The Little Green Spoon

I will be the first to admit that I’m not fully versed in the current ramifications of the real estate market on the economy etc. I simply know how this mess is directly impacting my life…and I have to say, this hand we are being dealt sucks.

When my husband and I purchased our condo, along with many others in our buildings, things were flying on and off the market like hot-cakes. We didn’t even have the luxury to see our official residence till after our offer was accepted (granted we had many contingencies to ensure we got what we wanted) which is ironic now considering we rarely have any showings and came so close to an offer only once.

The very unfortunate thing is that our condo units were conversions from upscale apartments and we were certain five years ago that this was a great time to get into some real estate. We both had stable jobs and it just seemed to be the time (that’s what we were told). Little did we know that the proverbial bottom was about to drop out and after five years, we would still be holding this little gem of a condo.

Our condo is great, spacious and honestly the location is simply perfect. It’s a great low maintenance unit and the many neighbors get along well. It’s nice that we are all around the same age. Which poses the other problem: young professionals were the first owners of these units. We are all now getting to that certain age where we are getting married, wanting babies and needing to spread our wings – nearly all of us are. Having a family in these units is do-able but really tries the patience of even the most patient parents.

The conundrum is where do we go from here? The condo’s been on the market for over a year, a smattering of showings, only one really close offer and we are all still sitting in our units. Some say we need a Realtor. I find that hard to believe considering that the other units all have Realtors and they haven’t gotten any further (in fact they will have to pay their listing agent a commission – so they will actually be a little behind). Some say it’s not staged well. I find that hard to believe. Others suggest we drop our price but honestly, there’s a unit that is listed at $14,000 less than what she paid for it and she still hasn’t sold hers either. If only it was as simple as dropping our price.

All of our showing feedbacks come to us with RAVE reviews “your unit shows so well” “the color scheme you’ve chosen is great” “my buyers loved the location” but the critical reviews have all been things we can’t change: “my buyers didn’t like the *apartment* feel to the building” “the unit faces the parking lot” “my buyers have two dogs” “there’s only one parking spot”. What can one say to those objections? Sorry Charlie – we are what we are.

So while we brace ourselves for yet another three seasons in our building, our dreams and aspirations are on hold – tight hold and that’s just a sad revelation. I found myself giving my husband a pep talk earlier today by saying, these are the cards we have been dealt when honestly myself I feel like this hand of cards really sucks.