Who me worried?

Well crack open the President’s Choice celebration Blanc Sparkling de-alcoholized wine! On Thursday we signed the numerous papers and this afternoon we received the cheque from our lawyer.   Our home is officially sold! We are truly apartment dwellers.   This past month has been so stressful we intend to spend most of this long weekend resting.  And unpacking boxes.

The young couple who purchased our house presented  an offer back in April, conditional on the sale of their house.   In May another older couple fell in love with our house.   This older couple visited no less than six times but were timid to put their house on the market in case our home sold in the mean time.   Weekly we would receive emails or calls from both couples bringing us up to date on the sale of their homes.   On July 23rd the older couple presented us an offer conditional on the sale of their home.   My DH was out of town so we decided to wait until he returned the next weekend before accepting their offer.

It was a fight to the finish with the young couple receiving a conditional offer on their home on July 26th.   They were selling to a couple from Halifax who either had to sell  their home or arrange for double financing, all before August 27th.  On August 6th the Halifax buyer obtained interim financing and the rush was on.   The past three weeks have been a whirlwind of home inspections, appraisals, calls back and forth to the lawyers.   On August 18th the sold sign went on our house even though we did not have a new place to live.

Finding an apartment at the best of times is difficult, but factor in two weeks before the kids are returning to college and being the owner of a cat and you have major stress.  Luckily we found someone who had to break a lease and the rest is apartment heaven.

Everything was to close last Friday August 27th, but the young couple’s mortgage broker and lawyer did not have their paper work done on time.   So we moved into the apartment almost 100% certain our home had sold.   That little devil inside my head kept saying, “Yeah, but whatever something happens and the sale doesn’t go through? You will have an apartment and a house!”

At least we had an apartment.  The young couple had to find a place to store their truck load of furniture and a place to rest their heads for a few days.

The sale date was moved forwarded to Wednesday September 1st.   The papers still were not finalized and hurricane Earl was making its way up the eastern seaboard.   Thursday afternoon we signed a gazillion documents with assurances from our lawyer that the money would be transferred on Friday morning.

By noon Friday, still no money.   I figured the sale would not go through that day, Hurricane Earl would strike the Miramichi and the beautiful maples which surround the property would go through the house…………..and who would want to buy the house once the roof fell off.

After a few hurried phone calls, my husband called me at work to announce he was at the lawyers and the cheque was being cut.  Would I like to meet him at the bank?

We deposited the money, my DH went back to our previous home to present the young couple with the keys.   I returned to the apartment to crack open the bottle of “champagne” I purchased in May 2009 when we first decided to sell our house.   Trust me, non-alcholized wine does not improve with age.   Regardless my DH and I did the happy dance while singing “we sold the house, we sold the house.”   We know we are truly blessed to be able to sell in these though times.

So here we are, houseless, happy and hurricane less.   Earl is heading for Halifax.