The first time we sold a house, we did it in SIX days, to the second buyer who walked through the door, and we did it by using the Law of Attraction, even though we didn’t know it at the time.
This time … ONE TINY MISTAKE cost us thousands of dollars and nearly two years of frustration.
The first house we ever owned is a modest, split level cutie on a suburban street in Minnesota.
When we lived in South Africa, we always rented either from friendly landlords or our respective parents. At the time we left, we were living in the house my husband was born in!
Coming to America, home ownership finally became a real possibility, and within 18 months of our arrival (with only 8 suitcases and $6,000 to our name), we had saved enough to buy our first house.
Fast forward nine years … the eldest is away in college, the youngest desperately unhappy in his final year of school and this goddess is getting more miserable with every passing winter.
And then I watched “The Secret
Now before you all poo-poo it as a mainstream vanilla version of the real Law of Attraction, it was nonetheless a revelation for me (and has been, I dare say, for millions of others).
I read the book daily.
I watched the movie daily.
I listened to the audiobook in my car.
And I finally took ownership of my own life.
The first thing I decided to do was move south.
The situation with my son’s schooling was looking more and more like he’d need to be home-schooled, and this goddess asked herself, “If Youngest Tax Deduction requires home-schooling, why shouldn’t it be somewhere WARM??”
Valid question, right??
I decided that my absolute bestest scenario would be the following
- two story, open plan home in Georgia (we had friends in Atlanta. And it’s warm);
- son would be happily finishing his final year of school at home;
- Husband Muffin, after 9 years of driving 16 miles each way in MN weather, would finally work from home;
- we would sell the current goddess nest easily and quickly for the full price;
- we would not have to pay in anything at closing on the new house;
- everything would work out smoothly and easily.
Here’s what we did –
- I staged the house with care and oodles of appreciation, loving how much better it looked than when we bought it, and imagining how perfect a nest it would be for the new buyer;
- I refused to take down two huge wall murals we had in my son’s room and the family room because it felt like too much work – which was not the ‘smooth and easy’ feel I was going for;
- every time I saw the ‘for sale’ sign outside, I visualized ‘SOLD’ plastered over it … and grinned like a Cheshire cat;
- the whole family spoke of nothing but the lush warmth of Georgia and the joy of not having to shovel snow ever again;
- we spent hours bookmarking homes for sale that looked just right, within a very specific area and with all our preferences – secluded back yard, two stories, office for Husband Muffin, and extra bedroom with bath for visitors.
- I made a dream board of pictures of all those houses and a Mind Movie of Atlanta’s attractions and new nest possibilities;
- we even pretend-booked our one-way tickets to Atlanta, GA, using June 16th as a date, and even though it was only 6 weeks from the day we listed the house.
- I started packing – which helped with the staging, of course, but also made it ‘feel’ like we were really moving;
- I told everyone at work that I wouldn’t be there for much longer, and I drafted my resignation letter using the June 16th date;
- Husband Muffin’s work situation was a little different. He’d tried twice before to get his company to let him work from home but had been denied.This time, we focused only on the joys of working from home – in his new office, without the stressful commute.We had no backup plans at all – which seems a tad reckless in hindsight but oh so right at the time.
- My son was ‘reprieved’ from school. We would home-school him for his final year, in his own time, in his own way, without the “one-size-fits-all” insanity of traditional schooling methods. Happy kid = happy mama
And, sweet reader ….Here’s how it all unfolded:-
- We sold the house, in SIX DAYS, to the second person who walked through the door.
- She absolutely loved the murals.
- The ‘SOLD’ sign went up by the end of the week.
- Our friend in Atlanta offered us his spare room/s for as long as we needed while we looked for our new home.
- We closed, without fuss or bother, for twice what we originally paid.
- And the closing date chosen by the buyer was June 16th – we flew out on that same day!
(How lusciously synchronistic is that??! Can’t tell you how I squealed when I saw that!) - After looking at 79 houses in two months, we finally found the one on my dream-board.
- We found out later that the price had only just been reduced to within our range – we wouldn’t even have looked at it in the weeks before. Aah sweet Universal timing.
- We found a ‘Home School University’ just a couple of miles from the new house, where my son could finish the few credits he needed to graduate, attending classes just two days a week. He went from a 2.4 to a 3.9 GPA which = ecstatic mama!!
- And of course, everything went smoothly and easily.
But gorgeous soul, here’s the bestest part of this grand manifesting adventure –
As per our visualizing and endless conversations, Husband Muffin walked into his boss’s office and said,
“We’ve sold our house. We’re moving to Georgia.
And his boss answered, “So, do you want to work from home?”
(OMG!!! Much more squealing when he told me!!)
He has been working from his sun-filled home office, for that same MN company, for the past 5 years.
So with all this experience, you’d think I’d have learned a few things on how to sell your house the LOA way, right?
Fast forward to present time …