Michelle Smiles

Teaching my children to question authority, except mine.

One of these things is not like the others

September19

Several of you have asked how the sale of the house is going.  I haven’t talked about it here because there isn’t much to say.  We’ve had dozens of showings and 2 open houses (with a 3rd scheduled).  Realtors love the house – several have said it is one of the best houses in town and the price point is perfect. Don’t! Change! A! Thing! But. But the buyers aren’t in agreement.  We apparently have 3 problems. Problem the first: it isn’t across the main road in the other town.  Now I wasn’t aware of that the other town was more prestigious. Heck, I’m not sure where one ends and the other begins.  Second problem: new construction resumed here in January and because of our price point we are only about $20K less than a new build. The floor plans aren’t as nice but the appliances and house aren’t 9 years old and you get to pick your finishes.  I get that.  Lastly, the outside of our house isn’t they look they are seeking.  We loved the fact that it doesn’t look like every other house in the county in town.  It isn’t the style that I might have chosen if I was building but I have no issues with the pretend farmhouse-ish look.  But people want brick (ours is Hardy board which is as durable as brick) and fake columns and weird little porticoes.   These photos are taken from my front yard.  With slight differences in style and amounts of brick, they are representative of what most houses in the neighborhood/town/county look like.

Nothing wrong with them. Pretty standard. Here is my house.

Please to forgive the lack of landscaping…was planning to do it this summer but since it isn’t going to by mine I lost the motivation. Plus these are the MLS photos from before we bought the house.

There are 4 houses in the neighborhood like ours. They were going to be models for a new phase but that phase was scrapped and they went back to the brick houses.  So ours does stick out. I never dreamed that would be a bad thing but no fewer than 4 buyers have specifically said they hate the outside.

I don’t show you this so you will all tell me my house is pretty. I like my house and know there is nothing wrong with it. But different strokes for different folks and all that.  Apparently, we just need to have a little patience and eventually someone will come along who loves our house as much as we do.  And for those who’ve asked why we don’t just rent it out and go north – well, I don’t want to do that for a long list of reasons. Also, my husband’s parents are graciously allowing him to stay with them in Pittsburgh so we aren’t having the cost of maintaining 2 households.  If we leave, at some point we will end up paying rent and mortgage or 2 mortgages and I don’t need new ulcers.

Bottom line is: No news is…no news.  The girls and I are here until we sell the house unless Steve and I come up with a game plan that doesn’t end with us living in a van down by the (Monongahela) river. If we are still here at the first of the year, there are a couple of additional things we are prepared to discuss to get things moving. For now, Steve works from home 1 week each month and the other 3 weeks the girls and I are on our own.  The summer was really hard for us but now that school has started it has gotten easier. The girls have their days filled and I get a few hours each week to myself. As time has marched on, I think the girls have adjusted better to this separation than Steve and I have.  It is their new normal and, while they don’t like it, they are troopers.

9 Comments to

“One of these things is not like the others”

  1. On September 19th, 2011 at 9:36 am Dana Says:

    Keeping my fingers crossed that you get a buyer quickly and you can all be together again in one place. Hugs.

  2. On September 19th, 2011 at 10:10 am jennifer Says:

    Hi Michelle. Your house is darling…
    My unsolicited suggestions: Paint the door in the red color of the brick homes around. Put some urns with Red toned flowers/Mums perhaps on the doorstep. Nice autumn look, adds more color to the the entrance, seasonally good and will assimilate the colors of the other homes. Plus, red doors are supposed to be good luck charms. I dunno. Just crossing my fingers for you that the home moves -in your favor. 🙂

  3. On September 19th, 2011 at 6:57 pm Gibb Says:

    LOVE the second floor outdoor space. I had a grand plan for the back of our house that would give me something similar off the back of my bedroom. Sadly, my plan would cost more than I make in two years. So, no balcony for me!

  4. On September 20th, 2011 at 7:39 am heather Says:

    I hate matching houses! Love that your house stands out! Of course that is why I live in a really old house, which I love, that has it’s own set of issues of course! 🙂

  5. On September 20th, 2011 at 2:07 pm Rachael Says:

    Your house looks like a beach vacation…and the brick houses all remind me of the houses in Westmoreland County–not a fan! Sucks that you have to go through the house sale blues–I absolutely hated the showings and open house crap–enough that thinking of going through the process again gives me hives! Good luck and hang in there!

  6. On September 20th, 2011 at 7:38 pm Bobbi Says:

    I am sorry that you are having to live apart…….it’s a tale I know all too well. You sound like you are shouldering it well for the most part. It is a long, hard day and night….and lonely at times. Glad that the kids are adjusting ok. Amazing how resilient they are.

    I wish you luck on the house sale. If they don’t like how it looks outside how can they give up the inside……..the pics you have posted are amazing!! They need to get over it!!! Hope it happens for you all soon.

  7. On September 22nd, 2011 at 7:20 am Cheri Says:

    Have you buried the statue yet?

  8. On September 23rd, 2011 at 10:44 am Kacie Says:

    Your house looks lovely! I hope it will sell soon. The right buyer will come along.

    I recently moved away from Pittsburgh to Indiana where my family is. Pittsburgh is an awesome city, and it’s great that your DH’s parents are there!

    Also — Hardy Board is a great alternative to brick. Sheesh people!

  9. On September 25th, 2011 at 7:44 am jane Says:

    I love the house. But have no plans to move to any place that has even a tiny bit of winter!
    Similar thought to Jennifer’s…you can buy 2 already potted mums at home depot for under $50 and put one on either side of the steps for a splash of color. And like Cheri said – bury the statue for luck!