For Sale

Something I don’t think I’ve ever blogged about is the house that my husband and I have been trying to sell for the last few years. When his father passed away back in 2006, he did so without a will or a trust in place, so it fell to us to retain a probate lawyer and handle his estate appropriately.

Nearly three years and lots of money gone later we’re finally in escrow! We couldn’t be happier about it and are so happy we’ll finally have this debt off of our backs.

It might have sold sooner, but Rick has this one brother who was originally living in the house with his Dad. This brother refused to move out, making it that much harder to sell, because frankly, buyers aren’t interested in a home that appears to have a hobo living in it.

You’d say “hobo” too if you saw the conditions. He doesn’t work, so he doesn’t have much money, and therefore doesn’t want to run the air or heat year round. To stay warm, he brought a mattress and his sleeping bags into the front living room so that he could watch tv and be near the fireplace at the same time. Clever, yes, but not so appealing to Mr. and Mrs. House Hunter.

Try not to think I’m heartless. This man is not incapable of working – he chooses not to. Thankfully, he finally came to the end of what little money and valuables he had, and decided to move in with another brother. In a matter of weeks, we had an offer! Between clearing out the house and lowering the price a smidge more, we actually received about 8 offers!

No, I do not think the timing was a coincidence.

There’s a part of me that hopes he’ll have the nerve to make a suggestion on how we could have sold the house sooner, or for more money, because both my husband and I are ready to pounce if he does. The bigger part of me is just glad this is finally almost over, and we can move forward with our lives.

A word of advice from someone who's been there – set up a trust or a will and make life easier on the people you love!