Thwarted but I'm Good With It

April turned out to be a busy and out of the ordinary month (the skin stuff alone threw my calendar off kilter), and I was looking forward to my recent birthday as a day just to knock around in. A fun lunch in Gruene followed by naps and reading and movie watching. Kat was off, and she’s always game to do whatever.

That morning I rolled out of bed, and the first thing I did was charge my Kindle. This was going to be the kind of day that required a fully charged e-reader!

Things got off to a great start with a breakfast of kolaches and coffee. Then Kat surprised me with a light box for my sewing room. Hooray! The timing couldn’t have been more perfect as the quilt I’m working on requires applique. 

After lunch and a walk around the shops at Gruene, we drove back to San Antonio, into the neighborhood, turned the corner, and I saw this:

Hastily decorated by a neighbor

I gasped! No!! 

Yes, surprise party. The last guest left at 11:00 pm. My fully charged Kindle sat untouched.

So, my birthday went not at all as I had envisioned. Had I been asked, I would have said emphatically that I did not want a party. But, as with life when chaos intrudes on the hopeful vision of orderly days, I accepted it (after a bit of struggle) and it was good. It was good to visit with friends I haven’t seen in a while, and of course I was touched (after I got past wanting to kill her) by Kat’s eagerness to make the day special. 

I haven’t yet peeked at the credit card to see what this set us back. I have a budget session planned for tomorrow to review March and April. I’m hoping all the big birthday surprises are behind me :-P

Complications

Transitioning from real estate has become more complicated than I expected. I am currently working with a client, a very picky professional couple. They want to live in a better neighborhood and in a house with lower maintenance, but have no truly burning motivation for moving, so I've been wondering whether I should refer them. I kind of hate to, because I've spent several months showing them houses.

Well, guess what? Yep, we found the perfect house this past Friday, and they are now under contract. Woo hoo!

The complicated part is that they can afford to purchase before selling their current home, which is the path they have chosen. They'll have the luxury of moving out on their own timeline, then getting the house ready for market. We're looking at late October as the earliest the house would list, and I had hoped to be out of real estate by then.

Having a listing means, among other things, being on call 24/7.  I'm considering asking them if I could bring in another agent, but these clients happen to be close friends. I'll have to proceed carefully. I do know that if I list it, I would want to put 100% effort behind selling it. They don't need to be stuck with two houses.

I'm already planning to put back money from my fee earned from their purchased home toward staging and marketing their house. I would do my best, but fear my heart is no longer in it. Referring to a good, experienced agent may be the best thing for them. I'll have to think about this one. I want to do right by them, and also by me.

On another note, of my transition projects, the only one I've tackled with measurable success is cleaning up and organizing my home office. I've a long way to go, but I'm getting there. I need to work with budgets next. Having an unexpected commission check coming in October changes things. Nice income, but also unexpected expense as I will need to maintain monthly office fees and pay MLS dues for the fourth quarter.