PrincessMommy Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Someone is coming back for a second showing this morning. Woo hoo! Praying we get an offer. :hurray: and praying too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker of Schole Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 May I join? We had our house on the market for six months last year. We took it off to do some updating (painted an entire level, updated two bathrooms, new kitchen counters and lighting). Seven exhausting weeks later (we did all the work ourselves), we are relisting on Thursday. We are praying that we sell this time, and quickly. We really want out of this house... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 May I join? We had our house on the market for six months last year. We took it off to do some updating (painted an entire level, updated two bathrooms, new kitchen counters and lighting). Seven exhausting weeks later (we did all the work ourselves), we are relisting on Thursday. We are praying that we sell this time, and quickly. We really want out of this house... I totally know how exhausting it is and we only did about 1/2 the work ourselves. I hope it goes very quickly for you. What is the market like where you live? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker of Schole Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I totally know how exhausting it is and we only did about 1/2 the work ourselves. I hope it goes very quickly for you. What is the market like where you live? It just picked back up a bit in the last month, but it is still a buyers market. What we're hearing is that if it doesn't sell within the first 90 days, we will probably be on the market for a year or so. The thought of keeping the house in show condition with the littles (my own and the one I watch) makes me want to cry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 I think we're going to fire our realtor. At least *I* am ready to do so. My husband wants to hold off. But, I've slept on it and I still feel the same way this morning. She's really not been helpful and in retrospect she wasn't really all the helpful in helping us to find the house we bought. But, I'm tired and emotional too. My husband usually has a more level business head. The thing I'm worried about is if she drags this out it could really put off getting the house on the MLS. It may not be worth it to do that...but I'm worried how well she'll represent us once it IS on the market. So I feel a bit stuck. Anyway, sorry for the ramble. Just trying to process on little sleep. Argh, so stressful! It seems like such a crapshoot getting a realtor you work well with...you need someone who's good at what they do AND who you mesh with. But, yeah, if you're already having this many issues before you even get it listed.... Someone is coming back for a second showing this morning. Woo hoo! Praying we get an offer. ooh! fingers crossed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 May I join? We had our house on the market for six months last year. We took it off to do some updating (painted an entire level, updated two bathrooms, new kitchen counters and lighting). Seven exhausting weeks later (we did all the work ourselves), we are relisting on Thursday. We are praying that we sell this time, and quickly. We really want out of this house... Welcome! And good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 Okay! I finally have some news! The bank counter-offered...the price is very close to what we offered, but they want to move the closing date up to the end of April (we asked for early June). This puts the pressure on to find a buyer here, but I think we're going for it (still waiting to hear back from DH, but we've talked through this sort of scenario before, so I'm reasonably sure he'll be on board). Yay! And scary! I have to figure out when to actually move...there's some work that needs to be done before we can move in, but not much. Okay--so out of superstition, I've been holding off, but now that it looks like we're actually getting it, here's the house! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Okay! I finally have some news! The bank counter-offered...the price is very close to what we offered, but they want to move the closing date up to the end of April (we asked for early June). This puts the pressure on to find a buyer here, but I think we're going for it (still waiting to hear back from DH, but we've talked through this sort of scenario before, so I'm reasonably sure he'll be on board). Yay! And scary! I have to figure out when to actually move...there's some work that needs to be done before we can move in, but not much. Okay--so out of superstition, I've been holding off, but now that it looks like we're actually getting it, here's the house! what a beautiful house and lawn! I hope it all comes together and your old house sells. Congratulations!!!!!! And thanks for the support on firing our realtor. Talked with dh and he said we have complete grounds to do so but is it worth it?? I said I thought so. I called her and did the deed. It wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought. She of course, see's things differently, but she bowed out graciously. Now, I'm back to hunting for a realtor. We've got an appt. tomorrow with one and we had already interviewed another lady back in Jan. - we may just go with her. She's one of those very well known, does our area, has lots of minions working for her. She won't be the friendly, touchy-feely type but I know she'll be effective - and she knows our specific area and the type of people who buy here. My husband also wants to get a referral from his niece. She may know someone in our area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Okay! I finally have some news! The bank counter-offered...the price is very close to what we offered, but they want to move the closing date up to the end of April (we asked for early June). This puts the pressure on to find a buyer here, but I think we're going for it (still waiting to hear back from DH, but we've talked through this sort of scenario before, so I'm reasonably sure he'll be on board). Yay! And scary! I have to figure out when to actually move...there's some work that needs to be done before we can move in, but not much. Okay--so out of superstition, I've been holding off, but now that it looks like we're actually getting it, here's the house! I just noticed the name of your street: LOVE IT! :D But watch out for those Barrow Wights. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgiana Daniels Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 It just picked back up a bit in the last month, but it is still a buyers market. What we're hearing is that if it doesn't sell within the first 90 days, we will probably be on the market for a year or so. The thought of keeping the house in show condition with the littles (my own and the one I watch) makes me want to cry. This is me. Two years and four months. We have a showing today (supposedly) and it's been exhausting to scrub the place down for so many false alarms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn in Ohio Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Okay! I finally have some news! The bank counter-offered...the price is very close to what we offered, but they want to move the closing date up to the end of April (we asked for early June). This puts the pressure on to find a buyer here, but I think we're going for it (still waiting to hear back from DH, but we've talked through this sort of scenario before, so I'm reasonably sure he'll be on board). Yay! And scary! I have to figure out when to actually move...there's some work that needs to be done before we can move in, but not much. Okay--so out of superstition, I've been holding off, but now that it looks like we're actually getting it, here's the house! Fantastic house! I hope everything works out. I've heard that banks don't like long closing dates... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 That is such a great location and a beautiful house! My kids and DH play soccer near there, and we spend a lot of time up there. I hope everything works out. Okay! I finally have some news! The bank counter-offered...the price is very close to what we offered, but they want to move the closing date up to the end of April (we asked for early June). This puts the pressure on to find a buyer here, but I think we're going for it (still waiting to hear back from DH, but we've talked through this sort of scenario before, so I'm reasonably sure he'll be on board). Yay! And scary! I have to figure out when to actually move...there's some work that needs to be done before we can move in, but not much. Okay--so out of superstition, I've been holding off, but now that it looks like we're actually getting it, here's the house! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deannajo Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Okay! I finally have some news! ........we're actually getting it, here's the house! Yay!!! It looks fabulous!!!! I'm getting frustrated because I'm boxing up all of our clutter and knick-knacks and moving some furniture to the basement so the house is ready to show, but my husband has a completely different vision - he thinks all of our stuff makes the house even more appealing to buyers. He likes knick knacks - he grew up in a home with wall-to-wall furniture and decorations and thinks that is a mighty special look and buyers don't want to see an "empty" house where they can't picture their own things - its funny because we are saying the exact same things, about buyers wanting to be able to picture themselves living here, but his vision of what that looks like includes lots of furniture and knick-knacks and my vision of what that looks like is as little furniture as possible, and nothing personal like pictures, lying about. He thinks a buyer is going to walk through and say, "Well I have a lot of furniture of this same scale, so now that I see this house with all of their stuff, I know for a fact that my stuff, which is similar in dimensions, would totally work in this space" - I want the rooms to look bigger, and think that's accomplished by moving things out to free up the space, he thinks that accomplished by filling the space with lots of big pieces so they can see that the space can accommodate that. I'd laugh if I weren't stressed to the max already. It really is funny. We'll have to defer to the real estate agent on this one I think (who I am quite sure will agree with me because I'm RIGHT) :lol: And we were getting a roof this week, but now the weather is iffy, so that may be put off...carpeting gets installed tomorrow and more painting. I have so much to do!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deannajo Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 So I found a good stress reliever for us all - let the kids color on the carpet with sharpies! Haha, neverfear, its being replaced tomorrow, but what fun the girls had! They've been working so hard and decluttering doesn't come easy to them. This was nice..but after tomorrow, they'll have to start taking all their meals in the kitchen :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Any news from those of you who had showings in recent days?? I need some happy news. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted March 30, 2012 Author Share Posted March 30, 2012 Well...we actually had an offer yesterday. I can't go into it too much, as it was someone from this board (!)....but it ended up not working out :(. which is especially sad because yesterday was my birthday. But we're no worse off than we were a couple of days ago. So. Onward! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Well...we actually had an offer yesterday. I can't go into it too much, as it was someone from this board (!)....but it ended up not working out :(. which is especially sad because yesterday was my birthday. But we're no worse off than we were a couple of days ago. So. Onward! Well, I'm sorry it didn't work out in the end. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn in Ohio Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Any news from those of you who had showings in recent days?? I need some happy news. The couple that saw our house twice came back today for a third time. I guess they wanted to show their parents. I don't think we are the only possible house though. They have at least one other that they are considering. We should hear soon if we are their first choice. I guess they really like our house, but don't like the junk in the neighbor's yard. I've never cared for it either... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariannNOVA Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Well...we actually had an offer yesterday. I can't go into it too much, as it was someone from this board (!)....but it ended up not working out :(. which is especially sad because yesterday was my birthday. But we're no worse off than we were a couple of days ago. So. Onward! I saw the photo of the house you want to purchase -- gorgeous!!! Hoping things continue to move along! Updating here: we are not out of the woods yet. Our buyers had the home inspection on thursday -- we are waiting to hear the results and what remediation they would like -- of coure we think it cannot be much, but then again, WHAT do we know? We had our home inspection of the house we want to purchase -- it was on wednesday. There were a couple of things that weren't great, and a few things that were just plain dumb. I told dh to keep his mouth shut and not do anything to mess things up. He understands that I WANT this house come h*ll or high water. Hoping that everyone here begins to experience activity. My dd33 and her dh own a teeny weeny little house in Elmer NJ. Their agent has all of a sudden received a dozen phone calls for appointments to see it. I think that things are maybe really picking up. Prayers and positive thoughts to everyone!:grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn in Ohio Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 The couple that saw our house twice came back today for a third time. I guess they wanted to show their parents. I don't think we are the only possible house though. They have at least one other that they are considering. We should hear soon if we are their first choice. I guess they really like our house, but don't like the junk in the neighbor's yard. I've never cared for it either... The parents didn't like our house. :confused: Ugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted March 31, 2012 Author Share Posted March 31, 2012 The parents didn't like our house. :confused: Ugh. Oh no! What do PARENTS know, anyway? Have they definitely decided against yours, then, or are we still hoping they have a rebellious streak and will go against the parents? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted March 31, 2012 Author Share Posted March 31, 2012 Big plans for the week on the house selling front. Tomorrow DH the kids leave for CA to visit his family. I'm staying here, since we had no idea, back when we booked, what would be going on with the house. Turns out what will be going on is me working my butt off! Today DH is going to seed the backforest....uh, sorry, the backyard. Tonight we go get butcher block countertops from Ikea. Not granite, but I actually am in love with them...they're what I'd do if I were redoing the kitchen for ME, I'm pretty sure. So then while he's gone I paint our kitchen cabinets, have the countertops installed, water seed, and take care of some other little things (is there no end of little things to take care of?!) And, then, after I spend my whole kid free week working....we drop the price! This seems counterintuitive. Really, our agent's been signalling to everyone who's looked since we got the contract on the other house that we're negotiable anyway, but an official price drop will put us just under $150, so we're hoping the listing will pop up for a lot of people who haven't seen it yet that way. Meanwhile....we're waiting on the bank to have the lights and water turned back on at the new house, and then we do the inspection. I'll feel better once we're past that....the house has been empty for 2 years, so we're hoping no big hidden issues will pop up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn in Ohio Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Oh no! What do PARENTS know, anyway? Have they definitely decided against yours, then, or are we still hoping they have a rebellious streak and will go against the parents? It sounds like a definite no (and we had been their first choice). I told my kids the lesson to be learned here is that they shouldn't listen to their parents. My daughter's quick reply- "I didn't plan to." :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 It sounds like a definite no (and we had been their first choice). I told my kids the lesson to be learned here is that they shouldn't listen to their parents. My daughter's quick reply- "I didn't plan to." :001_smile: LOL. Perhaps the parents are helping to pay and the family feels like they should have a bigger say? Not that I agree with it, but maybe that's it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 You could not pay me to give my in-laws any input on our house-buying process. My husband made the mistake of mentioning a couple of the places we were looking at, and the first thing out of my FIL's mouth was "What's wrong with it? If they are selling it at that price, there is something wrong with it." Then he started telling us how we ought to dig down next to the foundation of the houses to inspect them underground, and so on...keeping in mind we are researching houses from out of state at that point. Ugh. No, we wouldn't be buying a brand-new perfect house. We might need to paint it or replace some things. However, prices on fixer-uppers in rural areas of New York and Ohio are much cheaper than what he is used to on Long Island. Ugh, again. We are going on about a month now without having the full use of the kitchen or only bathroom here as those get fixed up. I am beyond annoyed with the guy doing the work. He does a great job when he shows up, but he has only come about half of the days he has said he would, and showed up so late that he can only work for a few hours. He used to work for my husband, and there is no way we could get all this done for the same price by someone else. Unfortunately I think he is under the impression he is doing us a favor, when we are shelling out quite a bit of cash to get this work done. On the plus side, the bathroom is going to be beautiful. Our kitchen ceiling will be level. My husband should be done painting everything on his days off next week. So now, we need to close on our other house, move into it, give this house a quick cleaning, and list it. Are we there yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariannNOVA Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 The parents didn't like our house. :confused: Ugh. Oh, good grief!!!!! I am so sorry. Our buyers are coming by with 'her mother' on Tuesday as she is in town for Easter and won't be back to visit till July. By Tuesday, all the home inspection issues should be addressed - 'her mom' is coming at 3pm -- I will have cookies baked, and the house perfectly staged for what should be the absolutely last time. I don't want to sound snarky, but I wouldn't ask my IL's opinion on ANYTHING. I probably wouldn't ask my mom's opinion either. My in laws are nice people but we are from two totally different worlds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuliQ Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 So I'm pretty new to the WTM forums, and I had to laugh that this is a running thread! We are also selling our house. My husband spends 10 hours a week in his commute (driving to a job that is 15 min from my parents' house, no less) and I am chomping at the bit to move. The change will: Give my daughter and I 10 more hours every week with my husband. Save us tons of money in gas and car repairs. Get me closer to my parents and elderly grandmother. Connect me with a part time job at the public library (my dream!) Give us a chance to take advantage of lower mortgage rates. (We're looking at houses that are twice as "valuable" as our current house, but with almost the same monthly payment.) And give us a very needed emotional/physical fresh start. Two weeks ago, while getting ready for an open house, I was running around, cleaning, scrubbing, laundry-ing, etc. My husband called me down to the basement: "Sweetie, you should know that water is pouring out of the pipes into the crawl space..." Over the past week (during which time my husband and I were both sick, and my daughter chose to be massively constipated because she's potty training, she's three and even wacko Freud was right about some things) we had to completely disconnect the kitchen sink, our dishwasher, our laundry and the downstairs bathroom. This weekend we dug a huge hole in our backyard and had a crew of friends and family (for whom I am so completely grateful) come to completely reroute the whole plumbing line out to the city's drain. Which we discovered mid-process spends some of it's time running up hill. Pouring the water BACK into our house, instead of away) Saturday night closed with what we suspected was a total end of the project, my husband (coughing and hacking) just had to fill in the hole. And yesterday morning, my husband started to fill in the hole, while I stayed inside frantically catching up on all the laundry, dishes, cleaning, etc. And I hear "Sweetie, you should know that water is pouring out of the pipes and into the hole..." SWEAR WORDS!!! We had to start all over, cutting back into the pipes, digging a bigger hole, replumbing, discovering more disasters and problems. The process involved capping off the old terracotta line and all the pipes that led into it. We thought we had it all sorted out, except for when it started to rain (!) at the end of our fixes for the day. And I hear "Sweetie, you should know that the rain water is pouring down the downspout into the pipe we just abandoned and... into the hole." That was an easy fix. But seriously. My brother remarked that maybe this house is just our cross to bear. And we'd been worried that we hadn't given ourselves enough opportunity to reflect over this year's Lent! What makes this the worst is that it was a huge, messy, colossally stinky project that still requires a lot of clean up. And when we're done, we don't have anything new and shiny and update-y to show our potential buyers. We just fixed what should have been fixed before. I'm so frustrated. It feels like we're never going to move. It feels like we'll be stuck here forever. And I just needed to share all of this with you. Even though anyone who was brave enough to read this far down is a stranger, you and I have more in common than I do with most of my friends (who have no kids, rent or have brand spanking new homes, refuse to accept my passion for keeping my daughter home for school, don't see why I want to be close to family, etc.) I feel alone, with no improvement in sight. Easter can't come soon enough. Thank you for listening. Really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker of Schole Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 I'm so frustrated. It feels like we're never going to move. It feels like we'll be stuck here forever. And I just needed to share all of this with you. I am SO, SO right there with you. We finished all our improvements at 10:30 last night and the house hits the market this morning. Except this is the second time we've had it on the market, and we only took it off to do the improvements. I'm convinced this house will never sell and my dreams of living on land big enough to have a garden and a pool and fruit trees and chickens will never come true... Blech. Let's hope for all our sakes that this month is THE month and we all have awesome, fabulous offers on our houses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 So I'm pretty new to the WTM forums, and I had to laugh that this is a running thread! We are also selling our house. My husband spends 10 hours a week in his commute (driving to a job that is 15 min from my parents' house, no less) and I am chomping at the bit to move. The change will: Give my daughter and I 10 more hours every week with my husband. Save us tons of money in gas and car repairs. Get me closer to my parents and elderly grandmother. Connect me with a part time job at the public library (my dream!) Give us a chance to take advantage of lower mortgage rates. (We're looking at houses that are twice as "valuable" as our current house, but with almost the same monthly payment.) And give us a very needed emotional/physical fresh start. Two weeks ago, while getting ready for an open house, I was running around, cleaning, scrubbing, laundry-ing, etc. My husband called me down to the basement: "Sweetie, you should know that water is pouring out of the pipes into the crawl space..." Over the past week (during which time my husband and I were both sick, and my daughter chose to be massively constipated because she's potty training, she's three and even wacko Freud was right about some things) we had to completely disconnect the kitchen sink, our dishwasher, our laundry and the downstairs bathroom. This weekend we dug a huge hole in our backyard and had a crew of friends and family (for whom I am so completely grateful) come to completely reroute the whole plumbing line out to the city's drain. Which we discovered mid-process spends some of it's time running up hill. Pouring the water BACK into our house, instead of away) Saturday night closed with what we suspected was a total end of the project, my husband (coughing and hacking) just had to fill in the hole. And yesterday morning, my husband started to fill in the hole, while I stayed inside frantically catching up on all the laundry, dishes, cleaning, etc. And I hear "Sweetie, you should know that water is pouring out of the pipes and into the hole..." SWEAR WORDS!!! We had to start all over, cutting back into the pipes, digging a bigger hole, replumbing, discovering more disasters and problems. The process involved capping off the old terracotta line and all the pipes that led into it. We thought we had it all sorted out, except for when it started to rain (!) at the end of our fixes for the day. And I hear "Sweetie, you should know that the rain water is pouring down the downspout into the pipe we just abandoned and... into the hole." That was an easy fix. But seriously. My brother remarked that maybe this house is just our cross to bear. And we'd been worried that we hadn't given ourselves enough opportunity to reflect over this year's Lent! What makes this the worst is that it was a huge, messy, colossally stinky project that still requires a lot of clean up. And when we're done, we don't have anything new and shiny and update-y to show our potential buyers. We just fixed what should have been fixed before. I'm so frustrated. It feels like we're never going to move. It feels like we'll be stuck here forever. And I just needed to share all of this with you. Even though anyone who was brave enough to read this far down is a stranger, you and I have more in common than I do with most of my friends (who have no kids, rent or have brand spanking new homes, refuse to accept my passion for keeping my daughter home for school, don't see why I want to be close to family, etc.) I feel alone, with no improvement in sight. Easter can't come soon enough. Thank you for listening. Really. I feel like this Lent has been wasted with distractions too. I stupidly thought we'd have it on the market by Feb! HA! Hang in there. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessedchaos Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 I am SO, SO right there with you. We finished all our improvements at 10:30 last night and the house hits the market this morning. Except this is the second time we've had it on the market, and we only took it off to do the improvements. I'm convinced this house will never sell and my dreams of living on land big enough to have a garden and a pool and fruit trees and chickens will never come true... Blech. Let's hope for all our sakes that this month is THE month and we all have awesome, fabulous offers on our houses. I felt the same way. This was our FIFTH time listing our house in the past 8 years. Twice we were listed only a few weeks and dh got an unexpected job offer keeping us in the area and once the house we were building was sold to a non-contingent buyer (the builder's realtor who was working with us bought it from under us), so those were all short listings a few weeks or so before we cancelled them. But in 2010 we had it up for 4 months with only 4 showings. This time I felt just like you did, that we would never sell and we'd be stuck with 2 houses (we'd already signed the PA to build our new house). We sold in 12 days. What was the difference? I think it was a combo of much lower price, better market, and many great improvements we made in the house. We are taking a hit even to our 2001 purchase price (plus the $35K + on improvements), but it's worth it to be able to move on. Don't dispair. You CAN sell if you are priced right, and it sounds like you've done a lot of improvements. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elise1mds Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 I was just thinking about this thread today. We're still working in improvements, too. I started painting the kitchen today. We still have to paint the exterior of the house AND make some improvements to the foundation. After that, we have to clean the ever-living daylights out of it and get it properly staged. I really, really, REALLY want to have it on the market by April 20, so we have to get moving. Some days it's really depressing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 I was just thinking about this thread today. We're still working in improvements, too. I started painting the kitchen today. We still have to paint the exterior of the house AND make some improvements to the foundation. After that, we have to clean the ever-living daylights out of it and get it properly staged. I really, really, REALLY want to have it on the market by April 20, so we have to get moving. Some days it's really depressing. I agree. And it always seems to take longer than I think it should. Sigh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runmiarun Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 House selling is not for the faint of heart. As I reread new posts from last week, I am reminded that patience is a virtue and I've got not much left. Our realtor had our foyer parquet flooring replaced with tile and it was done beautifully. We had lots of missing wood pieces so it had to go or we risked lawsuits by people looking at the house. The painters are supposed to be finished but haven't. And they've left lots of paint splatters on the floor. Thankfully it's vintage terrazzo so it should clean up quick. We had hoped to have it on the market this weekend but now I'm not sure. We may end up having to pay another contractor to finish the painting and clean the paint splatters. I'm am so glad to hear others are seeing activity on their homes. Every little bit of good news is good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted April 5, 2012 Author Share Posted April 5, 2012 sounds like a big week for home improvement! DH and the kids are in CA this week. I spent all day Monday and Tuesday painting cabinets. They go back up with their shiny new hardware today, after the counter guy finishes putting in the butcher block. And at some point I need to get the new backsplash in. It's going to look awesome. I like it better than my new kitchen, actually (the new kitchen is very nice, with higher end cabinets and granite and all that; it's just not what I would have picked, you know?). Maybe I won't leave! Suddenly, even before the official price drop or the pictures of the new kitchen go up, we have lots of interest. We have three showings lined up...our agent's been putting everyone off a couple of days until the kitchen is put back together. I know this is the right thing to do, but it makes me nervous. What if they find other houses TODAY and never come look at mine?! The inspection on the new house had to be pushed back to next week because we're still waiting on the bank to get all the utilities turned back on, so that gives me a few days more to worry about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 did you paint your cabinets yourself? I'm toying with doing this at my new house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted April 5, 2012 Author Share Posted April 5, 2012 (edited) did you paint your cabinets yourself? I'm toying with doing this at my new house. I did! I had help...my agent came over both days to help me, and some friends came the second day....but it wasn't nearly as bad as I feared. I had already done all the bathroom cabinets, so I knew pretty much what I was getting into. I took the doors off, scrubbed everything down with a degreasing cleaner, then a coat of oil-based primer and two coats of a high quality black paint. It's a small kitchen, but I did all that in two days, then let them dry for a full day, and I'll spend a few hours putting the new hardware on and rehanging today--so not bad! ETA: I was really intimidated about cabinet painting, but now I wish I'd done it years ago. We still had our builder grade, 1989 oak with brass hardware, so it makes a huge difference. The kitchen was the only thing left in the house (well, other than some of the light fixtures) that screamed late '80's at you when you walked in. Edited April 5, 2012 by kokotg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runmiarun Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 sounds like a big week for home improvement! DH and the kids are in CA this week. I spent all day Monday and Tuesday painting cabinets. They go back up with their shiny new hardware today, after the counter guy finishes putting in the butcher block. And at some point I need to get the new backsplash in. It's going to look awesome. I like it better than my new kitchen, actually (the new kitchen is very nice, with higher end cabinets and granite and all that; it's just not what I would have picked, you know?). Maybe I won't leave! Suddenly, even before the official price drop or the pictures of the new kitchen go up, we have lots of interest. We have three showings lined up...our agent's been putting everyone off a couple of days until the kitchen is put back together. I know this is the right thing to do, but it makes me nervous. What if they find other houses TODAY and never come look at mine?! You rock! Painting your own cabinets...THAT deserves a milk shake, lady! I did that once in my younger, wilder days and can't imagine doing it again (granted, the drunk roommate spilling paint probably contributes to the bad memory more than anything else). May your new painted cabinets send a contract with the Easter bunny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeking Squirrels Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 I'm new here, but saw this thread last week when I was lurking :) Our house is finally listed. We wanted to a year ago, but kept waiting for things to maybe get better. We had about 10 showings in 3 days the first week it was listed and the second week we found out we had 4 offers. So we've signed for one of them and now we just have to wait to see if the bank accepts it or not. Thankfully they stopped showings until we get an answer on this offer. That week with so many showings was hard! We basically had to be out of the house all day when there were showings because they were spaced so perfectly that we'd have to time it just right to have enough time at home to be worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 I'm new here, but saw this thread last week when I was lurking :) Our house is finally listed. We wanted to a year ago, but kept waiting for things to maybe get better. We had about 10 showings in 3 days the first week it was listed and the second week we found out we had 4 offers. So we've signed for one of them and now we just have to wait to see if the bank accepts it or not. Thankfully they stopped showings until we get an answer on this offer. That week with so many showings was hard! We basically had to be out of the house all day when there were showings because they were spaced so perfectly that we'd have to time it just right to have enough time at home to be worth it. It does sound intense but congratulations on the offers!! How exciting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deannajo Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 oh wow CPSTAnne - that's incredible. Send some of your vibes my way - our house goes live on the market sometime on Monday! We had a walkthrough today and have a list of small chores to keep us busy through the weekend, but listing will go up late Monday. I'm a nervous wreck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 Today we signed with a new realtor. Whew! I am SO glad that old realtor is behind us. Hindsight is 20/20, and as we find out more and look back over the last few months, we realize we should have fired her long ago. But, that is over and done with. I'm SO excited about the new realtor. She immediately *got* our house. It needs a big family, possibly multi-generational family, someone who isn't looking for bells-and-whistles and bling. It was such a relief. We have a few things to work on and cleaning to do like re-washing the windows and then it should be on the market next week. YAY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 Got an email today from our realtor and she's talked with some friends she knows. Two of them said they know of a few families looking for just our type of house. Hopefully, something good will come out of this next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker of Schole Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 The house went on the market Monday. We had a showing scheduled for Wednesday, but they canceled. We did have a showing today. We have a realtors open house next week. Hopefully that will get things moving as well. So here's to hoping that we will actually get an offer this time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeacefulChaos Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 I'm not selling a house, but I just want to say that the links listed - your homes are gorgeous!!! I'm on the opposite end... I SO want to BUY a house. But at the present time, we can't afford it. Not where we currently live, anyway. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saille Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Could use some prayers...we've had showings, but no offers. Two houses in our school district and price range (one of which had granite countertops) sold in the interim. I'm stressed. We have been pinching every penny for years. We need our cushion to pay for the actual move. We have until about May 1st to get the house under contract if we want closing to happen before dh's apartment lease in the new town is up. We really can't pay for two residences. I don't know what we'll do at that point. We could take a loss on the house, of course. And might have to. Our window is tight. But that means who knows how long of renting and not unpacking and no garden and...I've done that before, you know? Twice. I feel like most of the kids' childhood has been living in a rental with our belongings packed in boxes in the garage. I keep rooting you all on. I'd feel so validated if I saw one of you under contract. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brilliant Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 (edited) Can a buyer cancel a contract for any reason? Our house was on the market for about 4 weeks when we got, and accepted, an offer. A few days later, when our realtor called the buyer's agent to find out when the inspection & appraisal were scheduled, the agent told him that the buyer was having some personal problems and would order the inspection next week. Our realtor says it sounds fishy and that he might be looking for a reason to get out of the contract. We always thought that the buyer could get out of a contract within the contingency period, only for named contingencies - inspection, appraisal, & financing. But when we asked our agent today, "Doesn't he HAVE to order the inspection & appraisal before he can say there's a problem?" the agent told us no, that as long as it's within the contingency period, he can make up any reason and we have to return the earnest money. Obviously the contract doesn't say "any reason" - it lists several contingency reasons. So why would our realtor tell us that? Edited to add: I looked at the inspection contingency more closely. The buyer doesn't HAVE to pay $500 for a professional ainspector. He can make any type of "buyer investigation" w/in the contingency period and cancel the contract. So, for example, he could say he doesn't want our house when he finds out the pool has a salt-water system, or anything else that wasn't immediately obvious. :( Edited April 8, 2012 by OC Mom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Could use some prayers...we've had showings, but no offers. Two houses in our school district and price range (one of which had granite countertops) sold in the interim. I'm stressed. We have been pinching every penny for years. We need our cushion to pay for the actual move. We have until about May 1st to get the house under contract if we want closing to happen before dh's apartment lease in the new town is up. We really can't pay for two residences. I don't know what we'll do at that point. We could take a loss on the house, of course. And might have to. Our window is tight. But that means who knows how long of renting and not unpacking and no garden and...I've done that before, you know? Twice. I feel like most of the kids' childhood has been living in a rental with our belongings packed in boxes in the garage. I keep rooting you all on. I'd feel so validated if I saw one of you under contract. I can definitely say a prayer for you Sallie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Can a buyer cancel a contract for any reason? Our house was on the market for about 4 weeks when we got, and accepted, an offer. A few days later, when our realtor called the buyer's agent to find out when the inspection & appraisal were scheduled, the agent told him that the buyer was having some personal problems and would order the inspection next week. Our realtor says it sounds fishy and that he might be looking for a reason to get out of the contract. We always thought that the buyer could get out of a contract within the contingency period, only for named contingencies - inspection, appraisal, & financing. But when we asked our agent today, "Doesn't he HAVE to order the inspection & appraisal before he can say there's a problem?" the agent told us no, that as long as it's within the contingency period, he can make up any reason and we have to return the earnest money. Obviously the contract doesn't say "any reason" - it lists several contingency reasons. So why would our realtor tell us that? Edited to add: I looked at the inspection contingency more closely. The buyer doesn't HAVE to pay $500 for a professional ainspector. He can make any type of "buyer investigation" w/in the contingency period and cancel the contract. So, for example, he could say he doesn't want our house when he finds out the pool has a salt-water system, or anything else that wasn't immediately obvious. :( In my state the contract is written pretty loosely. We could have backed out of the contract (and lost our good-faith money too) for any reason we stated. At least that is what our realtor told us at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted April 8, 2012 Author Share Posted April 8, 2012 Today we signed with a new realtor. Whew! I am SO glad that old realtor is behind us. Hindsight is 20/20, and as we find out more and look back over the last few months, we realize we should have fired her long ago. But, that is over and done with. I'm SO excited about the new realtor. She immediately *got* our house. It needs a big family, possibly multi-generational family, someone who isn't looking for bells-and-whistles and bling. It was such a relief. We have a few things to work on and cleaning to do like re-washing the windows and then it should be on the market next week. YAY. Yay! sounds like a much better fit! Isn't terrible how the windows always need to be washed again? I had a friend over helping me with the kitchen last week, and she was wiping down my baseboards. I was like, "I PROMISE I did all of this before we listed, but now it's been 6 weeks and everything needs to be done all over again!" The house went on the market Monday. We had a showing scheduled for Wednesday, but they canceled. We did have a showing today. We have a realtors open house next week. Hopefully that will get things moving as well. So here's to hoping that we will actually get an offer this time... Sounds like you're off to a pretty good start! Good luck! Could use some prayers...we've had showings, but no offers. Two houses in our school district and price range (one of which had granite countertops) sold in the interim. I'm stressed. We have been pinching every penny for years. We need our cushion to pay for the actual move. We have until about May 1st to get the house under contract if we want closing to happen before dh's apartment lease in the new town is up. We really can't pay for two residences. I don't know what we'll do at that point. We could take a loss on the house, of course. And might have to. Our window is tight. But that means who knows how long of renting and not unpacking and no garden and...I've done that before, you know? Twice. I feel like most of the kids' childhood has been living in a rental with our belongings packed in boxes in the garage. I keep rooting you all on. I'd feel so validated if I saw one of you under contract. Oh, Saille--I SO want you to get that house sold and get to move on! Praying that this is your week! Can a buyer cancel a contract for any reason? Our house was on the market for about 4 weeks when we got, and accepted, an offer. A few days later, when our realtor called the buyer's agent to find out when the inspection & appraisal were scheduled, the agent told him that the buyer was having some personal problems and would order the inspection next week. Our realtor says it sounds fishy and that he might be looking for a reason to get out of the contract. We always thought that the buyer could get out of a contract within the contingency period, only for named contingencies - inspection, appraisal, & financing. But when we asked our agent today, "Doesn't he HAVE to order the inspection & appraisal before he can say there's a problem?" the agent told us no, that as long as it's within the contingency period, he can make up any reason and we have to return the earnest money. Obviously the contract doesn't say "any reason" - it lists several contingency reasons. So why would our realtor tell us that? Edited to add: I looked at the inspection contingency more closely. The buyer doesn't HAVE to pay $500 for a professional ainspector. He can make any type of "buyer investigation" w/in the contingency period and cancel the contract. So, for example, he could say he doesn't want our house when he finds out the pool has a salt-water system, or anything else that wasn't immediately obvious. :( Ugh! That's so frustrating! I've always heard that, even if they do an inspection, it's pretty much an easy out anyway, because there's always SOMETHING that comes up. So if he is trying to get out of it, it's better he does it sooner rather than later, at least! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted April 8, 2012 Author Share Posted April 8, 2012 Kitchen is finished! Well, mostly. DH is still working on the backsplash. It looks really great, though....black cabinets, butcher block, brushed nickel hardware, and a backsplash that's plastic but looks like pressed tin. We also got a new kitchen table, because our old one was looking pretty ratty (my mom bought it for us for the new house, but we went and picked it up early). A big improvement over late 80's oak, builder brass, and worn out laminate! There was a flurry of activity yesterday because our agent showed the house to someone who needs to do a lease purchase. DH and I talked about it all day and had pretty much decided we didn't want to do it, when she e-mailed me this morning to tell me the woman decided she wants to look around more anyway. So I did a lot of worrying yesterday for nothing. But that's two people now who've ALMOST wanted the house, so that's something. Tomorrow's the inspection on the new house (it was supposed to be last week, but we had to push it back because the utilities weren't turned on yet). We already know that both the furnaces are broken, because the gas guy left a note about how he couldn't turn them on. Not a surprise...they're both original to the house (built in 1985), and they haven't been turned on in 2 years. It's a big expense up front, but in the long run it will save us money to buy more efficient ones now instead of trying to get the old ones to hobble along for awhile. Anyway, once we're past the inspection (assuming nothing devastating turns up), we do the price drop here and put up the new kitchen pictures. I feel like the history of selling this house has been to put more and more money into it, expecting to get less and less out of it. At some point, that will need to stop! But we've heard that $150,000 is where we should be from 2 different agents who've shown the house now, and we're going down to $149,000, so I'm hoping that, along with all the work I've done this week, will get it sold fast! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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