SOLD!

As of last Wednesday, I officially no longer have a Midtown Life... I feel so fortunate to have sold my condo in only 2 months, for only $2000 less than I listed at.

We didn't use an agent because we knew we could make the price more competitive that way and there is a lot of agent traffic in that building already to see any of the many other units that are for sale. We learned a few lessons about doing the "by owner" thing.

One, I would not list on one of the "for sale by owner" sites next time. I only received 2 calls from that, one that was completely not serious and the other after I was already under contract.

Two, I would use Century21 Clickit (c21clickit.com) again just to get listed on the MLS. This is what realtors use to search for properties and it brought in a LOT of realtors. I was also able to get a Supra lock box through them so agents could let themselves into the property.

Three, Craigslist only brought in one college student prospect who got my hopes up by raving about my place, calling several times to say he wanted to drop by again with his girlfriend, then with his dad, but then dropped off the face of the earth.

Four, I'm glad that I built in a decent buyer's agent commission into the price (3%). I got a sense that the buyer's agents would prefer to deal with another agent, not a for sale by owner. However, once the place became under contract, the buyer's agent really wanted to see the deal happen, so she was helpful in getting all the paperwork straight. Plus, I think she would like to act as our agent in finding a new place now that this deal is done.

Five, thank god I picked a decent location when I bought my condo! I'll miss that area though.

Sanibel Island

We ran along the beach two of the mornings that we stayed in Sanibel, just enough to sense the rythym of life there. Just after sunrise, the tide is moving in or out, I don't know, but the fish are close up to the beach bringing the birds and the dolphins in after them.

The water was a bathwater temperature and after each run, I took a dip. On the second day, we walked out in the water to where we'd seen dolphins patrolling each morning and I screeched in surprise when one splashed water just a couple of feet away from where we were standing.

In the late afternoon/early evening, the tide is definitely out and the sand dwellers are revealed. So many shellfish!! Such a variety of life underneath our feet. There seemed to be more people at the beach at this time of day than any other, heads bowed and backs bent sifting through the shells. The dolphins are back on their patrols along the beach, children running alongside them on the shore screaming and pointing. Cries of "Mommy look what I found!" and "Oh my gawd a starfish!" bring in the evening.

The no-see-ums come out at sunset too and even though we prepared this time by showering ourselves in Deet, we came back covered with their itchy purple bites once again. They really really love us.