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Monday, May 26, 2014

Sold!

After more than a year of trying to sell our house, we finally did it!  We have agreed on all the terms with the buyer and plan to have a signed P&S agreement by tomorrow.   We were concerned about a couple of issues that arose during the inspection, but the buyer agreed to pay the full offer price.  It's a cash transaction, so there is no mortgage contingency to deal with.  In addition, she will allow us to stay here for several months at a nominal rent.  That's a huge benefit.  It relieves us of a lot of pressure and gives us some breathing room to pack, get rid of stuff, and, oh yeah, find a new home.

This is a huge weight lifted from our shoulders, but it is also bittersweet.  We have really loved this home over the past ten plus years, and we will definitely miss it.  However, it is much too big for just the two of us, and the carrying costs are more than we want to continue to bear.  It's time to move on.  We are hoping to find a smaller home that will meet our needs for years to come (I'm being optimistic in looking forward to "years to come").  I'm sure we will find the right place.  In mean time, we plan to enjoy our last summer on the river.

There has been some recent buzz about a potential new immunization therapy for MM using a genetically-modified measles virus.  Two heavily-pretreated patients were given the vaccine, and the results were dramatic.  In both patients, the MM receded dramatically, but after several months, the MM returned in one of the patients.  The media has played this up, but we all have to understand that this is nowhere near becoming a potential therapy in the near future.  What I think is most exciting about this is that it exemplifies the vigorous focus now being concentrated on finding ways of triggering the body's own immune system to fight cancer.  I recently blogged about this last month:  Immunotherapy Research.  There are a lot of promising developments in this arena, and I expect that there will be some significant breakthroughs in the next few years.  Here is a video by Dr. Ken Anderson of DFCI showing how excited he is about these new approaches:

immune-based therapies for multiple myeloma

There seems to be a sense of optimism among researchers that we may be on the threshold of some major advances in fighting all cancers, not just MM.  I am grateful that I continue to be in remission, which may give me time to take advantage of some of these new therapies as they become available.  I know it's only a matter of time before my multiple myeloma rears its ugly head again.



9 comments:

  1. Wow, that is great!
    I keep thinking we need to sell, but were stll slightly underwater here in California . Maybe in a few more years. Oh, yeah, do I have afew more years... Yes.... I must persevere .
    That's so exciting you get to rent back, and decide where and what you want to do. Good luck!

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    1. Thanks, Christina. I hope your situation improves so you can afford to make the moves you want to make. And yes, we must all persevere.

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  2. Very happy for you; what a load off! Looking forward to seeing you at the 50th MIT reunion next week!

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    1. Thanks, Sue. It is a load off, but we have a lot of work to do. I'll see you at the reunion next week decked out in my 50th reunion red jacket!

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  3. Bill, I am also on the North Shore of Massachusetts and even with our more robust market here, it is still a stress to make this happen. We sold our home of 18 years last Spring and have not looked back, despite it being a home we loved dearly. There was a bit of saying "good-bye", but a whole lot of relief and even excitement. Good work and congratulations. Here's to many years in your new place. Kate Smith

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    1. Thanks, Kate. I'm hoping we have the same experience of not looking back, despite loving our home for last ten years. I'm sure we will find something to get really excited about so we won't feel so bad about leaving this place. I'm glad things worked out for you.
      Bill

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  4. Nothing like placing the right deal with the right type of broker to push through a sell, right? Pretty cool that you've secured yourselves one, and scored a nice little respite as a result. Kudos!

    Dan Tryon

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    1. Thanks, Dan. We feel pretty lucky to get this extension. I hope we can take advantage of it.

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  5. Congratulations on selling your home. It's good that you can stay there a couple of months, so you don't have to move out in a hurry. Moving can be really stressful, especially as you get older. Moving into a smaller home will make things easier. Less to clean and easier to move around in. Good luck on finding another place.

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