The Greenview

So here is the deal....when we got the initial word about the contract on our Greenview house, I did not get excited. I told Alan, lets just wait and see how it plays out. I refused to let it get to me. After all we were the 2nd bidders on the house in the beginning and the first contract fell through that time...I was not going to get excited until after the paperwork had been singed and the money transferred hands.

Yeah right!

I got excited! I could not control it. I was happy that we would no longer have to deal with a house back in the States. I was happy to have Alan going back to the states for the closing, I excited that we would be able to travel without the looming thought of what if ...(absentee landlords does not appeal to me). I was excited about the financial freedom this would afford. We shared the news with some family, then we shared some more news with friends. Alan planned out a new budget excluding the costs associated with the Greenview. We were excited!

And then it happened. Our lot is located on a 100 year flood plain, when we bought the house we were provided with a letter from FEMA stating that due to the elevation of the lot and the distance from the water our home was not considered to be at risk and we did not have to procure Flood Insurance. This paperwork had all been provided upfront to our realtor, but the buyers lending company would not accept our paperwork for this and the buyers got scared and backed out of the contract stating the new evidence that the house was in a flood plain was the reason behind their withdrawal. The ernest money has been returned, the deal is off.

So now the contract is gone, the 15 March closing date will come and go and we will still have the Greenview. Should we keep it on the market longer? Should we take it off the market and go the rental route?? This would give us the interest tax break that we might need but do we really want to do this? Property management from Germany doesn't seem like the thing to do. At some point we are going to have to make up our minds because maintaining 2 households will eventually constrain our budget. And what fun would it be to be in Europe and not be able to afford to experience Europe?

Yes, I got excited, but now it is time to reel in the disappointment, say a prayer acknowledging Gods hand in all this and move forward.