Okay, the house we were trying to sell CLOSED today!

If you recall, we had a house in Waldport we were trying to sell. It took 45 days to close - yup, lenders want more time to make sure everything is on the up and up, even if the buyer is pre-approved.

The only reason this house sold was because it was the nicest house in the neighborhood. By doing all the work myself and a few thousand dollars worth of material, I made this house stand out.

There is no way the average homeowner could justify hiring someone (labor) to do the same work I did. The work didn't increase the value of the house, it only made the house more appealing to buyers.

Truly sad commentary on the state of home buying.

I do not envy anyone trying to sell a house these days, especially along the coast.

Oh, asking price: $159,900, selling price $157,500. Newer 3 br 2 ba.

Congrats, Skep! It's gotta feel good getting that off the plate. Gonna reinvest, or pay some capital gains this year? (assuming you made some money on the place...)

Thanks. Yeah, we did make a few bucks . . . I'm not really sure what to do at this point. We would have held on to the house if it wasn't so far away, yet that kind of money isn't going to buy any kind of decent 3 br 2ba house anywhere near here.

I've been playing "property manager" for a friend of mine who carelessly rented his rental unit to deadbeats. He didn't have the toughness needed to get rid of them. At any rate, just last week at a hearing in Clark co., a judge ordered the tenants evicted and yet they're still in the house. We'll be meeting the sheriff out there Thurs to have them forcably removed! The house is already trashed.

This kind of thing can turn people off to real estate investing, but my thinking is that my friend has no one to blame but himself -- he didn't do a credit or background check.

We will be thinking about it over the summer. But yeah, we're grateful its off the plate. No more driving through Lincoln City!