This means that, for this weekend at least, our house will be temporarily off-market. A part of me feels defeated. I had really hoped that our house would have sold by now and we would be in a more permanent (and significantly more spacious) home. I worry that I should have taken the low-ball offer just to get moving in that direction. Still, another part of me feels quite optimistic. This off-market weekend represents a rebirth of my hopes that we will not only sell our house, but do so at a price that we think the home deserves.
This optimistic hopefulness is further fueled by the work that my parents, Greg and Cheryl, as well as my daughter Katrina and her boyfriend, Peter, put into the house last week. One of the concerns I had when I left was that the insulation in the basement had a discoloring caused by mold under the plastic we had used as a moisture barrier. I knew the mold was mild and an easily fixed problem, but didn't have the time to fix it before we left. Our now previous realtor said that we didn't need to replace it, but it ended up being one of the most mentioned concerns from people who saw the house. Now, thanks to the above-mentioned saints, the discolored insulation has been removed, no mold was found underneath, and new insulation has been put up. They also fixed the handles on the faucet of our bathroom. Earlier they had even managed to fix the doors to the closet of the downstairs bedroom.
With those items done, I no longer have any lingering concerns about the house. I know that the kitchen is still out of the 70s, but the appliances in it are good quality (or better) and the cupboards are better than many of the houses I've looked at up here. With the improvements and the new realtor, I now truly feel like our house is ready to sell ... once it comes back on the market.