Читать книгу I Know How A Butterfly Feels - Ann Palmer - Страница 7

CHAPTER 3

MAKING A DECISION

AND ACTION FOLLOWED

After my last summer’s RV travel, the thought began churning around in my head to sell my house, buy a motor home for full time living. There is NO perfect place weather-wise! The desert was ungodly hot in the summers and beyond! Yet, for many people, it is a winter paradise. Other areas are ungodly cold! Living in a motor home, if the weather changes drastically, just turn on the key and go! If work or other temptations appear, turn on the key and GO. I had lived in my Airstream travel trailer for months at a time and was content. When things seem hopeless, I create a new plan and new goals.

I began sorting and getting rid of stuff – especially clothing – five huge garbage bags were taken to Mexico by a Mexican man I met. He would give them to anyone on the street that appeared to need them. Things began going to consignment stores. How could I have collected so much “stuff” in only three years! It was a chore to just get the house in presentable order to show it.

By November it was in some semblance of order. That was usually the beginning of “the season” in the desert when “snowbirds” flood into all the desert cities.

Still, there was so much confusion over 9/11 that no one was shopping for houses. Against my better judgment, I signed with a sales agent. Two months passed and not one showing of the house. I cancelled the listing. Meanwhile I was searching the Internet to familiarize myself with the availability and prices of motor homes, plus placing ads for the sale of my house.

After the first of the year 2002, a few people began shopping for homes. Mine was a manufactured house in a Country Club park where you own the house but not the land. By the time I paid lot rent, utilities and general living expenses, it was a month-to-month struggle for survival. It kept me hustling for weddings. I had hustled so much seeking acting and modeling jobs my hustle had worn out! I wanted more out of life than just living to pay month-to-month expenses. I had rather do with less and be HAPPY!

As the months rushed by with no sale of the house plus I was tired of having “lookers” that had no intentions of buying wander through my privacy. Finally, it dawned on me that it seemed I always had to “go out on a limb” to make things happen. I had shopped around for a motor home all those months but with no plans to buy one until my house sold. Suddenly, one day in April, I found one that suited my living necessities and zap, I signed papers to buy it! Now, I was really sweating it out. My weddings seemed to drop off to nothing. I hustled around to all the temporary employment agencies to find work – nothing. Pressure and stress was on! Indigestion prevailed. Meditation and prayers didn’t seem to be helping! What would I do in the summer if I had to make motor home payments plus the usual expenses and NO work?

I spent hundreds of dollars on ads that generally brought very little results. I placed ads all over the Internet with no results! April meant the “season” was waning away. The “Open House” sign attracted lookers until finally a nice gentleman stopped in and I hoped he was a good prospect. Not so, he was a mobile home salesman. We sat and talked for quite a long while and I decided to again try signing with an agent, only with the understanding that if any of my ads brought buyers, I paid no commission to them.

Eight days after signing with the nice gentleman, there came an Email asking about my house. I called the people in San Diego. They came up – we talked for hours. I showed them all the park facilities and they decided then and there to buy it. Hooray – oh happy day! no person at the agency ever showed my house ONCE or did any advertising during those eight days. Unfortunately for me, the husband decided he had rather go through an agent; therefore I referred him to the listing salesman.

Years ago, I worked as a sales person in the desert selling mobile homes. I probably sold around 20 doublewide homes, plus this was the seventh mobile home I owned and sold without an agent. I also had a Real Estate license while living in Florida. I had all the necessary information and papers from both state and city. Ironically, the salesman told me he had not yet received his license and had sold only one mobile home. After the buyers contacted him and committed to buy my house, for three days I left messages for the Manager of the agency to work out a fair and equitable commission since it was my customer, my sale PLUS, because of my situation, the manager and General Manager finally decided to allow the couple to move into the park. Through the Agent, the Park had refused them because she was not yet 55 years of age. NO agent could have gotten that exception. THEY could have lost the deal completely and redirected MY buyers to their other listings. The park made an exception ONLY to help ME! The manager of the sales agency told me he was taking 10% and there would be no concession or consideration for me. There was no reasoning with him. I was so angry; I was shaking and hung up on him. Because of the requirements of going through an Agent and Escrow, the pressures grew with each hour! Would someone cause the deal to be cancelled? Again, I was in panic over what I would do if it did fall through!

There was the necessity of selling my van and buying a car that could be towed behind a motor home. I looked at some ratty looking used cars. Someone told me that any Saturn, even automatic transmissions, could be towed. I assumed the Saturn dealer did not carry cars in the price range I felt I should stay within. I stopped by their lot anyway. As fortune would have it, thank you, God, I got a salesman who has just sold a new Saturn to a couple who had a ‘93 Saturn with the tow equipment already on it and wanted to sell it themselves. I called immediately and went out to see it. It was perfect and in great condition. I knew the couple was the type to take good care of it. I paid $500. to hold it until I got paid for the house. This ran my bank account short, which only created more pressure. Again – what if the sale of the house deal fell through? Believe me those last few days were “killers”!

After it was all over and I was finally paid, I found time to write a few letters to the right people regarding the incident related to the unyielding, inconsiderate agent and can only hope that he meets with the same treatment that he gave to me. I hope the letters might help other “seniors” from meeting the same fate as I had with this agent.

The sale of my house was haphazardly done because of the buyer insisting on going through an Agent. I could have had the whole thing wrapped up very simply weeks before but when an agent gets involved and all sorts of complications must be faced. This and that “necessary” inspector (not so), delay after delay, more frustration. Would they find anything that might cancel the sale? I had almost moved out completely of the house into the motor home, plus used up masses of credit cards! Anxiety!! YES!