Contingency

Inspirational song: Hello, I Love You (The Doors)

Yesterday I hinted at good news. Today it is official. We are under contract for the Park. A couple of first time buyers had been all over our subdivision, never finding the one they wanted. They knew they wanted to live in that neighborhood but a good property eluded them for weeks. I just had a sense about the 630 appointment for yesterday, from the moment I saw the email notification for the showing. This couple walked in my front door and immediately said "This is it!" The realtor called our agent and told her to expect an offer within the hour. They have been frantic not to let the Park get away. We are netting a full price offer, and we had to have a little discussion about closing dates (we moved it 2 weeks sooner.) There are still showings scheduled, and we will entertain a backup offer. We wondered whether we really priced ourselves too low. But in the end we got exactly what we wanted: a quick sale to someone who felt passionate about the place. Congratulations, new Park Rangers!

Now we get to start looking in earnest. Really, we shouldn't make any offers for a couple weeks, until we have cleared the inspection phase when most homes fall out of contract. But that didn't stop us from touring three houses today. The first one was awful, and I couldn't escape it fast enough. The second I was so excited about, flaws and all, until the next door neighbor tattled about the shoddy roof repair. That's a deal breaker. So we tried a mountain property. We left our car at a local landmark restaurant at the base of a canyon road, and rode up with our realtor. The creek was running ridiculously high, giving us all flashbacks to the 2013 flood. In fact, there were so many places still showing flood damage that I was a little leery of living up the canyon. The house was really cool, built in 1937. It was tiny inside, with doorways too narrow for a doggie wheelchair to glide through on an angle. It would be a fun vacation cabin, but I am not willing to make it a permanent residence.

As we came down the mountain, we decided a chance to chat over happy hour was in order. Our realtor treated us to drinks, hors d'ouevres, and desserts at the gorgeous restaurant north of town. I've never been there in all these years of living in or returning to Colorado, and this trip was long overdue. Now that I know how terrific it is (and how delicious was their salted caramel creme brulé and old fashioneds), I will insist on frequenting this fine establishment. We dined outside, in a flower garden, sitting at a flagstone table, as the fresh air of an approaching storm cooled us. I could learn to love this place. I think I already do.