For those of y’all who have been following my blog since August, you know that I moved out of an old house in Kansas back then for the 49th State.  I yammered on and on about cleaning and repairs.  I complained about how I wouldn’t see what it all ended up with.  And then … as some noticed  … I didn’t mention much about that old house.

That was because there was nothing to mention about.  The house went on the market in October, and except for two price changes, one offer failing for mortgage eligibility, and one offer that was so low that it was an insult – there wasn’t anything worth mentioning; except the fact that after I bought the Bear Cave (my Anchorage home) there were two mortgage payments a month tapping my paycheck.

I was grumbly about that last night as I was doing my income taxes, seeing how much I spent on that old place – and between being tax aggrivated and the pup being a bit of a pain, I needed a beer.  On the way out the door I spotted an e-mail from my Realtor in Kansas.  She had some news.  Not great news, but acceptable news.

I got an offer to buy my house. There were problems with the offer.  The price was okay but I had to choke it down a little.  The bigger problem is that the buyer is getting an FHA (Federal Housing Administration) Loan.  FHA Loans, for the uneducated or non-American (aka non-Amilanders … don’t ask), are loans funded through the government intended to support those with lower credit trying to buy lower cost homes.  While good for the buyer, its tough for the seller – FHA Loans require a higher standard of acceptance during the inspections.  Not saying that will be an issue, but when you are trying to sell a 90 year old house that has seen better days, it’s a worry.  Typically there isn’t anything that says “no sale”, but there is usually things that say “not until you pay for this” … and then what is an “okay” price becomes something much much harder to swallow. 

Still — When you just want to get a house sold, you take chances.  I signed the contract and the process has begun.  The questions on inspections will get resolved in the next couple of weeks, and we’ll see what happens anyway.

Plan B, of course, is the goverment to deciede to put a highway through Crestway Street in Wichita, and have to buy up all the land there at 3 times the appraised cost.