Shortly after we signed the paperwork with our real estate agent to sell this house, we were contacted by potential buyers who were highly qualified to make the purchase. They asked us for special consideration to not list the house on the market until they were able to view it and make an offer. We complied and negotiated a lower commission rate with our agent for having located the buyer for him.

After their first meeting, our agent's demeanor toward us changed. Rather than be on our side and push for the highest amount possible, he encouraged us to accept an amount significantly lower than what we wanted. Ultimately, we ended-up somewhere in between, but his defense of and loyalty to the other couple was shockingly transparent. I suspect this has to do with the fact that they were both a buyer and a seller for him - he was able to get them to agree to having his sell their current house.

Today, I received the closing statement for the transaction. Several figures are wrong, including the percentage amount for the commission. The agent apparently hasn't taken any time to review and correct the document, nor has he taken the time to call us to keep us in the loop. I only hear from his "assistant" now that the deal is done.

Bleh. Selling a home is a sticky wicket. I regret selecting this particular agent and feel slighted by his lack of assistance and loyalty to his us, his primary client.

In other news, today is my mother's birthday.

We have 50% of the house packed.

I keep trying to reach a live person at Aetna to dispute a denied claim and the customer service automated system keeps hanging up on me.

I don't know the entire story about Oprah being snubbed at a French boutique, but it sounds as though she arrived after closing without any advance warning. Why would this cause her to be humiliated?

A disheartening story out of Russia today. I am growing antsy to get this in motion.

House in disarray? Check.
Head befuddled? Check.
Excited? Check. Check.