The contract became final last week and I didn’t want to jinx it by posting prematurely. Man, it’s been a tough labor, but the ink is dry and I’m handing over the keys at the end of the month!
Selling this apartment is not an experience I ever wish to repeat. My (very expensive) Realtor was great in the pre-sales process, and I chose him because of what seemed to be his marketing-focused mindset, but once I signed, he turned out to be full of shit.
After six months and many requests, he never delivered a marketing plan. He held one 30 minute open house, and landed a pitiful three showings, which his colleague handled. He also scheduled a showing which was cancelled, and never bothered to tell me this until I’d gotten the place show ready, made myself scarce, and called him from my car two hours after the supposed showing because I hadn’t heard from him and wanted to know if the coast was clear to go back home. It was getting ugly.
In the end, I paid him for “services rendered” and terminated the contract. I’d considered filing a complaint, but decided that my time was worth more than the money I’d save… word of mouth can be a real bitch ;-)
In the time between terminating my contract and signing with a new Realtor, I found my own buyer! I was able to do the sale directly, which saved me a small fortune and gave me the smug satisfaction of not paying that oxygen thief a commission for doing next to nothing :D
I let the place go for less than I’d wanted and lower than it was valued, but all things considered, buying it was still a sound financial decision. Danish landlords are notoriously shifty, and wary of renting to foreigners, especially foreigners with pets. While I took a small loss on the place, I own it free and clear, I didn’t lose a large security deposit, it’s much nicer than anything I could’ve rented, and my net loss is still less than I would’ve paid on a low-end rent these past four years. It served its purpose.
Sure, I could’ve relisted and held out for my price, but sometimes, the best thing to do is to look at the average, cut your losses, and move on.
My place in Aarhus is a 1930s functionalist property, which is totally not my style—and not really suited to my bohemian decor, so I’ve to sell some things. I must have great taste because I’m breaking even or turning a profit on everything I’m selling! A woman came to see my dining table, and ended up buying my dining chairs, all of my window dressings, some mirrors and artwork, my sewing table, area rug, chandelier, and bed… she cleaned the place out and would’ve bought more if I was willing to sell! It did wonders for my inner decorating diva’s ego, but I’ve been without curtains—and sleeping on the floor for the past 4 weeks.
These past seven months have been so full of ups, downs, and uncertainty. I’m looking forward to the finish line two weeks from now when I’m sitting on a balcony in the summer sun knowing that I’m finally home—in the city. Just a bit more to go…
The Pastry Chef says
What a wonderful update – congratulations! So glad everything is working out and I think you’re looking at it exactly the right way in terms of the financials and what it’s worth to you to put it all behind you and move on.
Jennifer says
Congrats on selling your place. That is certainly a huge weight that was keeping you from moving on with your lives. All the best to you and Robert in your new shared home.
debbie says
theres got to be a happy median between the two decores i loved your old way much better
WILDSIDE says
Congrats! I’ve been enjoying vicariously moving to Denmark (or not!) through a few visits to your blog and just wanted to say so. It satisfies a lot of my curiosity about such… Thank you for that.
Barbara Paola says
Glad this selling saga is over for you! Can’t wait to see photos of your new place with Robert. Congrats!
Sage says
Thanks, all :)
Only 10 more days to go and I’m so excited! My new city was just named the happiest city in the world… can’t wait to show you little glimpses of it :)
WILDSIDE says
Thank you!!!
WILDSIDE says
A P.S. because I can’t help myself! You say: “My new city was just named the happiest city in the world… can’t wait to show you little glimpses of it” Very curious as to why it is considered “the happiest” — so will try to remember to check back in later to see what you post up about it…
Am wondering if you’ll have time — but digging deeper into your blog’s old posts (curiosity kills the cat), I see you’ve been faithfully blogging away for many years now and have quite a story to tell!
Sage says
Yes! These past few years have been quite an adventure, and I have no intention of quitting this blog anytime soon :)
How did you happen to stumble upon Sage & Simple?
WILDSIDE says
Hi again, to answer that!
First in a search for “frugal” websites, then again several times thru blogger shared interest pages…
WILDSIDE says
And by shared interest, I think perhaps I share yours — not that I think you’d share mine! I like your honest tales of what it is like to up & move to Denmark. My family always warned me, “we left there for a reason — don’t you be thinking of going back!” (I have a good friend in Switzerland, and with my travels there, somehow that seemed to make them worry about me winding up in Denmark… Which of late, has not seemed like such a bad place after all until I read your blog. Very curious! Think you probably have more insight into this than I do. So if you do, please share it! )
Read quite a bit of your blog for entertainment, trying to figure out what it is you do for a living! (But alas, I just might not be paying close enough attention…)
Good luck with your move & moving in together. (This and you minus an actual bed, makes me think on “the best laid plans of mice & men” — but somehow not appropriate…)
I’m very tired right now after a long day — so overly chatty to prove to you I’m awake — will soon be heading off to bed.
Though you don’t know me, I do wish you all the best in your upcoming “new” life ahead!
Now enough said.
Sage says
Ah, ok. I’m always interested to know how people find me. It seems the majority find me through expat organizations, or in their research about moving here. I started out as a simple/frugal living blog, then my life took a crazy turn, and this turned out to be a time capsule of the process of moving abroad and setting up a life in a new country.
I get a regular stream of emails from people who are considering moving to Denmark, usually because of love or something they read on Huffington Post. I do not recommend that anyone from outside the EU move to Denmark. Immigration policy is stacked against us and the taxes are oppressive for people who are legally locked out of benefiting from the system we pay so handsomely to support. I’ll have more rights in Denmark being married to a British citizen than if I were married to a Dane. The only reason for that is that Danish policies regarding foreign spouses violates EU law.
I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned what I do for a living, but it’s closely related to the sort of “work” I do here on my blog.
Hope to hear more from you :)
WILDSIDE says
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