kokotg Posted March 9, 2012 Author Share Posted March 9, 2012 Hello - Mother to 3 kids age 12, 7 and 5 months - This is my first post on this forum. We have been working on our 12 year old house in Connecticut for 4 months so we can put it on the market. Hoping to list the end of this month. We are selling off our house and getting rid of 98% of our posessions in the hopes to live a simplier life. Travel in our RV / roadschool in the summer and rent a house near family in the winter. The whole idea is to be lighter on our feet, put more money in the bank and have one parent (me) totally devoted to the kids and our "home". Instead of working for a house that really just sucks up our time, money and energy. This is our first time selling a house and I have to say I had no idea how much work and money is involved. We also had a pre-sale inspection that had two "major" findings - between that, decluttering, depersonalizing and minor repairs we have sunk about 15K in so far - Just to get it listed. We are fortunate that we arent underwater - but we were hoping to make some kind of profit - at this rate - I don't think thats going to happen. I am fortunate that I have a family member who is a professional house stager - she has been making recomendations to us that should help us get this pig sold. Good luck to all of you - this has got to be the toughest time ever to sell a house. Sounds like a fun plan! Yeah, all that stuff adds up so fast! Our only really big expense has been the new carpet, but I don't even want to think about how much the new garage door opener here, just a couple more gallons of paint there added up to. Not to mention the hot water heater and two HVACs (separate units upstairs and down) that we've had to replace in the past 18 months that now someone else is going to get to enjoy for the next 20 years instead of us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Whipperwhirl Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Sounds like a fun plan! Yeah, all that stuff adds up so fast! Our only really big expense has been the new carpet, but I don't even want to think about how much the new garage door opener here, just a couple more gallons of paint there added up to. Not to mention the hot water heater and two HVACs (separate units upstairs and down) that we've had to replace in the past 18 months that now someone else is going to get to enjoy for the next 20 years instead of us! Tell me about it - we just had our master bathroom completely redone before we decided to sell - giant shower with body sprays - upsetting - hopefully it helps the house sell! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cajunrose Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 You guys are scaring me...lol We are in the process right now of finishing last minute things before we list. I'm decluttering MAJORLY this next week...will paint after that. My husband has a bathroom remodel left to do (will take him 2 weeks)...after that, just little stuff. I'm thinking we'll list the first of June. I'm soooooo scared about the process. I have 2 dogs, 1 cat and 1 kid...and 7 chickens. I'm NOT getting rid of my chickens to sell...they are pets for us. They are cooped up and quiet during the day so I think it'll be fine. My dogs shed like mad and my house always FEELS dirty b/c the dog hair and the dirt from them and my daughter going in and out constantly. She plays in our garden like it's a playground and she is always full of dirt. I have NO idea how we will get this house 100% clean to show!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cin Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I thought it looked great. Since you are asking for advice, I would consider removing the large area rug in the entry. It's too large for the room, and it's a bit overwhelming as a first view inside the house. If you have a decent view, be sure to leave all the bedroom curtains open (thinking of the picture of the bedroom with the blue/green spread)! And if your dh is handy, you might discuss with your realtor the possibility of painting the first floor rooms a more neutral color. It's so stressful to have your house up for sale! I hope things move quickly for all of you! Ditto on the rug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cin Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Y'all are scaring me! With our recent inheritance, moving is something that has been fluttering around in the back of our minds. The first thing that scare the bejeebies out of me is the decluttering. How in the world can you declutter with kids? What do you do with their toys? their rooms? UGH. Then KEEPING it clean. HAHAHAHA I can NEVER do that. And since the kids have already expressed disdain at moving, that certainly won't be a motivation for them. And doing this long-term is even MORE scary! Oh. My. Goodness. And DH will NOT allow us to use a moving company. SO we will have to box and unbox everything ourselves. UGH:willy_nilly: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn in Ohio Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Ditto on the rug. Do you like that front room without a rug? Or just with a smaller rug with a calmer pattern? (The big geometric rug might work under the dining room table.) I've never known what to do with that part of the house (the part with the big rug). The front door opens into it, but it is bigger than a typical foyer. Just wasted space really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Popping in here to offer encouragement and a bit of advice. I KNOW everyone of you has heard to flip on the lights and open the curtains/blinds, but I just want to remind you to DO it. :tongue_smilie: I showed a group of houses today to a couple. The one they liked was the only one which had their lights on and window treatments open. Yes, the couple liked the layout, paint, kitchen, and all...but the ***first impression*** was of a light, bright home. None of the others had all the lights on--and one of the other houses was an almost indentical layout--go figure. So...wash those windows, open the blinds, turn on every light and lamp you have. Good luck and blessings in finding a buyer who LOVES your home! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessedchaos Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 (edited) Second showing tonight from the buyers who came through last night. Now I just got home and have another email notification from same agent for tomorrow - 3rd showing it looks like (in 3 days). This is encouraging, but I'm super stressed about how our backyard looks right now. Four days ago we had a super (unusually) warm day which melted a lot of our snow very quickly and there was a lot of standing water in our backyard, away from the house back by the playset and shed. The following day it rained all day. Now, in 10 years of living here we have NEVER had this much water in our backyard because it warms up much more gradually and the water is able to absorb into the ground. It completely doesn't affect the house at all and many, many yards and areas are just like this all over the place due to the weather, but the past few days have been cold again and it all froze over into ice which I'm sure the buyers saw yesterday and today. Now tomorrow is set to be super warm again and this showing is for 2 pm - mid day so the ice will melt back into huge water puddles that may not be able to absorb into our sandy soil so quickly. If we still have a lot of standing water, which I'm sure we will, I do hope they understand what has been happening with the weather and that this isn't at all typical and that right now it is everywhere. Aaah - why now? Stressed!! Wish us luck! Edited March 10, 2012 by Blessedchaos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessedchaos Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 It is my birthday on Sunday - the big 40. I can think of only one thing I REALLY want....:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 We had an agent out yesterday to look everything over and let us know what last-minute fixes we had missed. She was actually telling me not to worry if I don't get a couple of the rooms painted. She said to leave the garden in place and not seed it with grass. She even took pictures of our chickens to go with the listing. She said they were fine and they just show that our area is country. Oh yeah, and we were hoping to come out even after paying all of the fees. She thinks our house would sell almost immediately at that price and would sell for 13% more within 3 months. I'm a little unsure, but she has a great record, including recent sales in this crappy market, and even better recommendations from our neighbor who owns multiple houses. I'm also aware that my judgments tend to be overly cautious and conservative, so we will see. If we don't get traffic at that price, we will cut it. If we don't get a sale at what we need to pay back the bank, our house would easily rent for enough to cover the mortgage. I've looked into it, but I have no desire to go down that road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Do you like that front room without a rug? Or just with a smaller rug with a calmer pattern? (The big geometric rug might work under the dining room table.) I've never known what to do with that part of the house (the part with the big rug). The front door opens into it, but it is bigger than a typical foyer. Just wasted space really. Either way, imo, smaller rug, or left uncovered. I love your open entry. Our last two houses had front doors that opened into the stairs, and it was always very cramped and crowded. It makes a lovely first impression inside your home. Speaking of first impressions, I also love that long driveway. Wow! And to JEN/Blessed Chaos--Happy last day of being 39!!! :party: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Second showing tonight from the buyers who came through last night. Now I just got home and have another email notification from same agent for tomorrow - 3rd showing it looks like (in 3 days). This is encouraging, but I'm super stressed about how our backyard looks right now. Four days ago we had a super (unusually) warm day which melted a lot of our snow very quickly and there was a lot of standing water in our backyard, away from the house back by the playset and shed. The following day it rained all day. Now, in 10 years of living here we have NEVER had this much water in our backyard because it warms up much more gradually and the water is able to absorb into the ground. It completely doesn't affect the house at all and many, many yards and areas are just like this all over the place due to the weather, but the past few days have been cold again and it all froze over into ice which I'm sure the buyers saw yesterday and today. Now tomorrow is set to be super warm again and this showing is for 2 pm - mid day so the ice will melt back into huge water puddles that may not be able to absorb into our sandy soil so quickly. If we still have a lot of standing water, which I'm sure we will, I do hope they understand what has been happening with the weather and that this isn't at all typical and that right now it is everywhere. Aaah - why now? Stressed!! Wish us luck! Ohhh... let us know how it goes. I hope they'll understand about the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 We had an agent out yesterday to look everything over and let us know what last-minute fixes we had missed. She was actually telling me not to worry if I don't get a couple of the rooms painted. She said to leave the garden in place and not seed it with grass. She even took pictures of our chickens to go with the listing. She said they were fine and they just show that our area is country. Oh yeah, and we were hoping to come out even after paying all of the fees. She thinks our house would sell almost immediately at that price and would sell for 13% more within 3 months. I'm a little unsure, but she has a great record, including recent sales in this crappy market, and even better recommendations from our neighbor who owns multiple houses. I'm also aware that my judgments tend to be overly cautious and conservative, so we will see. If we don't get traffic at that price, we will cut it. If we don't get a sale at what we need to pay back the bank, our house would easily rent for enough to cover the mortgage. I've looked into it, but I have no desire to go down that road. she sounds wonderful. I really regret picking our particular agent. She just wants everything to be "Homes and Garden" perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessedchaos Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Ohhh... let us know how it goes. I hope they'll understand about the water. They ended up cancelling the third showing for today:sad:. It is a couple and one likes our house but the other likes another house so they decided not to waste another day until they decided. Only one came last night because the other had to work. I'm super bummed. We are still in the running, but I'm really sad to know that there is another house in the mix. It's really warm today and will be for the extended future, so the water situation is slowly improving. We still have standing water toward the back, but it's getting better. I'm thinking it will be all but gone by tomorrow afternoon. This just sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 I'm sorry. I hope they decide on your house eventually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted March 11, 2012 Author Share Posted March 11, 2012 We had an agent out yesterday to look everything over and let us know what last-minute fixes we had missed. She was actually telling me not to worry if I don't get a couple of the rooms painted. She said to leave the garden in place and not seed it with grass. She even took pictures of our chickens to go with the listing. She said they were fine and they just show that our area is country. Oh yeah, and we were hoping to come out even after paying all of the fees. She thinks our house would sell almost immediately at that price and would sell for 13% more within 3 months. I'm a little unsure, but she has a great record, including recent sales in this crappy market, and even better recommendations from our neighbor who owns multiple houses. I'm also aware that my judgments tend to be overly cautious and conservative, so we will see. If we don't get traffic at that price, we will cut it. If we don't get a sale at what we need to pay back the bank, our house would easily rent for enough to cover the mortgage. I've looked into it, but I have no desire to go down that road. Aw, she sounds great! And fingers crossed that she's right and you're pleasantly surprised by how much your get for your house! When our agent saw our chickens and their set-up (which, admittedly, was a lot more....utilitarian than pretty), she said, "and all this will be gone, right?" We were like, "umm...yes?" Fortunately, I have a friend nearby who was looking to expand her flock, and she has them now. I hear they're settling in well. Sniff, sniff. But around here I'm pretty sure said agent is right that most people think of chickens as dirty and weird instead of quirky and fun. They ended up cancelling the third showing for today:sad:. It is a couple and one likes our house but the other likes another house so they decided not to waste another day until they decided. Only one came last night because the other had to work. I'm super bummed. We are still in the running, but I'm really sad to know that there is another house in the mix. It's really warm today and will be for the extended future, so the water situation is slowly improving. We still have standing water toward the back, but it's getting better. I'm thinking it will be all but gone by tomorrow afternoon. This just sucks. Boo! Hoping the person who's RIGHT that your house is the best talks the other one into it soon! :) Another day with no showings. Yesterday I was feeling kind of weepy and emotional all day, and then last night the dog ripped some siding off our house trying to catch some animal only she could see (DH mostly got it fixed) and THEN my car wouldn't start. I had a total meltdown because DH was supposed to be gone all day today to a math tournament and it all seemed like way too much for me to deal with. But then his second attempt at jump starting worked and he was able to get out of going to the tournament, and I'm in much better spirits today. Open house tomorrow! I don't expect much to go on with that, really--we're pretty far out, so we don't get a lot of drive by traffic. Unless things pick up very, very soon (like tomorrow), I'm going to talk to our agent about lowering the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessedchaos Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Another day with no showings. Yesterday I was feeling kind of weepy and emotional all day, and then last night the dog ripped some siding off our house trying to catch some animal only she could see (DH mostly got it fixed) and THEN my car wouldn't start. I had a total meltdown because DH was supposed to be gone all day today to a math tournament and it all seemed like way too much for me to deal with. But then his second attempt at jump starting worked and he was able to get out of going to the tournament, and I'm in much better spirits today. Open house tomorrow! I don't expect much to go on with that, really--we're pretty far out, so we don't get a lot of drive by traffic. Unless things pick up very, very soon (like tomorrow), I'm going to talk to our agent about lowering the price. I'm sorry things have been slow. That is extremely frustrating. It's unreal how stressful this process is and yes, things all seem to happen at once. That's been how it's been here too with everything going wrong at once. Good luck on your open house! I'm sure your realtor must have done some advertising so hopefully you will get a good turnout. I don't know how your market has been there, but every time we pass an open house here they are packed! We have friends that sold their last house at an open so you never know:tongue_smilie:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessedchaos Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 We had a short notice showing last night and they are interested! We haven't heard anything yet from the other interested party. I will be so excited if we can get into a multiple offer/bidding war situation, which is what we were hoping for when we lowered the price. Ok, let's be honest, I'd be happy just to get ONE offer:tongue_smilie:. How did the big open house go today? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted March 11, 2012 Author Share Posted March 11, 2012 We had a short notice showing last night and they are interested! We haven't heard anything yet from the other interested party. I will be so excited if we can get into a multiple offer/bidding war situation, which is what we were hoping for when we lowered the price. Ok, let's be honest, I'd be happy just to get ONE offer:tongue_smilie:. How did the big open house go today? Ooh--fingers crossed for you! Sounds promising. Yes...a bidding war...wouldn't that be lovely? Let's see...which above asking price offer should we accept? :lol: I have no idea how the open house went! It's driving me crazy (I feel like I say that about a lot of stuff associated with this house selling thing). Our agent is out of town this weekend, so it was another agent doing it. I left about 15 minutes before it was supposed to start, and she hadn't shown up yet. Then I got back about 10 minutes before it was supposed to end, and she was already gone! I thought for a little while that she hadn't shown up at all, but then we noticed that one door was locked that we had left unlocked. And I texted my agent, and she confirmed that she'd definitely been there because the lockbox had been used. But we haven't heard anything. I'm thinking the fact that she left early is a bad sign (and annoying, since I wanted to hear from her right then about what traffic we'd gotten, and that's why I made a point of getting back a few minutes early...to make sure we'd catch her). Sigh. I just don't know that there are that many buyers in this area right now. Exurbia and high gas prices are a bad combination. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Aw, she sounds great! And fingers crossed that she's right and you're pleasantly surprised by how much your get for your house! When our agent saw our chickens and their set-up (which, admittedly, was a lot more....utilitarian than pretty), she said, "and all this will be gone, right?" We were like, "umm...yes?" Fortunately, I have a friend nearby who was looking to expand her flock, and she has them now. I hear they're settling in well. Sniff, sniff. But around here I'm pretty sure said agent is right that most people think of chickens as dirty and weird instead of quirky and fun. Boo! Hoping the person who's RIGHT that your house is the best talks the other one into it soon! :) Another day with no showings. Yesterday I was feeling kind of weepy and emotional all day, and then last night the dog ripped some siding off our house trying to catch some animal only she could see (DH mostly got it fixed) and THEN my car wouldn't start. I had a total meltdown because DH was supposed to be gone all day today to a math tournament and it all seemed like way too much for me to deal with. But then his second attempt at jump starting worked and he was able to get out of going to the tournament, and I'm in much better spirits today. Open house tomorrow! I don't expect much to go on with that, really--we're pretty far out, so we don't get a lot of drive by traffic. Unless things pick up very, very soon (like tomorrow), I'm going to talk to our agent about lowering the price. awww :grouphug: I'm sorry you were having an emotional day. I hope today's open house was successful. I'm feeling weepy today myself. Just got a bid for the last few things we had on our list. The bid was quite high and I'm discouraged. I was really hoping to get this stuff out of the way this week but now it looks like we're back to the drawing board. I'm starting to wonder how much we really need to do from this list. None of it is structural problems and only one or two won't pass inspection. The others are simply window dressing and beautifying. I'm tired of hemorrhaging money on this house though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Ooh--fingers crossed for you! Sounds promising. Yes...a bidding war...wouldn't that be lovely? Let's see...which above asking price offer should we accept? :lol: I have no idea how the open house went! It's driving me crazy (I feel like I say that about a lot of stuff associated with this house selling thing). Our agent is out of town this weekend, so it was another agent doing it. I left about 15 minutes before it was supposed to start, and she hadn't shown up yet. Then I got back about 10 minutes before it was supposed to end, and she was already gone! I thought for a little while that she hadn't shown up at all, but then we noticed that one door was locked that we had left unlocked. And I texted my agent, and she confirmed that she'd definitely been there because the lockbox had been used. But we haven't heard anything. I'm thinking the fact that she left early is a bad sign (and annoying, since I wanted to hear from her right then about what traffic we'd gotten, and that's why I made a point of getting back a few minutes early...to make sure we'd catch her). Sigh. I just don't know that there are that many buyers in this area right now. Exurbia and high gas prices are a bad combination. What is "exurbia"? I've never heard that term before. I'm sorry the agent had left... Isn't it usual to give some feedback? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 What is "exurbia"? I've never heard that term before. I'm sorry the agent had left... Isn't it usual to give some feedback? Too far out to be the suburbs, but people still commute to the city, basically--as I understand it. We're about an hour from Atlanta. DH doesn't make that commute, since he teaches in our school district, but I wonder if more people were willing to live out here and drive to the city back when gas was half the price. I've never had an open house before, but, yeah, I was surprised she didn't stick around. Of course, I don't know anything about this agent. If it were ours, I'm sure she would have. Maybe no one came and this agent couldn't face disappointing us? Who knows? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indigomama Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 When I'm looking at potential houses, I like to know the big ticket items (plumbing, electrical, etc) are done. What turns me away from houses is those that redid cheap flooring, kitchens, bathrooms. Most the time, I don't have the same taste, but I would feel wasteful redoing things that just got down, if that makes any sense. I say you fix the big things, ignore your realtor and see how things go. Hope everyone hears good news this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessedchaos Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 We got an offer tonight!!!!! What an awesome b-day gift!:w00t: It was the buyers who came through last night and emailed our agent today to see if there was other interest. They offered full price with us paying $7000 toward closing costs, but they are willing to accomodate the closing date we need for the new house we are building (mid-June) which means we won't have to move twice. I'm quite pleased with the offer. Dh not so much because we had just dropped $10K and these people originally scheduled a showing for today before we dropped the price. In their mind they are offering full price and accomodating a long out closing, but in dh's he's taking a big cut (I think he's kicking himself for agreeing to the reduction, but I keep reminding him that he may not have gotten the offer at the higher price or it could have been lower.) Our realtor is advising us to take it and I agree. How great it would be to have that part done, not have to move twice, and move on and out. On another note, Kototg (hope I got your username right:)), I hope you get feedback from your open house. Don't get discouraged even if you didn't have many people show for it. Sometimes it takes time. If you still aren't getting many showings though, you may consider a price reduction if you can. I've read that for every 10-12 showings you should recieve an offer and if not a price reduction is in order. For us it was exactly that - showing #10. Good luck!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Does it count to be the renters who kept the place immaculate and landscaped (with nine cgildren and a dog) who never got one penny knocked off the rent when they decided 12yo put the rental on the market? Or if you are the renters who, after showing it for a YEAR, put up with all the inspections and appraisals and didn't get that last half month of rent credit that was promised for being good sports? I'm only a tiny bit bitter though... Especially since we finally found a new home last week and it's nice knowing the eleven of us won't be homeless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 We got an offer tonight!!!!! What an awesome b-day gift!:w00t: It was the buyers who came through last night and emailed our agent today to see if there was other interest. They offered full price with us paying $7000 toward closing costs, but they are willing to accomodate the closing date we need for the new house we are building (mid-June) which means we won't have to move twice. I'm quite pleased with the offer. Dh not so much because we had just dropped $10K and these people originally scheduled a showing for today before we dropped the price. In their mind they are offering full price and accomodating a long out closing, but in dh's he's taking a big cut (I think he's kicking himself for agreeing to the reduction, but I keep reminding him that he may not have gotten the offer at the higher price or it could have been lower.) Our realtor is advising us to take it and I agree. How great it would be to have that part done, not have to move twice, and move on and out. On another note, Kototg (hope I got your username right:)), I hope you get feedback from your open house. Don't get discouraged even if you didn't have many people show for it. Sometimes it takes time. If you still aren't getting many showings though, you may consider a price reduction if you can. I've read that for every 10-12 showings you should recieve an offer and if not a price reduction is in order. For us it was exactly that - showing #10. Good luck!! Wow! That is great news. I can't remember, how long did you have it on the market? Keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly. Does it count to be the renters who kept the place immaculate and landscaped (with nine cgildren and a dog) who never got one penny knocked off the rent when they decided 12yo put the rental on the market? Or if you are the renters who, after showing it for a YEAR, put up with all the inspections and appraisals and didn't get that last half month of rent credit that was promised for being good sports? I'm only a tiny bit bitter though... Especially since we finally found a new home last week and it's nice knowing the eleven of us won't be homeless. I'd be upset too. You guys are very long-suffering too. Showing a house that wasn't mine while homeschooling a large family would really s*ck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessedchaos Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Wow! That is great news. I can't remember, how long did you have it on the market? Keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly. 12 days. I can't complain about that though it felt like a lot longer. Yes, keep your fingers crossed. We will accept the offer, but we still have to get through inspection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 We got an offer tonight!!!!! What an awesome b-day gift!:w00t: Yay--congratulations!!! Let us know how everything goes with the inspection. and pass some of that luck over this way....my birthday's coming up in a few weeks :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessedchaos Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Yay--congratulations!!! Let us know how everything goes with the inspection. and pass some of that luck over this way....my birthday's coming up in a few weeks :) Will do, thanks! Sending luck your way:001_smile:. Hopefully you will get an EARLY birthday present! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariannNOVA Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 (edited) :glare: Here I am -- ready to commiserate with all of you. My house is spotless -- we have spent hours driving around with and without the dog (depending on my mood) only to be told that "right after they saw your house, they went and wrote an offer on something else." Glad to be of help! :glare: The folks who have LOVED the house, are all encumbered in some way (have a house to sell) OR they have fallen off the face of the earth.:glare: I have learned to 'translate' feedback as follows: "We love it but we just started looking" means they are sure there is something better out there and don't expect to see or hear from them again. "We still have a house to sell" means we don't think it's great but we don't want to hurt your feelings by telling you that. "The master bedroom is too small" means either that they throw large parties in their current master bedroom as opposed to just sleeping there as normal folks do, AND don't expect to see or hear from us again. "The street is busy" means they somehow have forgotten that they are looking in northern virginia.:glare: "The driveway isn't wide enough" means that they have no clue that perhaps their agent should ask if you would consider contributing towards taking down a tree or two and widening the driveway because REALLY what they are saying is that they hate it and you will never see or hear from them again.:glare: "It has oil heat" - :glare: and you have the heating bills displayed which show that with the brand new windows, the oil bills are lower than any other kind of heat, and you have an estimate for a heat pump, but they are not interested because they hate it and you will never see or hear from them again.:glare: "You deserve every penny of your asking price and we don't want to insult you by offering you less" to which dh and I respond: PLEASE!!!! Insult us - we can take it. And the one that really torqued me off more than the others: A couple with a small child came at 7pm on a rainy, bleak friday night -- they called our agent at 6pm and HAD to come. So we vacated (after an exhausting week) and drove around. We arrived home to find hershey kisses candy unwrapped all over the living room floor under the coffee table - like 6 or seven of them. The kids scrambled to pick up the candies as the dog was bounding up the stairs toward the living room and would have made a bee line for them. They were the folks who went and made an offer on another house. I didn't care enough to be furious, but I was annoyed. really annoyed.:glare: Edited March 12, 2012 by MariannNOVA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn in Ohio Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 We got an offer tonight!!!!! What an awesome b-day gift!:w00t: ... I've read that for every 10-12 showings you should recieve an offer and if not a price reduction is in order. For us it was exactly that - showing #10. Good luck!! Congratulations on the offer! Hope the inspection goes well. :) An offer for every 10-12 showings? That is interesting. And fits our experience with our last home. With our current house for sale, we aren't getting any showings. I think we have to reduce the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn in Ohio Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Mariann, The recent feedback we got: "We're not wanting to spend that much." They are wanting to spend $80,000 less! And our house is only priced at $189,000. Why in the world did they waste my time? Just curious what another $80,000 would get them?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariannNOVA Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Congratulations on the offer! Hope the inspection goes well. :) An offer for every 10-12 showings? That is interesting. And fits our experience with our last home. With our current house for sale, we aren't getting any showings. I think we have to reduce the price. That is so not the case here. We are having tons of showings -- not a single offer. we saw the most perfect house for us yesterday -- perfect. it has been on the market 10 days, has had 40 some odd showings and not a single offer. If we had a contract on this house, I would have made an offer then and there.l I've had more than one agent tell me that buyers don't seem to 'get' the lack of inventory. Imo, their agent should be asking: 'Do you want to write an offer on this one?' once in a awhile - especially if they are being shown something that fits their criteria and the agent has brought them to see a house that fits their criteria. We have had it explained to us in many ways and not one single agent has recommended lowering our price -- Every market is different. We have folks who come through here and do not say a word - not their agent, not them - go through the entire house and not a single comment (I am not in the house but I know this for a fact). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariannNOVA Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Mariann, The recent feedback we got: "We're not wanting to spend that much." They are wanting to spend $80,000 less! And our house is only priced at $189,000. Why in the world did they waste my time? Just curious what another $80,000 would get them?! :glare: I do not get it either. I think that in some cases there needs to be a 'reality' check that the agent gives the buyers -- I think that some agents do that, I also think that some don't. I am beginning to think of agents and classical conversations tutors in the same way -- some times and some days, we get good ones. And other times, well, not so good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariannNOVA Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Mariann, The recent feedback we got: "We're not wanting to spend that much." They are wanting to spend $80,000 less! And our house is only priced at $189,000. Why in the world did they waste my time? Just curious what another $80,000 would get them?! You know, I just have to say that I have to wonder why (if it was common knowledge that the couple really only wanted to spend $100k or so) the couple wasn't told: "It really isn't appropriate to trouble these folks when their property isn't at all in the price range you have indicated. Now, if you really would consider moving into THAT price range, tell me and we will get you qualified and I will arrange for us to see it." I think that in alot of ways, the inmates are running the asylum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 Mariann, I think I read your whole, long house-selling thread before we listed ours (and somehow found the courage to list ours anyway!). It's always bittersweet when someone joins the commiseration thread: "welcome! ....and sorry you're here." :D I'm not sure which is more maddening...my hardly any showings situation or your lots of showings but no offers situation. STILL no word from my agent about yesterday. She's usually pretty good about giving us feedback, so I'm guessing she's having trouble getting in touch with the agent who did the open house. Either that or there's nothing to tell. Or, you know, she's so busy handling the six offers that came in that she hasn't had a spare second to call me...I can dream, right? :lol: I found an approved short sale for sale the other day that I'm really intrigued by. The neighborhood is a little more...swim/tennis-y than I prefer, but the location is PERFECT--we could walk to a lot of restaurants and the place where the kids take classes and do plays. VERY close to friends (like a 4 minute drive) and a perfectly decent commute for DH. And it's CHEAP. I'm sure it needs work, though. And it's stucco, which could be no big deal or a big problem; we'd have to have a very good inspector and see what turns up. There's one other house--a foreclosure--that we really love, too. I'm trying so hard not to fall in love with houses I can't make offers on, but it's impossible! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariannNOVA Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 I'm trying so hard not to fall in love with houses I can't make offers on, but it's impossible! I hear you -- I have tried as well, but the area we where we will buy is totally new to dh so we have had to go around to open houses so he gets a 'visual' for the area -- and THAT has been helpful, by his own admission. So far, I have fallen in love with TWO houses -- one is now a long time under contract and I wrote about the other in my post above -- if THAT house isn't selling, there is a serious disconnect with what we are hearing about the RE market and what is really going on. I continue to pray that we will come to the end of this tunnel, and I feel like a dunce b/c there are folks who are delaing with such serious issues and I am whining about this. But, truthfully, I have both girls registered for private school in the 'other' town and I do NOT want to be driving there every day as opposed to being 5 minutes away. One agent yesterday told me that buyers in Jan, Feb and Mar are folks who HAVE to buy (so far no one has HAD to buy my house, apparently). He told me that April, May, June are people who want to finish the school year and then be settled for the start of school in September. Sometimes I think we are all making this up as we go along.:glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeannie in NJ Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Mariann, I hope you get a seller soon. We just relisted our house and had our first showing. We were leaving when the people showed up, they asked us not to leave in case they had any questions. So we said okay we would stay outside. Dd went back in the house for something and heard one of them say "Well, lets just be polite and go upstairs and look". When she told me that, I thought to myself, don't be polite, we are standing out in the cold here, just leave if this is not the house for you. Anyway, when they came out the husband said "with all those marshs back there, got to be tons of bugs" I wanted to say but you also get awesome sunsets, blue herons, eggerts, all kinds of birds, fox, deer and it is wetlands, meadows and intercostal waterway not marshs. Oh well. Our realtor is telling any clients he brings thru and also other realtors (but they must not be listening) that our house is not turn-key, it is being sold as is and that is why it is $180,000 less than another house on our street that sold HOURS after going on market for asking price of $670,000. It is in better condition than ours but hey if someone bought our house and put in 75,000 to 100,000 our house will look the same as the one that sold for 670,000 and we have the exact same views and sunsets. . WE are asking under assessed value and most of the assessed and market value in in the land, not the house. OUr realtor is also marketing our house as big enough that part of our downstairs could be made into a 4 th and 5th bedroom. Our realtor also said that our house is not only the largest on our street but in our entire area of town. Maybe it is too big for most people, especially if they want it for a 2nd home, ie a summer resort home. But we can't make the house smaller lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariannNOVA Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Mariann, I hope you get a seller soon. We just relisted our house and had our first showing. We were leaving when the people showed up, they asked us not to leave in case they had any questions. So we said okay we would stay outside. Dd went back in the house for something and heard one of them say "Well, lets just be polite and go upstairs and look". When she told me that, I thought to myself, don't be polite, we are standing out in the cold here, just leave if this is not the house for you. Anyway, when they came out the husband said "with all those marshs back there, got to be tons of bugs" I wanted to say but you also get awesome sunsets, blue herons, eggerts, all kinds of birds, fox, deer and it is wetlands, meadows and intercostal waterway not marshs. Oh well. I would have had to correct him and simply say they are not marshes, they are wetlands, meadow and intercoastal waterway -- then I would have walked inside and closed the door. Our realtor is telling any clients he brings thru and also other realtors (but they must not be listening) that our house is not turn-key, it is being sold as is and that is why it is $180,000 less than another house on our street that sold HOURS after going on market for asking price of $670,000. It is in better condition than ours but hey if someone bought our house and put in 75,000 to 100,000 our house will look the same as the one that sold for 670,000 and we have the exact same views and sunsets. . WE are asking under assessed value and most of the assessed and market value in in the land, not the house. OUr realtor is also marketing our house as big enough that part of our downstairs could be made into a 4 th and 5th bedroom. Our realtor also said that our house is not only the largest on our street but in our entire area of town. Maybe it is too big for most people, especially if they want it for a 2nd home, ie a summer resort home. But we can't make the house smaller lol. I would think that the fact that you are listed for less than the assessed price would have folks jumping all over the property. I am beginning to think that the market is NOT really recovered to any degree the exception being markets that are truly PRIMARY markets (clearly not our part of ffx county which has always been a primary market - but not now.) I'm not baking cookies anymore for anyone unless it is a 2nd showing. I am not leaving anymore (Saturday, we stood outside, looked as put out as we felt, and walked back in as soon as the people set foot outside the front door). I've looked at most of the other properties they are looking at when they leave our house -- I do not understand the attitude. Hope things change for the better for all of us.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 I had really hoped that we were selling the right kind of house for this market...i.e. a cheap one--to appeal to first time homebuyers who want to get in now while prices are low and interest rates are great (and the rental market is terrible for renters). But so far the first time home buyers aren't exactly flocking here. I looked again at the giant subdivision nearby....with the similarly sized houses but on tiny little lots...but this time at the ones that actually sold recently instead of what's for sale right now. It's TERRIBLE....houses that people paid $180,000 for a few years ago are going for $120,000 now! It makes me really glad, though, that I didn't buy something like that as new construction a few years ago (built in 2003-4, it looks like). I'm guessing it's almost all young families--people who bought there thinking they'd stay a few years and then trade up, only now they're stuck. Anyway, I can't compete with those. We'll just have to wait on someone who's willing and able to pay a little more to get the land and privacy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariannNOVA Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 I had really hoped that we were selling the right kind of house for this market...i.e. a cheap one--to appeal to first time homebuyers who want to get in now while prices are low and interest rates are great (and the rental market is terrible for renters). But so far the first time home buyers aren't exactly flocking here. I looked again at the giant subdivision nearby....with the similarly sized houses but on tiny little lots...but this time at the ones that actually sold recently instead of what's for sale right now. It's TERRIBLE....houses that people paid $180,000 for a few years ago are going for $120,000 now! It makes me really glad, though, that I didn't buy something like that as new construction a few years ago (built in 2003-4, it looks like). I'm guessing it's almost all young families--people who bought there thinking they'd stay a few years and then trade up, only now they're stuck. Anyway, I can't compete with those. We'll just have to wait on someone who's willing and able to pay a little more to get the land and privacy. I hear you. it mystifies me......on a good day, it mystifies me.:001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeannie in NJ Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 the first 6 months we were listed, dh insisted on an asking price that was WAY tto high, we did not get any showings. Finally we reduced our price by 200,000 and we have had 2 offers that have falled thru . The first offer was when we were at Disney and while we were counteroffering them, our neighbors put their house on the market and just happened to list with the same realtor that our buyers were using for our house and within hours of that house coming on the market, our buyers withdrew their offer on our house and offered asking price of 670,000 on our neighbors and they settled this past weekend. And the 2nd offer, well everyone here on this board knows that whole fiasco. So there are buyers around here and our realtor said that the season is just starting, well we will see about that. Regarding your house, I showed dh the pix that you had linked and we both think you have a beautiful house. I think it was you that a lot of people thought you did not have enough storage in the kitchen (is that correct). Dh said then you need a buyer that would be willing to add in cabinets or whatever else. Heck our buyer would need to completely redo our 1970's kitchen. I am with you on not making any more cookies. I used to always put my cats ourside and we (the humans) would leave while buyers came thru. But with the huge hawks that are hanging out over my backyard I can no longer put the cats ourside. Well, that is one more obstacle but can't lose cats to hawks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariannNOVA Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 the first 6 months we were listed, dh insisted on an asking price that was WAY tto high, we did not get any showings. Finally we reduced our price by 200,000 and we have had 2 offers that have falled thru . The first offer was when we were at Disney and while we were counteroffering them, our neighbors put their house on the market and just happened to list with the same realtor that our buyers were using for our house and within hours of that house coming on the market, our buyers withdrew their offer on our house and offered asking price of 670,000 on our neighbors and they settled this past weekend. And the 2nd offer, well everyone here on this board knows that whole fiasco. So there are buyers around here and our realtor said that the season is just starting, well we will see about that. Regarding your house, I showed dh the pix that you had linked and we both think you have a beautiful house. I think it was you that a lot of people thought you did not have enough storage in the kitchen (is that correct). Dh said then you need a buyer that would be willing to add in cabinets or whatever else. Heck our buyer would need to completely redo our 1970's kitchen. I am with you on not making any more cookies. I used to always put my cats ourside and we (the humans) would leave while buyers came thru. But with the huge hawks that are hanging out over my backyard I can no longer put the cats ourside. Well, that is one more obstacle but can't lose cats to hawks. You know -- I get the kitchen cabinet thing -- It took me a couple of years to decide to go ahead and do it -- and it was for spatial/openness issues that I did it. If I was interested in a house and I thought it should have wall cabinets, and I was SO interested that I wanted to make an offer, I would begin a dialogue with the seller about 'where the cabinets came from (ours are custom - easy enough to get more made), would the seller subsidize maybe half of the cost of the cabinets with a check at closing, etc., etc.' There are so many ways that buyers and sellers can be creative -- I don't see any creative people out there. I do not see anyone demonstrating critical thinking skills. I'm not in a good mood today. sorry. I'd want the hawks to pick up the people looking at the house and dump them someplace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariannNOVA Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 oh, and tonight we lowered our price a token amount ($1000) just so we would 'flash' again. Open House on Sunday. Praying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 oh, and tonight we lowered our price a token amount ($1000) just so we would 'flash' again. Open House on Sunday. Praying. Hope it does the trick! Finally heard back about the open house. Only two neighbors showed up. And one of them told the agent she was "so unsettled" by this plaster dog statue we have that she couldn't go in the room. Umm....guess I'll move him? He was my late grandmother's; we just got him a few months ago--I asked for him when they were going through her stuff because he sat outside her apartment and the kids always loved him, and I wanted something that would help them remember her.....so anyway, I don't want to shove him in the basement or anything. Really, I probably shouldn't worry about it; he's just a life size lab statue; he's not really at all unsettling to the average person, I'm pretty sure. In other news, my agent e-mailed this morning to tell me she's meeting with someone else in our neighborhood to talk about selling THEIR house. Eek! competition! I feel sort of cheated on, although I know I shouldn't. I think they have pretty much the exact same house (well, floor plan anyway) as us. How will people decide?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeannie in NJ Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 that is strange about someone being unsettled by a dog statue. My dh's cousin has a beautiful life size wooden statue of her beloved dog. Even when my dc were tiny, they were never upset by the statue, they loved petting it. By the way, I am looking today at 2 houses for sale, next door to each other, one is $5,000 less than the other. In our area, it tends to also be only neighbors that go to open houses, maybe to give themselves ideas about selling their own house? We have sometimes dropped papers off to our realtor at various other open houses, he always tells us that we are the only people to come by so it appears that open houses do not work well in our area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 that is strange about someone being unsettled by a dog statue. My dh's cousin has a beautiful life size wooden statue of her beloved dog. Even when my dc were tiny, they were never upset by the statue, they loved petting it. The more I think about it, I'm wondering if maybe she thought it was actually a stuffed (as in taxidermy) dog. It does look really realistic, and if she didn't come in the room, she didn't get the best look at it. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 You know, I just have to say that I have to wonder why (if it was common knowledge that the couple really only wanted to spend $100k or so) the couple wasn't told: "It really isn't appropriate to trouble these folks when their property isn't at all in the price range you have indicated. Now, if you really would consider moving into THAT price range, tell me and we will get you qualified and I will arrange for us to see it." I think that in alot of ways, the inmates are running the asylum. I completely agree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 There are so many ways that buyers and sellers can be creative -- I don't see any creative people out there. I do not see anyone demonstrating critical thinking skills. It really is amazing how often you hear, "buyers don't have any imagination!" Really--none of them?! It's so hard to believe that if we had left our dining room set up as an office/music room, buyers would have walked through the house completely confused, "but, I don't understand? Where's the dining room?!" And, yet, you do see that kind of thing on House Hunters, et. al. all the time....people saying stuff like, "ooh--I really hate this color!" as if they've never heard of paint before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessedchaos Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Hope it does the trick! Finally heard back about the open house. Only two neighbors showed up. And one of them told the agent she was "so unsettled" by this plaster dog statue we have that she couldn't go in the room. Umm....guess I'll move him? He was my late grandmother's; we just got him a few months ago--I asked for him when they were going through her stuff because he sat outside her apartment and the kids always loved him, and I wanted something that would help them remember her.....so anyway, I don't want to shove him in the basement or anything. Really, I probably shouldn't worry about it; he's just a life size lab statue; he's not really at all unsettling to the average person, I'm pretty sure. In other news, my agent e-mailed this morning to tell me she's meeting with someone else in our neighborhood to talk about selling THEIR house. Eek! competition! I feel sort of cheated on, although I know I shouldn't. I think they have pretty much the exact same house (well, floor plan anyway) as us. How will people decide?! I'm sorry about the open house. The statue thing is just weird. Get over it - it's a statue. It isn't like it is staying with the house. The neighbor putting their house up for sale just STINKS! Especially that it is your agent; I would think that could be very conflicting (which house does she promote over the other). Three weeks before we listed and the day before we put in the purchase agreement on our new construction (appt was already set up), our neighbor two doors down put their house up for sale. I was panicked until I found out it was a short sale priced the same as what we were going to price. Turned out it hasn't been an issue for us although the houses are very similar as many people tend to run away from shorts these days. It was so weird too because this neighborhood is very stable; we have been here 10 years and are still the newest on the block. Hopefully your neighbor has a very different house than you do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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