Wednesday, April 6, 2016

The Sale of My Plant City Home

Back yard


It was about a year ago that the house went on the market after yard sales as I noted on this blog. The first week there was a buyer, who quickly got out. I moved to Alabama and the negotiations for the house included another buyer. Just when we were about to close, the buyers couldn't get insurance because the roof was too old and there were outlets that my late husband put into his workshop without a permit. Sale off. 

When the economy was better before his dementia my late husband and I had gotten a second mortgage, on advice from a financial consultant. That second mortgage would help us maintain the house he explained because we had less income. Surely the house would be worth more when it came time to sell it. We did use some of that money for improvements. The roof had been fixed in two places, but we never thought of replacing it. 

However the house didn't increase in value. When it came time to sell, it was "underwater".Short of foreclosure, the only other option was a cash buyer. 

The place looked occupied as I let neighbors put animals in the second back yard after I moved to Huntsville, Alabama. 




Cash Buyer Needed or Foreclosure

Enter Leroy  who lives in this neighborhood along with his wife. They recently celebrated their 60th anniversary! She has Parkinson's and I met them at my yard sales. I sold Leroy handicapped items for a dollar each--you know--port-a-potties, wheel chair, etc., and we became friends. He even gave me a chair.

It turns out Leroy buys houses to rent--for cash. Who would have thought? I called him when that second buy fell through. He made an offer for the short sale and it took from October 16, 2015 until this week for the negotiations to finish. Thank you, LORD.

Now Leroy is a fine Christian gentleman. When I rapped for him, he sang me this song.

Some people save their money
For the hard times that's to come
Planning for the future
For their daughters and their sons
But when life down here on earth is through
And we face the judgment throne
The only thing that matters
Is if to Him your soul belongs.

CHORUS
The only thing that matters
Is if you've been born again
Has the blood been applied?
Have you been forgiven of your sins?
'Cause when He opens up the book of life
And into your heart he stares
The only thing that matters
Is if your name is written there.

Thank you, Leroy, for this song and your testimony. It doesn't matter that the house didn't turn a profit. The only thing that matters is that I have real estate in heaven.

12 comments:

  1. wonderful song! I am so amazed your house didn't sell immediately- all that backyard-- should have attracted many buyers. Well the future is going to be a beautiful new thing Carol--as you are already finding out. :)

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    1. Our LORD holds each moment and is already there for our future! Sometimes we get to see those examples concretely as with a house that takes a year to sell.

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  2. Nice feeling for you, I am sure, Carol, to have the sale going through and you'll be able to now move on from that chapter in your life.

    betty

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    1. So glad my husband could live there all his days and that I didn't have to put him in a nursing home.

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  3. So glad to hear that you sold your house. I'm sure that this is a weight off your mind. It also helps you to continue to move on. I love Leroy's song, too!

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    1. When I took that picture of Leroy and his bride of 60 years, I had him sing those lyrics to me again so I could write them down. Thanks, Kerry for writing here. Great to see you and your family when I was in FL in February..

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    2. Love his song! So glad you are free of that house!!

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  4. I'm sure you are thankful the house ordeal has come to a close. I can see the Lord's fingerprints throughout. Leroy sounds like a great guy!

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  5. Just wired funds I owed to realtor. Thanks Alison Terry, realtor, Karen, short sale attorney and George of Money Matters! Whew!

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  6. We can mess up a lot of little things over the course of time. They are normally mistakes, errors in judgment, not willful misconduct. Then one day,it all blows up on you, all of it at once. Then comes another and another and another, etc, and you become overwhelmed with a sense of defeat. The lesson here for me, it's all about The Fullness of God's Time. His ways are higher then mine and His grace reached further and deeper than I can. I must trust Him. He can be trusted, He's already proven that thousands of times.

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    1. Good insight, John.

      This is why Scripture tells us to not go ahead with our plans without the advice of others. Even so, with advice, real estate is not always guaranteed to increase in value.

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