Been Too Damn Long

Nancy and I have been talking about downsizing since I retired from AT&T last year and we have decided to put our home up for sale. We're currently looking at smaller, single-story homes in the Blackhorse Ranch subdivision.

Here are the specifics on our current house....

History
David Weekley Homes began construction on this house in 1988 and it was finished in early 1989. It is our understanding that this house was used as a model home by David Weekley Homes for several months before being sold to the original owners, William T. and Paula W. Cutts. David Weekley only built three homes in Jamestown Colony with this type of floor plan and architecture. All three are located on cul-de-sac lots and each of them were constructed with subtle differences to set them apart. At 2,862 square feet of living area, this home is the largest one of the three.

The Cutts put this house up for sale in July 1992 and it was eventually sold to Scott A. and Lora D. Darby. The Darbys lived here for nine years and listed the house for sale in May 2003. We closed our deal with the Darbys in September 2003.

General Description
This is a four bedroom, 2.5 bath home with a formal dining room, living room, den, utility room, and an upstairs loft. All of the bedrooms are upstairs. The master bedroom measures 18’ x 13’ with a large window providing a nice view of the entire street. The master bathroom is huge, with a Jaccuzzi tub, separate upright shower stall, dual sinks, enclosed toilet area, and a large walk-in closet. The second bedroom measures 12’ x 12’ and also has a large window facing east. The third and fourth bedrooms measure 12’ x 10’ and 11’ x 10’ respectively.

Two electric 3-ton AC units provide central cooling for both floors and the central heating furnace is fueled by natural gas. All of the JennAir kitchen appliances are electric. The utility room has both gas and electric hook-ups for the washer and dryer, and the fireplace in the den is also fed by natural gas.

The garage is an oversized (22’ x 22’), 2-car structure with an aluminum door, wireless garage door opener, built-in work bench and 5’ x 3’ storage cabinet. It is connected to the house by a 18’ covered and gated walkway. Behind the garage is an 8’ x 6’ steel storage shed.

Special Features
• Rainbird automatic sprinkler system with nine zones and 57 sprinkler heads.
• 4-inch underground storm drain piping with eight separate pick-up locations.
• Four 8’ and six 4’ fluorescent lights, wood paneling, and sound system wiring in the garage.
• Beautiful 9’ wall unit with built-in lighting and DVD/CD/VHS storage trays located in the den.
• Two-story entry with raised hardwood flooring in the foyer and crown molding in the formal rooms.
• Island kitchen with tile floors and countertops, butler’s pantry, and breakfast area with bench seating.
• Attic flooring above the detached garage and above the second floor of the main structure.
• Double-paned storm windows on the first floor and plantation shutters on the second floor.
• Fully functional intrusion alarm with two keypads, dual sirens (one inside / one outside) and contacts on all of the first floor windows and doors, including the detached garage.
• Structured phone / data / CATV wiring with the main panel located in the master bedroom closet. There are multiple phone, data, and CATV outlets in every bedroom, as well as in the den, loft area, kitchen, and even in the garage. This home is wired and ready for entertainment services from AT&T (Uverse), Comcast, or either of the two satellite TV providers. Wiring and service options can easily be executed at the structured wiring panel.

Other Notes
Over the past seven years, we have consistently kept both thermostats set at 71* throughout the year, and as a result, our Reliant Energy bill averaged $337.18 a month in 2009. CenterPoint Energy (gas) averaged $60.63 and the water bill came in at $60.51. Major repair expenses incurred during the past seven years include replacing the upstairs AC compressor, replacing the 40-gallon hot water heater, new fencing, new den carpet, and a new waste disposer in the kitchen sink. Two 500 watt driveway lights were added for safety and security and one of them is connected to a photocell for automatic operation. We also had the hot water pipes to the master bathroom re-routed to provide faster delivery of hot water to the shower, tub, and sinks.

That said, it really has been a great house and we are going to hate leaving it. The floor plan provides plenty of space, is laid out well, and without a doubt, it has been the finest house we’ve ever owned. It’s perfectly suited for restful evenings with the family or for entertaining guests. Due to the centralized, cul-de-sac location, it’s very peaceful and quiet with very little traffic. Our end of the street is on high ground and the house has never even come close to taking on flood waters. During the last seven years, we’ve never had an issue with crime and this house has always provided us with a very safe and secure home environment. Thankfully, we’ll take away hundreds of wonderful memories of the many years we’ve spent in this house.

The sale is being handled by Cydney Parker with ReMax Realty (281-235-9910). Asking price is $175,000.

Due to the suppressed housing market, and per the recommendation of our real estate agent, we've reduced our price to $169,900.

I've told our agent that if we can't get that for the house, we'll just keep it and continue to live in more house than what we really need. We're definitely not interested in giving it away or taking a large loss on our equity. Fortunately, we're not in a position to where we can't make the note and we have to move.

Sold!

After being on the market for six months, we finally got a contract on our house last week. We're supposed to close during the last week of September.

Now we need to hurry up and find a new place to live. Spent all day looking at new and used homes in the Riata Ranch, Barker Lakes Estates, Blackhorse Ranch areas. Found one in Barker Lakes that all of us really liked, and the price was right.

Congratulations!! Selling homes right now is not easy to do, but I'm sure that beautiful house made it easier.

We're dealing with the owners of a very nice 1,934 sq. ft., 3/2/2 home in Barker Lakes Estates. Their house was originally listed at $172,800 10 months ago. It's now listed at $159,900. We've got a "take-it-or-leave-it" offer of $154,500 on the table right now.

The wife was transferred to Virginia several months ago (work related) and has been commuting back and forth for visits with her husband. Something tells me they are going to take our offer.