Thursday, March 22, 2012

The Stowe house - still up for grabs

Happily ensconced in our cabin in Waterbury Center but feeling the pressure of maintaining the Stowe house and guest house as well as pushing on with the new property, our life was very much in flux. The tenants had vacated the main house on June 1, 2011 but still the farmhouse was booked steadily all through the summer.

There was much to do. The lawn, which had grown considerably in size over the years needed constant mowing. The gardens needed weeding and the flower pots on the back porch and around the front entry had to be planted. With the property actively back on the market it had to be in showing-ready mode at all times. Indoors was fairly ship-shape with just some additional cleaning and polishing needed. The house plants had suffered but with a little care, sprang back to life in no time. Once again we were ready for our buyers to come along.

Within just a couple of weeks a local family appeared on the scene. Their house, much larger than ours but without the land, was under contract and due to close in August. Suddenly, everything changed. They loved our house and were ready to make an offer. As cautious as I knew we must be (I tell my clients all the time about the bumps in the road they will have to navigate before a closing can occur) the adrenaline surged and we were planning for our future.

The first offer was disappointingly low. It seemed their funds were limited but their dreams, were not. After several rounds of negotiation we came to an agreement that included the sale of the main house, rental of the farmhouse and we would keep the extra lot. Not ideal for us but it would relieve us of the burden of the care and maintenance of both houses and give us some money to get started on the new project.

We sailed through our building inspection with only a radon mitigation to take care of. Very minor on the scale of things. Our buyers, however, were running into snags with their house. We sat tight and held our breath. Sure enough with only two weeks left before closing our buyers' deal fell through and we were once again back on the market.

I work with sellers on a daily basis and am now even more sympathetic to the frustration they feel. The emotional ups and downs are wearing and the feeling of helplessness can be overwhelming. Buyers can find it hard to make decisions in such a volatile economic time. What if the stock market crashes, what if the perfect house comes on the market next week, am I paying too much, what if my financial situation takes a turn for the worse? All valid questions.

We were now into August and beginning to think about winter rentals again. Should we wait a little longer? Maybe the Stowe family will find a buyer for their house and they will be back. Maybe not.

A single phone call changed everything! It came from the husband of a young woman who had been a school friend of one of our daughters but had since moved to Europe with her Swiss husband. Her ties to Stowe are strong and especially Sterling Valley. The next week was a wild ride of many visits to the property with their five daughters and the grandmother. They came to see the sun rise, the sun set and every hour in between. Yes, it was the perfect place to come for the summers so by the end of the week we had a deal. They were ready to buy the whole property as soon as possible and we were thrilled to have this wonderful family enjoying what our family had enjoyed for so many years.

It took a little longer than we all expected and there were still some unexpected, fearful moments but on November 3, 2011 we handed over the keys and said goodbye. There are always some mixed emotions but as we look back, no regrets.

With winter still ahead of us we would have time to finalize the plans for the new house while still finishing the cabin and be ready to break ground as soon a the weather allows.
The next adventure was about to begin.