| Biographical Non-Fiction posted December 7, 2023 | Chapters: |
...25 26 -27- 28 
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Ch 34 Our years in the Big Easy are coming to an end.
A chapter in the book Grasping the Elusive Dream
End of the New Orleans Years
by BethShelby
When we bought our house in Metairie, seventeen years earlier, we got it from a highly motivated Norwegian lady who was determined to sell it by owner. I think she possibly didn’t realize the value of property so near the lake, and she sold it to us for $30,000. That was still a lot more than the property we owned in Mississippi so we paid down the minimum and took out a 30-year mortgage. Over the following seventeen years the house had gone up in value. We listed it by owner for $95,000. The day it came out in the paper, every listing agent in town was on the phone.
One particular realtor who had his own firm, told us to give him a one-month contract, and he guaranteed us he would sell our house. He tried to convince us there was no way we could sell it by owner. Since Evan hoped to sell it quickly, he agreed to list with him for one month.
He had us all leave while he had an open-house for all agents to come in and look. After that, he showed our house three or four times. Just before his month was up, he called and said he had a fabulous offer. The offer was for $70,000. We said we wouldn’t consider going that low. He told us we would be lucky to get that much. He said he could get the buyer up another two thousand but that was his limit. We let the contract expire and put it back on the market by owner.
The month passed with only a couple of people coming to look. It was nearly September, and we needed to get Connie in school. Christi had already moved to Chattanooga and was renting an apartment with a friend. Carol called to tell us she and Glen were moving to Orlando, because after Glen did a semester of training with Florida Hospital, he decided he wanted to move there.
Evan decided to take Connie and go stay with Carol until they moved, so we could have Connie enrolled in the Collegedale high school before the semester started. Only Don and I were left behind. I would be joining Evan in two weeks after I worked out my notice at work. We would need to find a furnished place to rent. The house hadn’t sold. We were looking at an uncertain future and praying God would intervene and work things out for us.
My work gave me a birthday and farewell party. I would have one day at home before leaving for Chattanooga. That morning, a couple called and wanted to see the house. They came with their parents and fell in love with it. They were young and the husband was just out of the service. He had prequalified for a VA loan for $80,000. His dad agreed to give him a loan for another $10,000, if we would sell for $90,000.
I called Evan, and he was more than thrilled. We had to do some faxing back and forth for his signature. We took a $1,000 earnest money and signed the contract. Unfortunately, the closing date was set for mid-December. We still had several months before the move.
That evening the realtor called to tell me we needed to relist with him and drop the price to $70,000. I felt very smug when I informed him that I had just sold it by owner for $90,000. I don’t think he believed me.
Don decided to stay in the house until the closing and continue to work. He had a girlfriend, and he wasn't ready to leave her just yet. In Chattanooga, Evan and I started searching for something to rent. There was the dormitory at the college and they were willing to rent a room and bath until October as it was already booked for homecoming. We decided to take it and give ourselves more time to look. In the interim, we would look for a house to buy when ours closed in Metairie. Connie was able to stay with Christi and her roommate since she could walk to school from their apartment.
When we connected with a lady who was trying to get her real estate license, the realtor she worked with allowed her to show us houses. We looked at dozens of them and even put an offer on one which fell through. While driving around one Sunday by ourselves, we found one in a nice neighborhood, which I loved. It was a large two-story in a cul-de-sac. They were having an open-house, and I wanted to see it inside. The outside had a unique architectural style.
Evan was reluctant because he said he was sure it would be way out of our price range. I pleaded and he agreed to go take a look. The owner had been asking $120,000 but the family had been transferred to Memphis and was making payments on two houses, so he’d dropped the price to $100.000. We got with our realtor and made a cash offer of $90,000. After several counter-offers, we were able to get it for $94,000.
We were also able to find a nice unfurnished house we could rent by the month, since we would soon need to leave the dorm. This meant we needed some furniture from our home. We took the van and picked up part of our sectional sofa, our television and whatever else would fit in the van. We bought a mattress in Chattanooga and put it on the floor so we spent our time basically camping out until the closing.
On closing day, Evan and I went back to Metairie to pack and leave. Don would be coming back with us this time. In order to save money, we rented the largest moving vehicle available, and Don and Evan spent a couple of days loading all of our furniture into it. While Evan went to fill it with gas for the move, Don and I stood holding each other in our empty kitchen. We both had knots in our throats and tears streaming down our cheeks.
We were emotional, not because we were sad, but because we knew an important chapter in our life was closing. We had spent seventeen years here, and so much had happened. We didn’t know what lay ahead, but we knew for sure this chapter had ended. This part of our lives deserved some tears.
Many new adventures awaited us in Chattanooga, but this was the end of our New Orleans years. Our Chattanooga adventures would continue in the next book.
When we bought our house in Metairie, seventeen years earlier, we got it from a highly motivated Norwegian lady who was determined to sell it by owner. I think she possibly didn’t realize the value of property so near the lake, and she sold it to us for $30,000. That was still a lot more than the property we owned in Mississippi so we paid down the minimum and took out a 30-year mortgage. Over the following seventeen years the house had gone up in value. We listed it by owner for $95,000. The day it came out in the paper, every listing agent in town was on the phone.
One particular realtor who had his own firm, told us to give him a one-month contract, and he guaranteed us he would sell our house. He tried to convince us there was no way we could sell it by owner. Since Evan hoped to sell it quickly, he agreed to list with him for one month.
He had us all leave while he had an open-house for all agents to come in and look. After that, he showed our house three or four times. Just before his month was up, he called and said he had a fabulous offer. The offer was for $70,000. We said we wouldn’t consider going that low. He told us we would be lucky to get that much. He said he could get the buyer up another two thousand but that was his limit. We let the contract expire and put it back on the market by owner.
The month passed with only a couple of people coming to look. It was nearly September, and we needed to get Connie in school. Christi had already moved to Chattanooga and was renting an apartment with a friend. Carol called to tell us she and Glen were moving to Orlando, because after Glen did a semester of training with Florida Hospital, he decided he wanted to move there.
Evan decided to take Connie and go stay with Carol until they moved, so we could have Connie enrolled in the Collegedale high school before the semester started. Only Don and I were left behind. I would be joining Evan in two weeks after I worked out my notice at work. We would need to find a furnished place to rent. The house hadn’t sold. We were looking at an uncertain future and praying God would intervene and work things out for us.
My work gave me a birthday and farewell party. I would have one day at home before leaving for Chattanooga. That morning, a couple called and wanted to see the house. They came with their parents and fell in love with it. They were young and the husband was just out of the service. He had prequalified for a VA loan for $80,000. His dad agreed to give him a loan for another $10,000, if we would sell for $90,000.
I called Evan, and he was more than thrilled. We had to do some faxing back and forth for his signature. We took a $1,000 earnest money and signed the contract. Unfortunately, the closing date was set for mid-December. We still had several months before the move.
That evening the realtor called to tell me we needed to relist with him and drop the price to $70,000. I felt very smug when I informed him that I had just sold it by owner for $90,000. I don’t think he believed me.
Don decided to stay in the house until the closing and continue to work. He had a girlfriend, and he wasn't ready to leave her just yet. In Chattanooga, Evan and I started searching for something to rent. There was the dormitory at the college and they were willing to rent a room and bath until October as it was already booked for homecoming. We decided to take it and give ourselves more time to look. In the interim, we would look for a house to buy when ours closed in Metairie. Connie was able to stay with Christi and her roommate since she could walk to school from their apartment.
When we connected with a lady who was trying to get her real estate license, the realtor she worked with allowed her to show us houses. We looked at dozens of them and even put an offer on one which fell through. While driving around one Sunday by ourselves, we found one in a nice neighborhood, which I loved. It was a large two-story in a cul-de-sac. They were having an open-house, and I wanted to see it inside. The outside had a unique architectural style.
Evan was reluctant because he said he was sure it would be way out of our price range. I pleaded and he agreed to go take a look. The owner had been asking $120,000 but the family had been transferred to Memphis and was making payments on two houses, so he’d dropped the price to $100.000. We got with our realtor and made a cash offer of $90,000. After several counter-offers, we were able to get it for $94,000.
We were also able to find a nice unfurnished house we could rent by the month, since we would soon need to leave the dorm. This meant we needed some furniture from our home. We took the van and picked up part of our sectional sofa, our television and whatever else would fit in the van. We bought a mattress in Chattanooga and put it on the floor so we spent our time basically camping out until the closing.
On closing day, Evan and I went back to Metairie to pack and leave. Don would be coming back with us this time. In order to save money, we rented the largest moving vehicle available, and Don and Evan spent a couple of days loading all of our furniture into it. While Evan went to fill it with gas for the move, Don and I stood holding each other in our empty kitchen. We both had knots in our throats and tears streaming down our cheeks.
We were emotional, not because we were sad, but because we knew an important chapter in our life was closing. We had spent seventeen years here, and so much had happened. We didn’t know what lay ahead, but we knew for sure this chapter had ended. This part of our lives deserved some tears.
Many new adventures awaited us in Chattanooga, but this was the end of our New Orleans years. Our Chattanooga adventures would continue in the next book.
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