Real Estate Woes

I put my kids in summer school this month so it would be easier to keep my house "show ready" for prospective buyers. It's been absolutely spotless and on the market for three weeks now and not a single showing. We did have a realtor open house yesterday, though, where my real estate agent bribed other real estate agents to come see my house by offering them lunch and a $50 cash drawing. 17 agents showed up. They all seemed to love the house (what's not to love?) so hopefully they'll start bringing buyers through. We have a public open house scheduled for tomorrow, and I've been getting ready...baking cookies, "magic erasing" the walls, picking out "mood music" to play while people come through the house...I'm feeling confident that we'll have a bidding war on our hands by tomorrow afternoon...

While our house is on the market, we are finding lots of fun ways to stay out of the house and keep it clean. Every day after summer school, the kids and I go to the pool for at least two hours, and we eat sandwiches every night for dinner so as to minimize the mess-making in the kitchen. Tomorrow, during the open house, the kids are all going to Aunt Bev's house while Justin and I drive to St. Louis with some friends to attend the Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert. We're pretty excited. Next Friday is the boys' last day of summer school. The idea of keeping the house "show ready" with four kids home all day trying to mess it up is simply terrifying. So, I've decided to take the kids to Utah for a week or two. We'll be making the drive with two other families, so it should be a really fun road trip, and we are definitely looking forward to lots of fun with family and friends in Utah!!!

Good news today about the farm: we've officially been approved for a loan! We no longer have to wait until our house sells to buy the farm in Jefferson City. (btw, the sellers accepted our full-price offer, contingent on the sale of our home, and they agreed to throw in the two antique beds from the guest cottage, all of the outdoor furniture, and the Mule.) We of course don't want the responsibility of paying two mortgages, but as far as the bank is concerned, our credit is good enough, and our debt to income ratio qualifies us for a second home loan. We're cautiously excited about the whole thing.

So, life is kind of revolving around buying and selling real estate right now. I know I say this every time we move, but I really, really, REALLY hope this is the last move our family will make for a very, very, VERY long time!