After four years in the little community of Linden Hill, the thought had been creeping in our minds of possibly getting a bigger house. It wasn't until after christmas 2007 that we seriously starting looking. The idea was that it would soon be time to try for another baby and our little house was running out of space and bedrooms. After viewing what seemed like a million houses in person and online, we stumbled upon this house in Ashburn. Being a short sale it was a total fixer upper, but for those who know Fred, it was a perfect fit. We aren't afraid of getting dirty with remodeling. Despite the difficult ordeal of a short sale, which I hope never to experience again, by the end of March we owned the place and had finished our first weekend of demo. Months of numerous grueling hours, hard labor and most of the remodeling done, we moved into the new house in time for my birthday.
We then did some minor fixes to the old house and put it on the market. After 4 agonizing months we finally got an offer from a couple to rent the place for 12 months and then purchase it at the end of the lease. They put down a good amount in escrow and seemed really serious so we accepted it.
It's been 9 months in our new home and though we still have projects here and there (there will always be projects in the Briggs household), the house has been coming together nicely and we've settled in very well. However the renters of our other property have been late with rent for the last 5 months. It has left us wondering if they will be able to get the financing needed to purchase the house when the lease is up. With the economy the way it is and the impending birth of our second child we have become more aware of how nice it would be to have that money from the sale of the house. So we've been worried but not too concerned. Then Monday happened.
As stated above it was Monday evening, and Fred got a phone call from our renters. The husband has been transferred to Kentucky. They will no longer be buying the house. To make it worse they are moving in two months, six months shy of their one year lease agreement. So now we are faced with not only no one buying our house but quite possibly out six months of rent. As if this news wasn't bad enough we found out that we can't put our house back on the market until the current renters sign a release form stating that they are no longer buying it. *sigh*
Fred made arrangements with our realtor and the wife who is renting our house to go see the property last night. We need to know what state it is in and if any, what changes they have made. However, when Fred arrived last night the woman wouldn't answer the door. The garage was open with her car clearly inside and the t.v. on. This was after Fred had talked to her twice to confirm he was coming over to view the house. Fred called the husband, who is currently in Kentucky, he confirmed it was his wife's car and that she should be there. Still no answer. Even today we have yet to receive a call from her to explain why she either wasn't there or didn't answer the door and to reschedule a visit. Seriously!! How rude is that?
Anyway, the only good news seems to be that after talking with the husband he said he had no problem signing both releases (for the sale and lease), so we can at least get the money they put up in escrow and the remaining six months of rent for the lease they are breaking early. We hope they sign this soon and are able to see the property so we can re-list the house ASAP. Unfortunately the market has tanked even further so we are just going to put it up for rent in the hopes that the market regains some momentum and a few years from now we can sell it for a more reasonable price. While this is not the most ideal situation to be in right now, it could be a lot worse. In the meantime we are moving forward and staying hopeful.
Know of anyone who is looking to rent a really adorable home in the area?
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