We sold our contract!!

Wahoo!!

Our summer sales situation just got a whole lot better this week. We were finally able to sell the contract on our Provo apartment. That whole situation has been something of a nightmare, from trying to get into it 6 weeks before our wedding, which created a whole lot of unnecessary stress, to trying to sell it four months before the end of its term. And now its over!

As happy as we are to put that burden behind us, we definitely didn't get out of our contract on any sort of favorable terms. in June there are only two types of people looking for housing contracts that only go through August, newlyweds and failed summer salesmen. The newlyweds for some reason just weren't biting and in the end, we were as desperate as to get someone to sign up for it as Brinn and Anjo--a pathetic pair of down and out sellers giving up on the dream in Colorado and returning to Utah--were to find someone who would pay all their upfront costs to move in somewhere. The intersection of our paths was nothing short of fate.

Anjo had seen our ad on Craigslist and even though we were offering 100 dollars off each month, he was intent on haggling. Basically, he didn't want to pay anything at all until July. Since we had already payed June rent I figured that if he would pay full price for the last two months, we would not ask for June rent back. I thought I was being generous.

Anjo pushed his luck even further by asking us to also pay his deposit, which he assured us he would pay back over time. The deposit was $500. At this point we have to wonder how desperate we really were...do we really trust two strangers to hold up their end of the bargain? After serious discussion, we tell them we will front them $400. Again, we are feeling very generous.

Anjo and I had retreated to our respective camps to see what our wives thought of our negotiations. When we got back on the phone again, Anjo has the audacity to tell me that they think they can get a better deal elsewhere...Say what?? What poor suckers are gonna pay a month rent and 400 bucks. Well, I was shocked but I had a pretty good feeling they would come crawling back. We had given them an offer that was essentially unbeatable.

Sure enough, the next day they called back and told us they would agree to our terms. Sadly, it got worse for us when The Branbury told us they would not transfer the rent from our account to theirs and they would have to come up with whatever was left of June rent, at this point $505. Who do you think had to fork over that dough? That's right, us. Fortunately, we'll get that money back within a few weeks so aside from the hassle of coming up with the money upfront, we wouldn't lose anymore. We reluctantly agreed. They would pay 100 dollars of the deposit and we would put up 905 dollars for them to start their new lives. They would be moving in on Monday.

Well, they called us Monday and to my utter astonishment, they had even more demands to make! "umm, we were wondering if it would be ok if you guys paid the full 500 for our deposit because we came across some unexpected expenses on the drive home, so we don't have that money right now..." ??? Are you kidding me? And you're telling me this now?? Who do you think...I can't believe this!

So yea, it took us 1005 dollars plus transaction fees to free ourselves of this Albatross, but, after that final road bump, they did actually sign on our contract (wouldn't you with that kind of deal?) and we are free. We are free at last!