Comments (15)

By kilax, February 17, 2009 5:52 pm

I drove home on Thursday night to find the garage to our neighbor’s home open and full of boxes along with a moving truck parked on the street.

We are next door neighbor-less no more.

Steven’s been talking to the real estate agent quite a bit about the townhome next door. The price went down again, and she let us know that she was “pretty sure” she had renters for it. But still no buyer.

I hate to confess, but I kind of felt my stomach turn when I saw the neighbor’s garage door light on. We’ve had bad experiences with all three sets of neighbors that have lived there. It’s selfish to say, but it was nice not having someone living next door. We didn’t have to worry about someone playing their speakers too loud and keeping us up all night, or waking us up because they were screaming bloody murder at each other outside. Oh, and the whole not being afraid to come home thing was nice as well.

The new neighbor was still outside unloading the truck, so I decided to be nice and introduce myself.

Before I had a chance though, he walked by our garage and excitedly asked, “You have a 240Z?!”

“Actually, it’s a 280Z,” I responded.

“Sweet! I have a 510.”

So, I peered into his garage and assumed that the boxy car in there was the 510 he was talking about. We briefly chatted, and I introduced myself then went home, impressed that someone recognized the Datsun and showed interest in it.

Later, we left the house (I shamefully admit it was to pick up a pizza), and Steven noted (with envy?) that the new neighbor has an engine hoist.

When we arrived home, Steven introduced himself. They chatted a bit about their Datsuns. The new neighbor offered his tools and help to Steven. Then I fell in love with the new neighbor and begged him to help Steven get the Datsun running for good.

I like this new neighbor already. If there is one thing I’m not good at (Ha! Just one?), it’s helping Steven work on the Datsun. Sure, I can stand there and take instructions, but other than that, I am USELESS.

And I feel bad. Because Steven explains things to me about the Datsun over and over, and I truly listen, but it just doesn’t sink in. I am going to keep trying, but for now, let me say, I am having higher hopes for this neighbor than I normally would…

Comments (15)

By kilax, January 24, 2009 9:03 am

There are three townhomes in the photo below, and one “residential brokerage”  (aka “for sale”) sign. Which house does the sign look like it is in front of – the one on the left, middle or right?

Maybe the photo is a bit too skewed. Here is a more straight-on photo.

Guess which house is ours.

And not for sale.

Last Saturday, after opening the shades so Data could sit on my desk and look out the window, I went into the bedroom and said to Steven, “Guess what? Our house is for sale!”

He didn’t find it as amusing as I did until he actually looked out the window, and saw where the sign was (I think he thought I was exaggerating in my description of it). We haven’t had any next-door neighbors for quite some time (hurrah!) and we were wondering if the house was going to go on the market.

He called the number on the sign, and left a polite message inquiring about the price of the home and told them that they put the sign in front of our house by mistake.

He didn’t actually talk to the real estate agent until this Thursday. She told Steven that she has to remove the sign anyway (it is against our townhome association code to put them up) and that the house is going for about 20-25% less than its original cost.

Yikes. I told Steven, “I guess that means we’re stuck here for awhile!”

We aren’t planning on moving anytime SOON, but we definitely aren’t going to move if the market is so bad. I suppose we’ll have to wait it out a few more years…