TheBanyanTree: Momentum

[Margaret R. Kramer]

It seems like I was waiting for the clock to tick off the minutes until I
was 50 so I could get moving on some of the clutter that was in my life.

Our house decluttering is almost done, so I was able to choose a date to
list the house.  We’re going to list on June 7.  That will give our Maids
one more time to clean it before we let the public tromp through.

I had our Truth in Housing inspection done this week, which is when an
inspector comes out and looks through the house to see what’s wrong with it.
This is required by law in St. Paul and the inspector’s findings need to be
accessible so prospective home buyers can read it.

The window cleaning guy will come out on Tuesday and get our dirty windows
clean.  The screens are full of dust and grime and we haven’t cleaned the
windows for a couple of years.  It will be great to see outside again.

I called my agent, and I’m sure she was wondering if we were ever going to
list, and set up the appointment on June 6 for her to come out and get the
paperwork started.

I called a mortgage person so I could get my “mortgage pre-approval letter.”
I’ll be able to have this in my hand to show we pay our bills if I find a
house that I like. The best part is that I can get a pretty good sized
mortgage, more than I could last year, so it opened up what kind of houses I
could buy.  Boy, that was great news.  I think I did myself a favor when I
stopped everything last year and refinanced our current house and paid off
bills.  My pre-approval letter came yesterday, so once our house lists, I
can begin looking at homes, which is the fun part.

I have a search set up on a real estate web site and they’ve been emailing
me various homes which meet my criteria since last spring.  I keep my
“favorites” in a list, so I’ve watched homes come and go on my list for
about a year.  This has given me a good handle on what’s out there for what
neighborhood.

I had 79 houses on my list at the beginning of this week and then I went
through them and narrowed them down to around 40.  With my financing in
place and our house on the verge of being listed, I can zero in on what kind
of house I want and what neighborhood I want to live in.  I’m focusing on
the little 1920s bungalows with lots of windows and beautiful woodwork.

I saw a little bungalow just two blocks from my grandson’s school.  My heart
started beating fast and I was hoping it would still be for sale in a couple
of weeks, but it was sold within a few days.  See, my grandson’s school is
in the ultimate city neighborhood, where everything is safe and everyone
knows each other.  The houses in that neighborhood are very expensive, even
though they’re very tiny.

What’s left for Ray and I to do?  Well, I’m going to plant flowers this
weekend.  Yes, I bought flowers for our yard to brighten it up.  I also
bought them, because I don’t really know how long I’m going to live here.
Evidently, there is a housing glut, and it could take a while to see our
home.  So I would like to have a decent garden this year, no matter what.  I
just bought bright colored annuals.  We’ve had such dreary weather that they
’ll definitely bring a bit of spring fresh air for our eyes.

I have to declutter my office, which is the last haven for major clutter.
Ray will paint the dining room and my office.  I’ll clean next weekend, and
by clean, I mean serious dusting and scrubbing out of the refrigerator and
oven.  Ray needs to clean out his office, too, and like me, I think he’s
been putting this off until last.

CoCo’s couch will be put in the trash this week.  He’ll have to sleep on the
floor after it’s gone.  It will be interesting to see if he’ll migrate to
the family room and sleep on the couch there.

It’s difficult to be without our familiar things surrounding us, but I keep
thinking we’ll be able to clutter up our new, although smaller, house.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net

http://www.polarispublications.com
Be a star!

http://www.bpwmn.org
Business and Professional Women of Minnesota

They say that age is all in your mind.  The trick is keeping it from
creeping down into your body.  ~Author Unknown