Can't sell house because of Gracie

[Sunshine]

I seen the post on "when is it time to hang it all up" and it got me thinking of my problem. We bought this house 26 years ago. It's 2 stories with 1 bathroom upstairs. Built my little oasis in the backyard. Nice pond, covered patio next to the pond. Bought Gracie and Dr. Phil (Koi). Now I'm going on 65 years old. The plan was to get the kids raised and gone, enjoy my retirement years for awhile, than sell the house and get a small one story. Didn't count on falling in love with a fish . Gracie is 14 and still going strong. Hubby wants to sell and move now. I just can't leave my Gracie. There is no room to add a downstairs bathroom here. My health is still good, but I can see me not wanting to go up and down those stairs in the near future. UGH ... why did I get soooooo attached to a fish?

 

[combatwombat]

Maybe no room to build a bathroom downstairs, but certainly room to build a new pond in your next backyard...

 

[Sunshine]

Maybe no room to build a bathroom downstairs, but certainly room to build a new pond in your next backyard...

When you only have a certain amount of time to move out, there wouldn't be enough time to dig and build a new pond. Plus, we can't do 2 mortgages while we build. And hubby already said he'll never do all that digging again. I wouldn't mind having a small pond with just comets and shubunkins.

 

[combatwombat]

There are lots of ways to temporarily re-home fish when you're "between ponds", but if that's out of the question, then it sounds like you'll need figure out your bathroom situation! Maybe you can get one of those fancy stair elevators installed.

 

[j.w]

Maybe you will need to find someone who will love Gracie just as much as you do? Maybe someone on here will take her if you drive her to them.

 

[Sunshine]

Maybe you will need to find someone who will love Gracie just as much as you do? Maybe someone on here will take her if you drive her to them.

Yeah, about that. Hubby already suggested that. I just have it in my mind that no one will take care of her the way I do Yeah, I'm that obsessed with her. Plus me and my son (who I lost in 2012) picked her out together, so there's that. It will all work out in the end.

I know others that gave their Koi away and shut down their ponds due to age. I just can't conceive how they could give away life long companions. My pond is right out my backdoor. So I constantly see her.

 

[j.w]

Well then I guess you need to tear down the top part of your house and make it into a low rider

 

[SarahT]

Oh, dear. So sorry on the loss of your son. I can see why Gracie is so precious to you. If you can't convert part of the kitchen into a first floor bath (really, how much do you want to cook in your retirement??), see if there's a local pond club and a member who would adopt Gracie and give you "visiting rights". I moved this past fall, 1200 miles, and brought the fish with me; they stayed on my brother's porch in a kiddie pool for a week while I dug a temporary pond, and then were in the temp pond another couple of weeks while I got the real pond going. Everything else was in boxes for a month. Fish First! I wish you, Gracie and your husband the best. You will find an acceptable solution.

 

[Sunshine]

Well then I guess you need to tear down the top part of your house and make it into a low rider

That would be a lot of work

 

[Laaf]

If I bought a house with a pond and the owner asked to keep the fish in their home until they built a new pond, I would be glad to care for them and have the original owner stop by to check on them. To me it would be a sign that it was a well loved home and pond.

It would be nice to offer to buy the buyers new fish.

Here is what I plan in my listing when I sell my house "Gold fish do not convey with the house. Seller is glad to provide new goldfish or a goldfish allowance for the new owners when the current fish are relocated"

What a sweet connection to your son.

Of course if the fish are happy, not moving could be the least stressful for them. But if you move them, they will adjust!

 

[GBBUDD]

all to often we see on this forum i bought a new house with a pond and i have no idea what i'm doing . HELPPP. use this to your advantage talk to the new owner and tell them you will help them to get familiarized with the pond as you need to leave gracie untill you get her a new home. even if it is a raised kiddie pool or greater.
or you can always talk to a dealer and ask if they would take custody and take care of her for a few months

option three make the stairs go away and install chair lifts sit in the chair and it brings you up the stairs both my mother inlaw and my sister in law had them . took there two story and made it excessable like it was one