About Merrimack County, NH

To continue the Saga......

(I just had an email from a past Client concerned about what was happening to us and wanting details. I have also had several emails from some of you with the same concerns. Here is my return email with all the gory details!)

Hi Abby,

Yes, we are still living in the Red Roof Inn in Loudon, NH-Geoff and I and the two dogs.... the boys are next door!

You knew about the Leach Field. There were also some electrical issues. We had to put money in Escrow for the repairs.

We were supposed to close on a Foreclosure in Pittsfield the same day but 4 days before that deal fell apart because of appraisal.... We booked the motel thinking it would be resolved in a few days! :0)

Meanwhile after looking more closely at our Movers contract with his 10 day "free" storage....we realized it was going to cost us over $5,000 so we canceled it. We called the guy who we have used to take stuff to the dump and he rented a truck and brought a friend. Geoff and I, the two guys and the boys moved ourselves. And rented a storage unit.

Meanwhile my smallest dog went to the Vet. for surgery for Bladder stones.

Well.....it has been a very long 25 years since I last moved and I totally underestimated how much we had accumulated and overestimated our ability to do it ourselves! It was a disaster!! They scheduled their walk through for the evening before close (which I never should have allowed) the place was a mess and obviously we weren't going to be finished.

That night the Buyers agent said they would give us until 6:0 PM the next evening to finish our moving. It was not a hardship for them . They only lived 3/4mile away and had until the 31st.....but...if we weren't out we would have to forfeit any remaining escrow that may remain. We foolishly agreed. (My boss said we should have asked for a delay in the closing or for an additional 2 days to move because of the circumstances)....He was right! I have learned a valuable lesson....never represent yourself. I was too close to the situation, too tired, too stressed and I just wanted it over. So....you guessed it we didn't finish till 7:30 the next evening, while they sat at the end of the driveway. They informed us the next day that not only were they taking the (if any )remaining escrow but proceeded to ream me up one side and down the other because the house wasn't cleaned to their satisfaction (they even insisted on hangers being removed from the closets).

I told their Agent NO that I was done giving.I had done the best I could under the circumstances and they could take me to court. My Broker agreed with me ....it all boils down to your interpretation of broom swept clean. Meanwhile the Buyer called and left a message at the office that he was going to sue the company. That was going too far. I asked my Broker to handle it because I just couldn't do it anymore. He did and the agreement was for $750. Whether it was or was not left after the electric. Of course it wasn't left so not only did the electric cost over $3000 we handed them (the Buyers) a check for $750.

The saddest part....I couldn't wait to get out of a house I'd loved for 25years!

Now....the reason we are still here at the Motel:

The Foreclosure became "on" again when Citi Bank agreed to lower the price but then no Mortgage Insurance company would insure the loan. So we tried going 20% down so we didn't need Insurance but three different Lenders wanted another appraisal. What it all boiled down to was that the other Banks just didn't like the property and didn't want another Banks bad investment....they only want to loan on houses in good condition. So the whole thing is dead in the water. Last week we started looking for an apartment that was big enough and would take the dogs....we weren't having much luck and the motel is bleeding us dry. So...we went out to look at an area we had seen about 4 years ago called "The Meadows" It's in Contoocook (Hopkinton) and has all double wide manufactured homes. It looks like a village of small ranches. We found one we really love. It is adorable!! It needs updating but has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a 3 season porch and fenced in yard area for the dogs. It also has a 1car garage and a workshop and the Warner River is in the back yard. The people were already moving out and agreed to let us move in before closing once we had Bank commitment. We got our commitment today from First Colebrook and plan on moving in on Sunday.

The boys have been given notice that one of them is in Geoffs future office and the other in our guest room...they have till August 1st.

This has truly been a nightmare! I was so stressed from the situation and the physical trauma of all the packing and hauling, I developed edema and could hardly walk....my face was like a melon and my legs tree stumps! The Dr. put me on a diuretic and I seem to be getting back to normal.

Sooo....aren't you sorry you asked? I look at it this way...I can definately identify strongly with both sides of a transaction after all of this. I'm probably the most empathetic Realtor in town!

I'm going to forward this to the other Joan too....she needs to hear "the rest of the story" and I'm tired of typing. Thanks for caring kiddo... Joan