House update

Well, the house situation has been resolved. I finally made some headway with my realtor, who herself finally pushed for more information about the gentleman who wasn't moving. I stood my ground, made my frustrations known, and reminded her I needed her to represent me, not try to make this big deal work. I stood up to her and pushed for information and movement on this issue, and we finally have some. I was respectful, but I was firm, so I think that played a part in finally having resolution.

As it turns out, the gentleman who wasn't moving by his closing date is a widower whose daughter has some signing powers in his estate. His daughter had been traveling out of state for business and was in an accident, subsequently being admitted to the hospital. This pushed everything back - understandably. I'm not sure why she couldn't have found this out beforehand as I could have been far more understanding and less panicked with that information. In any event, she guaranteed me I would be closing on or before 7 AM on the 30th of this month and getting my keys on or before the 7th of October. This means I will be moving on the 10th of October, and my apartment complex has graciously allowed me to extend my time here to accommodate that date (I have to be out by the 11th, which gives me a day to clean after the move).

She said if anything changes with any of the other buyers, our dates our set, and those buyers will have to make alternate arrangements for their housing and belongings. In other words, my dates will not be pushed back. I confirmed with her 3 times that the 30th and 7th were guarantees, and I also confirmed that if these dates are not honored, someone else will be paying the additional rent that I will be forced to pay. She said yes to those issues, so I feel at peace with the situation.

On another interesting (said quite sarcastically) note, I picked up my coworker, Laura, Wednesday morning (after the house situation started to get ugly and tenuous). She asked me how I was doing with the house situation, and after we talked for a few minutes, she told me that the realtor representing the sellers' whose home I'm buying called her the night before. That realtor told Laura that she and my realtor were sitting there "trying to come up with some options for Jenny for the house situation. She doesn't know we're calling you, but we were wondering if she could stay with you if the house closes after she has to be out of her apartment? We just figured her coworkers would be more than happy to help her out." Does anyone else hear strong-arming going on?

Needless to say, I was livid. My realtor has continued to just do whatever she feels is necessary to make the deal work and in many ways treat me like a child who hasn't thought of these things on her own, so I called her that day (had to leave her a voicemail), where I said, "My coworker informed me that Carol called her last night and basically asked if I could live with her. I appreciate that that was done in the spirit of helpfulness, and I'm not sure if you were a part of that decision, but please know my strong preference is that phone calls of that nature not be made. It is my business to find housing for myself, and I do not appreciate having coworkers called on my behalf. This puts them in an awkward situation, and that is inappropriate. Please keep this in mind for yourself and pass this on to any of the other realtors: I do not want phone calls like this made without my knowledge. I regard such behavior as unprofessional." Whew. I was soooooooo angry. After that voicemail, our conversations have been very pleasant. She has been kissing up a bit, which I take as her recognition that she crossed a big line. I think she was surprised I called her on this, but having done that, I think she'll be much more careful about how she behaves with me in the last couple of weeks of this thing.

All said, though, closing happens in 10 days, and I'm moving in 20 days. Not only can I not wait to live in my home, but I'm chomping at the bit to be done working this realtor. This will be one of the best break-ups I've ever had (and I've had had some pretty great break-ups ending some pretty bad relationships, so that's really saying something!). :)

Thanks for your prayers and offers, everyone. It's been an interesting roller coaster.