The Housing Collapse!

869 Dickson St., Kirkwood, MO

It was all going so well; too well, in fact!

The contract on my house fell last week, and I don't think I have ever been so frustrated, angry, sad, depressed, overwhelmed, etc.  It's a horrible feeling!

Originally, I thought I had the ideal buyers: a young couple with New Orleans roots who had a real love for the house. They agreed to buy all of the furniture with the house, too, making my move to Hong Kong even easier.

One week before closing, however, the buyer lost is job. That's terrible; it really is, and I feel sorry for him and his family. Consequently, he couldn't secure financing and therefore couldn't close on the house on June 27 as originally planned. My agent (who must be the greatest real estate agent in the world) came by to deliver the news on Monday; two days after I returned from Rome.

She explained that I had two options: let the buyers rent for a few months until they could purchase the house or put the house back on the market. She (and others) also suggested that I meet the buyer; get a sense of his character before I consider renting him the house. So I did...

Our meeting only lasted an hour, and while he seemed like a nice guy, down on his luck, he also struck me as a question mark. He was still searching for a job, was looking for an informal lease, didn't have any definite answers about the future, etc. In short, I wasn't comfortable allowing him to live in my house as long as I still owned it. (In fact, I didn't want to be a landlord in any shape or form).

When we broke the lease, the guy became angry and refused to sign the release of contract form until he got some of his earnest money back. With a bit of sympathy, I gave him some of the money back, but I kept my fair share. I had to pay the mortgage while the house went back on the market. I couldn't just be out two months of mortgage payments!

To make a long story short, the house went back on the market on Monday (June 24) and it sparked lots of interest right away. (Again, my agent is wonderful!) Within a week, a buyer made an offer and it's again under contract.

After what happened, I'm a bit hesitant to "count my eggs before they hatch," but I'm happy that someone is showing some serious interest. If all goes according to plan, I'll close at the end of July and finally be free to explore real estate in Hong Kong.