The reason I now have grey hair.

My experience selling our Pink House felt a lot like getting robbed.

I was without a husband for three months while Kev did all that he could think of to ready the house for sale. We slowly emptied our bank account paying both the mortgage and our rent while waiting for the house to sell. We scurried about signing papers, making concessions, extending deadlines and dealing with the heat in our empty house being turned up to 81 degrees and left for who-knows-how-long. We bent over backwards just so we could continue losing money.

I know this is the norm, and we're actually a lot better off than I feared. But that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to feel upset about it. I worked in this industry for many years, and just because something is common, it doesn't mean it's alright.

The worst for me was when our closing date came and went without any communication from our realtor. We knew it was possible the buyer would need "one extra day" (which really means a week) but without an addendum to amend the closing date we didn't expect anything to change.

Imagine my frustration when the following day I talked to my realtor and was told that although no request was made to extend, the buyer was expecting another week to get his loan in order.

WHY WAS HE NOT PRE-APPROVED?! And more importantly, why am I literally paying for his mistakes? Why am I penalized by being forced to continue to pay a mortgage and utilities for a home that was supposed to belong to someone else already? He's had two months to get his loan sorted out. If he can't afford our cheap little house, he should have moved on by now.

When we offered up our own addendum requesting compensation for the delays, it was denied by the lender. Which implies the buyer couldn't get approved for the meager fee we asked in addition to the price of the home. Not exactly reassuring.

I'm not proud of the conversation I had with my realtor, but at least it got the job done. Suddenly everyone was scrambling to finish paperwork and meet our deadline and we even ensured that my realtor and the buyer's realtor would pay (to me and Kev) the fee we requested for extending the closing date yet again. Turns out when you threaten someone's commission, they get a move on.

Until our Pink House sold, we couldn't get pre-approved for a loan of our own. Until we know what we can afford to purchase in Sandy, we can't get out of this rental in this horrible neighborhood in a city that both Kev and I feel is a huge mistake. It's hard to untangle our emotions from this sale, because so much relies on it. I have no intention of putting someone else through this kind of hell when I become a buyer again myself.


We signed papers with the Title company this afternoon. Within 24 hours our mortgage payoff should be wired to our lender. Utilities will be transferred from our name to the buyer's. We are finally moving on.

And now that this whole mess is (almost) over, I can stop hating my little Pink House. I can go back to remembering it fondly and cherishing all the experiences we had there.