As I stand looking at all the boxes of stuff I can't bear to part with and wondering where it will fit, I realize that is the least of my worries ...
It is November and this has been going on since August. Still no closing date looming large for the sale of the park. Our property in North Carolina closes this Tuesday. We found it, offered a price and settled on one in less that a week, had the inspection, settled on a few more things, then it went to the attorney and a few more details were brought to our attention and now the new contract is ready and the money has been wired and the place will be ours next week.
The sale of the park is not moving along at all. The prospect would appear to be having trouble funding his purchase. I am trying not to be impatient, but when we purchased the park, we wrapped it up a whole lot faster. We knew what would be required as far as a down payment went and even though our biggest asset (our house) had not sold, we borrowed the money and moved on with the purchase.
This has been the root of my sleepless nights and lethargic days. I start to pack up stuff and then wonder if I will ever move. In my mind I am no longer here and long to be in my new surroundings. I don't want to interact with people, hate answering the phone and no longer care about the business here. On the other hand I am not willing to just give it away. I have worked too hard for too many years to simply hand it over to someone and not profit from my efforts.
Back to the beginning of this adventure of selling, the prospect approached us with his offer. Said money was not an issue for him, that he had several avenues of resources. We provided all the data he needed to obtain a loan. The business is turning a healthy profit. At this point, with someone saying they want to buy, I am no longer interested in expansion or remodeling here. As it is, he approached us. In August.
Now that it would appear he can't get funding, he has started picking at the faults as he sees them and we agreed to lower our asking price. Well, HeWho wants to be gone as much as I do did. I was not a happy camper about the whole thing.
The nature of this business guarantees that there will always be repairs to be done. Water hydrants get hit, trees get hit, electrical boxes get hit, sewers back up with the things people decide to pour and cram down them. There will always be repairs to do, no matter how hard you strive to change things for the better.
The final blow was a plan for us to contribute to the down payment. "Do what?" you might be asking! He even put it on paper in an effort to legitimize it. We would supposedly get it back at the closing, but it would require us to finance our new home and invest the money I had saved for a cash purchase. Never mind that I had sacrificed creature comforts to squirrel away for my retirement and do not want to have a mortgage payment to deal with. And, as I read this ridiculous hand written proposal, I realised that the money I would "get back" was actually going to be part of the base price, ultimately making the offer shave 100 grand off in their favor. Lots of double speak. Not to mention the cost we would incur with financing a loan and other incidentals that would not be part of the so-called payback.
"NO" I said, just no. I am not his mother, I feel no inclination to invest in something that will offer me nothing in return. Now he has convinced another couple to invest with him and there is still no news on the loan. He roams the park every weekend announcing the up grades he plans to make and pish poshing things we have done over the years. Does he not think others will tell me?
We took over this park when it was not even supporting itself. Over the years we have overcome the economic downfalls and high gas prices to turn it into what it is now. We have weathered lean years and done without and now it is time for a reward in a fair asking price.
As I sit here with a nagging headache after another sleepless night, half packed up and ready to leave, I have just one thing I would like to say ..... SHOW ME THE MONEY! Or shut up.
We will be re-listing the property this week, back to square one. I did some more research online last night and discovered what I already knew to be true. Our asking price for the amount of acreage and the existing business is a bit below average.
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