Personal Journal: the strategic default of the house we purchased in 2006

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

I'm Not Trendy


Watch CBS News Videos Online

Here is a segment from 60 Minutes.  It really just explains more of the same featured in my previous posts.  I feel it is pretty balanced, not making the banks look like terrorists, nor the short-sellers like snakes.  I find it interesting how the media, and therefor 'the whole world' sees our situation.  In a way it is inflammatory.  Since I don't have television, it seems amazing that my choices, made independently of news media, is trendy.
I am anything but trendy.  I wore/wear hand-me-downs and thrift-store clothing.  I sew.  I drink tea.  I like eggplant, pate', and liver.  I don't use a credit card.  I don't like ice cream.  I like square-toed shoes, and staying on dry land.  I'm shy.  If it is a trend, I either am a late to the party (facebook, cell phones, tattoos, running), or was doing it before it was trendy (recycling- really that's all on this list).
This week, as we say goodbye to this house that was our home, I don't feel trendy.  I don't think something that is hard, is likely to be trendy.
I know that paying a mortgage is hard, because it costs money and time, and sometimes too much money, and too much time.  We were faced with the hard choice of doing nothing and living with an unfortunate situation, or being very proactive, and facing the hard task of getting out of a unfortunate situation.  As I tape up boxes of our belongings, it doesn't feel like a trend that is newsworthy.  CBS can't express the tenderness I'm feeling.

Monday, May 10, 2010

And The Winner Is....

This is me.  Clearly.  This is a stack of realtor cards.  If you have never sold a house, or bought a house, you might not know about this, but every time a realtor shows a house, they leave a card.
I kept a dish by the front door, and if you count, 50 realtors showed our house. 50!!!!!  Think about that.  Each one brought with them 2-5 potential buyers with them.  In three months, we had over 150 house guests?  How happy would I be if all of them brought me some nice dark chocolate, and laid it in the dish, instead of card stock?
Did I clean my house to perfection?  You bet I did.  Did I need to? Absolutely not, but I wanted to.  Now, my house is 70% in boxes, and it is hard to tell if it is a mess, or if I am moving.  It is probably both.  This morning after I got the kids out the door, I took a nap!  After this, I'm putting all my fabric into clear plastic bins, so I can see in, and get organized!  After that?  I might fill a box with kid-closet stuff.  This is not the glamourous part of a short-sale, and come to think of it, none of it is too appealing.  I know cable TV shows try to make getting organized, home sales, and yard work alluring, but still it is just dusty, dirt and hard work.
The top card is the realtor who's clients are buying our house.