1st Showing

Much to our surprise, we got a call from Patty not even 24 hours after our house was listed saying that she had someone interested in seeing it!  The call came in at 3p on Tuesday, with the showing scheduled for 11:30a the following morning, YIKES!!  Whipping this house into shape on such short notice was no small feat... laundry needed to be washed, dried and put away, floors needed to be vacuumed and washed, toys needed to be put away, the bathroom needed to be scrubbed down... the "to do" list was overwhelming, but we somehow managed to pull it off!  My "game plan" was to send Jim, the dog and the kids out to the yard about an hour before the showing so that I could put the final touches on the house (i.e. wash the floors).  Unfortunately that plan was squashed thanks to the rainy, stormy weather that greeted us that morning!  What ended up happening was I had to keep moving the family from room to room, depending on where I was cleaning.  It was kind of comical, actually!  I went outside in the pouring rain to cut fresh flowers from my garden, which wasn't exactly a pleasant task to tackle in the rain, but within minutes my entire house was smelling fantastic and looking better than it's ever looked!!
Patty had told us that most showings only take between 20-30 minutes so originally we had planned on taking the dog to the park down the road.  With the weather not cooperating we had to go to Plan B, which was to pack everyone into the van and head over to Jim's parents.  Thankfully they were home!
Patty told us the showing went very well.  The person interested was a single woman with 2 teenagers.  She loved the size of the bedrooms and the extra space upstairs and downstairs but she wasn't willing to overlook the small kitchen.  Jim and I weren't surprised by this, as we've already figured that the size of the kitchen is likely going to be the only negative feedback we get and will ultimately be the "make it or break it" for most people.  The fact that the first showing came just hours after listing the house was impressive and exactly what we were hoping for as this is definitely not a "drive-by" house - you really have to walk through it to see the amount of space it has.  Our personal (unspoken) goal is to have a showing once a week.  That would be ideal.  And if, on the other end of things, we happen to find a house that we are *really* interested in, then we will have some Open Houses, too.
So far we haven't had much luck in finding anything of interest.  We saw two houses in Rehoboth last week but both needed way too much work (especially given the high price tag) which was a bummer because the land  - for both houses - was GORGEOUS!  One of the houses was located directly across the street from a beautiful horse farm - talk about a dream come true for me (and the girls!)!! 
Jim is really looking forward to the Open House we're going to tomorrow.  Originally this house was listed a few months ago - and was ultimately the reason behind us deciding to put our house up for sale.  It's location is perfect - not too far from here OR the cemetery OR Jim's work.  The only people who travel on the road are the people who own houses on it, which is a major plus after living on this main road here in Riverside!  The house itself is on an acre of land, with two garages and an in-law apartment over one of the garages.  Jim had wanted to go see it when it first listed, but for whatever reason it was taken off the market almost as quickly as it was put on.  Jim was SO disappointed but then, after all this time, it was relisted yesterday, with a lower asking price!  Jim thinks we're going to love it and then not be able to sell this house but as I've said to him time and time again, whatever is meant to be will happen.