Our first house in Sparks, Nevada is again for sale. We purchased it in 2003 after moving from Ohio. We purchased it in the $200's and sold it just as the market was peaking/crashing at the end of 2005 in the $300's. Now it is for sale in the $100's, seven years later. We used the money we got from the sale of the house in 2005 as a down for the house we just sold short in 2010.
Look at that house! It is pretty nifty! I especially like the color, mostly because I painted it that color (with the help of some of you reading this). I'll admit that I did not like living in Sparks. Maybe it was the location, maybe it was just a personally rough patch for me, maybe it was this house, or maybe it was because I wanted to be somewhere else.
Every few months I look at the real estate in Sparks to see if 'our house' goes back on the market. Yesterday, I found it. It has been for sale for a month. The man who bought it from us was not kind to us, and it was a terrible experience selling and moving out, but we were glad to go. Knowing how much he paid us for it, and that it is for sale for now, I feel like it is Karma. I try that feeling on for about 2 seconds and then take it off. I should feel sad for him, and that it might be adding to his crabby-ness, and I do feel sad. I actually feel fortunate. Seeing this house for sale again, makes me disinterested in owning a home. A useful way to work through painful stuff is to look at it in a new way. I've re-capture events and details with a new point of view. Finding this house for sale, reclaimed my memory for the better. |
| The kids throw laundry down the stairs, instead of going to bed. Look how clever they are! |
I keep thinking that I won't contribute to this blog anymore, because our adventure with the real-estate market is seemingly over. Though it may be over, I'm still figuring it all out. Looking at the numbers, and looking back, farther than just our last house, we have lost nothing. Yes, we have had to say goodbye to much, but lost something? No! Not really even money, which is the most superficial part of this whole situation. I still remember nursing my baby in that house, the tomatoes and roses in the garden, snow in the yard, breakfast with my sister, my boy's first day of kindergarden, and killer desert rainbows! Aren't we always saying goodbye to something, and adjusting to something new, or shouldn't we be?
Today I am thankful to be where I am. If proximity matters, then I am happy here. If the proximity of my heart matters, then I am even more happy to be where I am.
And we are happy you are here too. Really! Thanks for being you - smart, funny, enthusiastic, caring, honest, verbal, and loving God the way you do. Ken
ReplyDeleteAgain, this entry resonates with me! I bought my first condo in San Jose for 139K in 1998. I sold it in 2007 for 365K. The woman who bought it was soooo picky, wanted me to leave things behind like the drapes and kitchen towels, wanted me to fix little things like the rubber drain thing in the kitchen sink... Today that condo would sell for 150K, and I feel bad for her, wonder if she is still there. I'm still negotiating with Wells F. and hopefully there will be light at the end of the tunnel, but I find it easiest, I think, like you, to live in a place of gratitude for all that I have.
ReplyDeleteI love the picture of the kids! :)
Kathleen
K! Isn't is so interesting how we can look at an old memory with new eyes? I'm hopeful for your situation, and am wondering how it will turn out. Maybe in the future, you will look at it with a different perspective. It is hard to have perspective in the middle of a storm.
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