Angel and Jacqueline and the Quest for Grass II

Part I of "Angel and Jackie and the Quest for Grass" can be found here.

Jackie and Angel need a house, (OK, the whole family needs one,) with a backyard full of grass, and my wife and I have made an offer on one, but first we need to sell our condo. The problem is that the real estate market in our area is in a slump right now, so we are having difficulty selling our place. Condos like ours were selling for as much as $445,000.00 up until a few months ago, but recently the prices have dropped, and so we were forced to lower our asking price from $414,950.00 to $399,950.00, and that still puts us at one of the highest priced condos in the area.

The house we found is 1875 square feet, has four bedrooms, two and a half baths, and is a ranch style single story that was built in 1963. It is also below market value. The house is on the market evidently because the owners have "gone their separate ways", and therefore have not been able to make their payments. They are at least two months behind, and the bank has told them to sell the house NOW. Initially it was listed at $629,000.00, and when we saw it the first time we liked it, but we weren't impressed with the bathrooms and kitchen.

We were out the weekend before last checking out open houses when we drove by the place to see if on the off chance it was opened. We were in luck, and so we got out for a second look. The Realtor was almost begging for us to make an offer, and told us that the price had dropped to $599,000.00! We talked it over and decided to make an offer on Monday. When I called my agent, however, the house was no longer on the market.

It's kind of a long story, but essentially the listing expired, and later that afternoon it was back on the market... for $585,000.00. We jumped on it, and the seller has agreed to take our offer IF we can dump our place in 21, now 12 days.

So, if you, dear reader, know anyone who is thinking of buying a very nice condo in the sunny and mild beach town of Ventura in southern California, give me a call. I'll make you such a deal!

In the mean time, let's take a look at some pictures of Jackie and Angel in the great outdoors...

Jackie likes to have a little something to chew on when she goes for her afternoon walk. Jackie and Angel don't have a real backyard of their own, so we go to the neighborhood park to lay in the grass. It's like taking two little kids to the pool. They love being there, and I have to drag them out when it is time to go home. Jackie selects a ripe dandelion to chew on. We would miss our walks in and around the barranca near where we live now. But, we all understand sacrifices will need to be made if we are to realize our dream of a new home.

Check in next week for a new chapter in The Adventures of Angel and Jacqueline. And don't forget to check out the Carnival of the Dogs at Mickey's Musings, and the Friday Ark at The Modulator for more interesting animals.

Posted by Jeff at October 19, 2006 7:09 AM