Offer Accepted

The most significant thing that happened last week was that, I accepted an offer on my house.  The house went on the market around August 7, and I had initially listed the house for $169,000.  Nancy, my real estate agent, had done some homework on what houses in my neighborhood have been selling for, and once you adjust for the fact that my house is smaller than any of those, it seemed like $158,000 was about what we should expect.  It was also true that all the houses we compared it against had set an initial asking price way too high, and then let the house sit on the market for 150+ days, slowly reducing their price.  I didn't want to do that, so I tried to set my asking price low for a quick sale.  I also made sure I undercut the asking price of the only other house of a similar size that is currently for sale in the neighborhood.

I got an offer the day after I listed it for $155,000 minus $3,000 in closing costs.  That felt like an insult, but I countered with $162,000 minus $3,000.  They rejected that, so I moved on.  On Wednesday the 15th, we got another offer.  This one was for $165,000 minus $3,000.  I didn't have to take much time to think about it.  I accepted, and now the inspections/negotiations can begin.

As long as they don't find too much wrong with it, I should be able to close in the middle of September.  My friends have done a great job fixing the place up, so hopefully there isn't much to find.  In any event, I am very pleased that it only spent a week on the market, and hopefully this particular chore will soon be over.