day in a funk...I just need to vent. The holidays are approaching and the only thing I really want is for this house to SELL.  The new home means so much more for us... it's our raise the kids in house, settle in long term house, paint the walls, do exactly what we want house and make it our home.  We always knew this one was our starter home so we haven't made it our own.  Now even more so with my family photos all packed away it doesn't feel like our home.

I'm ready to move on, but I will do as my good friend says and "hang in there".  It will happen when the time is right.  It's God plan, his time, not mine. And with that...I'm done. Ahhhh, I feel much better now. :)

Not that I'm counting...

It's been a long 23 days without a single showing and it would really be nice to have some activity soon.  The holidays are fast approaching and I sure was hoping to have sold by now. I have been enjoying family time lately and I just love this time of year so I cant say I'm too down in the dumps.  I'm just working on being patient.  I have almost forgotten what the chime of a text message sounds like for a showing request.  I know we are priced right so we just have to wait for the right buyer to come along.  Hopefully soon!  I sure would like to see my new home coming to life.  I was certain October was the magic month and we are 10 days in without a single call.  So weird.  Come on little house!!!!  SELL BABY SELL!

Price Reduced!!! $119,990

http://search.har.com/engine/20123-Larkspur-Lndg-Richmond-TX-77407_HAR69599074.htm

We have reduced the asking price to $119,990.  Come check it out!

Week 6 for sale...and now it's Fall!

Our home has now been on the market 6 weeks.  I'm hoping to have another showing scheduled soon.  It has been quiet for over a week now so bring on the chime of a showing request text on my phone!

We have worked really hard the last few weeks working on the yard.  Due to the drought conditions it was turning brown and looking sparse in some places.  So, the kids and I spread grass seed and then fertilized the yard.  Then I had to water everyday for a while and boy has it paid off.  The grass is super green and lush.  It looks great!  I only hope someone comes to see the house soon. 

Also last weekend we decided to put up our Fall decor.  It puts me in a happy mood to see the pumpkins and Fall colors sprinkled throughout my home.  We also baked a few loaves of pumpkin bread to start off the season properly.  The kids love to help me bake.  It sure does fill the house with a wonderful pumpkiny smell.  I really love this time of year and hope it brings the perfect buyer to see our home and that they fall in love and make us an offer. In honor of October approaching here is a Halloween ginger bread house the kids made last year with their JoJo. So cute!

Light a fire...

Nothing will light a fire under you like driving past our new home lot as we do everyday and seeing this...

Yes that would be a cleared lot with wood piled on it.  I quickly called my Sales Consultant Roxanne to find out why  they have started moving on our lot when our home hasn't sold yet.  She assured me all was ok and that were going going to start and she stopped them and pushed back my start date...THANK GOD!

It does light that fire and make you want to do something to sell the house quickly.  I will be terribly disappointed if we lose this lot.  The willow tree is the entire reason I picked it.

Well showing #4 hasn't called to make an offer so I suppose we were her #2 favorite not just top 2.  Bummer. 

I am getting increasingly annoyed with the home selling process.  I don't have the patience for it.  It stresses me out beyond belief.  The good news is that several homes in our neighborhood have sold so I'm hoping it wont be long. I like to see the number of homes in our neighborhood for sale dwindling.  We are now on page 4 of HAR instead of 5 and the second cheapest home.  The other one is a foreclosure for $85,000. Ummm no.

PRAYERS GOING UP!!!!  Lord please bring the right buyer to my home soon.  Please and thanks.

Showing #4 today

Today was a super stressful day for me.  I had all week to think about this showing since the realtor told us she was coming back Saturday.  I waited all week and she finally scheduled it Friday morning.  So after work Friday and all Saturday morning we cleaned like crazy.  It still amazes me how awesome my kids are at helping me out by cleaning and picking up. The showing was scheduled for 11 am.  So the kids went to my car with a movie a little after 10 am so I could vacuum and do the finishing touches without any other bodies in the house.  I joined them in the car at 10:30 am.  We thought they might arrive a little early so we wanted to clear out.  We parked down the street in the usual spot for a while and waited.  At 20 mins after 11 we decided to drive around the neighborhood a bit.  At 11:30 I caved because the kids had been saying they were hungry since 9 am.  We went to Subway for lunch and Scott stayed behind in his car with the cat.  I thought for sure he would call or text me that they were there.  Nope... So at 12:30 we headed home and passed Scott his sandwich from our car to his.  We had to wait until 1pm to go back in our house.  Scott assured me they still had time to come.  I drove to the front of the neighborhood to watch for the realtor's maroon traverse to drive in.  At 12:58 I started to cry because all of that work and they didn't show up.  I felt so defeated.  It's so hard to keep the kids in the car and happy for a few hours. As I was starting to drive back home Scott calls and tells me they just pulled up in the driveway.  PRAISE GOD!!!  I'm so happy they showed up and all our hard work wasn't for nothing.  I parked down our street a bit to see when they came out so we could go home.  It was about 10-15 minutes later when they emerged carrying one of the flyers I made. I'm glad they took that home to think about our home.  Very emotional and stressful day of highs and lows for me.  I hate putting the kids and Scott through this.  I just really hope it all pays off soon. 

The realtor feedback said, "Very nice home. It made the top 2, but the buyers just started looking today". So with that we wait to see if they want to make an offer on our home or wait for another showing request...

I have been praying so hard for God to bring the right buyers to our home and so have the kids.  Lord hear our prayers.  So glad we are going to church tomorrow.  I need some Jesus time to fuel me up for the week ahead.

My beautiful home for sale!!!

Showing #3 and #4!

Well we broke the 2 week lull of no calls and no showings yesterday.  I got the exciting text yesterday morning that we had one scheduled for 1pm.  After a frustrating hour of trying to reach my husband to let him know the house needed some extra love before 1pm, I finally got a hold of him and he sprung into action.  We have all been doing a pretty good job of making beds and picking up the house on a daily basis but it's the finishing touches that we have to do to make the house "show ready".  That is extremely hard with a 2...almost 3 year old following behind you and messing up what you have just cleaned. 

The realtor feedback was "Very Nice and I will show it again on Saturday".  So there you go.  Showing number 4 lined up.  I sure hope someone buys soon so we can start building our new home!!!  Prayers going up that we get an offer this weekend.  :) Yay!!!  Go-Fight-Win! Spirit Sprinkles all around...

PS- we have been working like crazy to keep our yard alive and green.  We put down grass seed and fertilized and we are watering daily.  So in an effort to not go broke from this water bill, it would also be nice to sell soon. Thanks to my precious boys for all their help in the yard.  They are THE BEST!

In week 3...

Boo.  No activity again for 20123 Larkspur Landing!  Bring on the Buyers baby PLEASE!!!!  Again... not so good at being patient. 

https://post.craigslist.org/manage/2588115766/krivb

Check out our Craigslist posting... Ooh Aah!

Patience...

Patience is for the birds...  I know I don't have any patience at all.  I pray for it daily but it is so hard for me.  We haven't had any activity since Monday.  It seems like months even though I do realize that was just a few days ago.  It looks like promising couple #1 bought the new construction home and we never heard from lady #2 so I'm guessing she wasn't a fan.  So I wait for the exciting text to come through that requests a showing.  I obsess over my cell phone and any beep sound I hear I immediately grab my phone to see if it happens to be a showing.  The boys and I are leaving town tomorrow for West Fest so I was hoping to have a few lined up before we left.  So far, nada.  The market is tough right now with numerous homes for sale and new construction to compete against in the neighborhood. Feeling like this may not happen for us and that is really upsetting.  I do not want to move all the crud from the garage back in the house and stay so I really hope to have calls soon...

St. Joseph statue buried...

Well the St. Joseph statue was buried this morning before the kids went to school.  In the front yard upside down facing the house as the directions said.  We read the prayer and plan to continue praying that our home sells soon!

Bring on the offers please!

2nd showing!!!

...and just like that we have our second showing this morning at 10 am!  It's a different couple looking today (I can tell by the different realtor showing) so hopefully they will love it!  I'm looking forward to some sort of feedback soon.  Fingers, toes, EVERYTHING crossed.

Waiting...

Well the showing happened at 4:30pm today and they stayed about 25-30 minutes.  It was a young couple expecting a baby with friends already living in the neighborhood which seems to be a perfect fit for our home so I'm waiting on pins and needles to hear any sort of feedback.  I assume if they were in love with it I would have heard back already so that's a bummer.  I guess you can't expect the first people to be the ones to buy.  Sure would have been nice though!!!  I just want any sort of feedback... house too small? back yard half dead?  what were they thinking and is it anything I can fix?

I am proud of my family and how we all worked as a team to get it in perfect shape to show today!  The boys have been so incredible.  They want this new house as much as Scott and I do. We went to church this morning and Justin said "mom, I prayed for God to bring the right people to our house and buy it".  That was so sweet and little did he know I was praying for the same thing.  I also prayed for patience (as I do every week) because I know it's in HIS time that this will all work out.  I just hope I can keep up with it all.  The stress of keeping the home clean and "show ready", being a good wife and mom...working full time, and the normal routine of cooking, packing lunches, doing homework with the kids, bath, teeth, and spending enough quality time with the kids.  When the stress starts building I just ask God to lift up my worries, cares and concerns and almost instantly I feel this weight lifted off my shoulders and I know it will all be ok.

So...the waiting game begins.  The wait to hear whether this couple is interested or not, and the wait for another showing to be lined up preferably soon! Oh and I'm also waiting for my St. Joseph statue to arrive this week.  Maybe that's just what I need to sell my house!

First Showing!!!

I know I'm not supposed to get too excited, but I am so happy to have the first showing scheduled for this weekend! I have followed friends advice and ordered the St. Joseph statue to bury in the yard to help sell the home. I'm looking forward to doing this together as a family.  The boys have been amazing with all their help getting the house ready to show and keeping it clean so I think it will be a neat ritual to do as a family and pray for our home to sell. 

I hope this showing goes really well!!! Stay tuned...

http://search.har.com/engine/20123-Larkspur-Lndg-Richmond-TX-77407_HAR69599074.htm

20123 Larkspur Landing Richmond, TX 77407

Waterview Estates

1 week

Today marks 1 week on the market... so far no calls and no shows.  I hope this changes this week. :)

More House pics...

Home For Sale in Richmond, Tx $123,000 3 bed 2 bath 1504 sq ft.

http://search.har.com/engine/20123-Larkspur-Lndg-Richmond-TX-77407_HAR69599074.htm

20123 Larkspur Landing Richmond, TX  (minutes from Katy, TX) ~ Waterview Estates.  Near Grand Parkway and West Bellfort and easy access to nearby Westpark Tollway.  Shopping closeby- Kroger, Bank of America, Walgreens, Ace hardware, and lots of new restaurants as well.  Minutes from Walmart, PetSmart, Kohl's and other shopping.
Call today 832-794-3359!

Entry

View from entry into family and breakfast room

Kitchen

Kitchen

Cozy Family room

Family room with fireplace

Bedroom

Bedroom

Guest bath

Breakfast room

Master bedroom

Master Bath

Master shower

Master bath dual sinks

Backyard

Day 4 on the market... We're Listed!!!

It seems like we worked for a month straight to get our home polished and ready to put on the market.  We weren't actually planning to move until next year, but fell in love with a floor plan in the front of our neighborhood so we moved a lot quicker.  We love living in the Waterview Estates community in Richmond, TX, we just need a 4th bedroom for our growing boys and a place to plant roots long term.  We knew when we bought this first home it would be for just a few years and now that we added another kid to the mix, it's time to move up. 

The new home is a Pulte/Centex home again and is the Jack floor plan which feels just right for our family. We put earnest money down on the perfect lot in the front of our current neighborhood and wrote a contract for our new home contingent on the sale of this home.  So, as you can imagine...we have to get this baby sold!!! 

It's a 3 bedroom, 2 bath 1504 sq ft home.  It has many upgrades including tile floors throughout, tile backsplash in the kitchen, a separate tub and shower, a fireplace, new paint and much more!  We are selling for only $123,000 so you cant find a better home for the price in Waterview Estates!

I plan to blog about the journey to our new home and I pray it isn't a long journey.  It sure is tough to keep a house spotless with twin 7 year olds and 2 year old rowdy boys!  I'm very proud of all the hard work my family and friends put into getting this home ready to sell.  I couldn't have done it without all of the help.

So here we sit on Day 4 with no bites yet... I hope that changes really soon!  Stay tuned...

Check out our listing on HAR.com.  We are listed with Keller Williams Rothchild Team.
 http://search.har.com/engine/20123-Larkspur-Lndg-Richmond-TX-77407_HAR69599074.htm