kokotg Posted June 9, 2012 Author Share Posted June 9, 2012 I've been too discouraged to post again after my last cheerful update. Our buyers backed out after the inspection. No one saw it coming except the buyers themselves. My agent told me I should be relieved, no big issues, let's wait and see what they ask for. THEIR agent said, "nothing major; just a lot of little things. We're having a contractor out for estimates and then we'll be in touch." And then....wham! they backed out. The biggest issue seemed to be a buckling retaining wall under the front porch. Which I understand, but....we offered to fix it! Or give them an allowance at closing! Honestly, we would have done any vaguely reasonable thing they asked for to avoid losing the sale, but they didn't even ask. Just backed out! We've already had the retaining wall repaired...it was money I didn't want to spend, but really not that big of a deal in the big scheme of things (we haven't gotten the final bill yet, but the estimate was just over $1000). I can't understand walking away from a house you love over a few minor repairs. Unless they just got nervous about buying a house in general. Sigh. So we're back to the beginning. But with a brand new retaining wall. And an inspection report so we can get every little thing fixed in advance next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 I've been too discouraged to post again after my last cheerful update. Our buyers backed out after the inspection. No one saw it coming except the buyers themselves. My agent told me I should be relieved, no big issues, let's wait and see what they ask for. THEIR agent said, "nothing major; just a lot of little things. We're having a contractor out for estimates and then we'll be in touch." And then....wham! they backed out. The biggest issue seemed to be a buckling retaining wall under the front porch. Which I understand, but....we offered to fix it! Or give them an allowance at closing! Honestly, we would have done any vaguely reasonable thing they asked for to avoid losing the sale, but they didn't even ask. Just backed out! We've already had the retaining wall repaired...it was money I didn't want to spend, but really not that big of a deal in the big scheme of things (we haven't gotten the final bill yet, but the estimate was just over $1000). I can't understand walking away from a house you love over a few minor repairs. Unless they just got nervous about buying a house in general. Sigh. So we're back to the beginning. But with a brand new retaining wall. And an inspection report so we can get every little thing fixed in advance next time. I'm SO sorry. They could have gotten cold feet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn in Ohio Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 I've been too discouraged to post again after my last cheerful update. Our buyers backed out after the inspection. I'm so sorry! That just stinks. Especially when it was a small thing and you were willing to fix it. I remember our buyer's agent telling us that we could change our minds and get out of the contract at any time. That was nice when we were the buyers. Now as seller those words are haunting me. We moved into our new house about 4 weeks ago. We are really enjoying it. Our old house is still for sale. There was a couple last week that said they were going to make an offer. After five days of waiting, we just got the word from their realtor that they won't be buying a house until October after they get married. So that's that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyMommy Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 Our house in VA has been on the market since March 1st. It is still showing and I know that it is getting to be the 'busy season', but it is depressing every month to make 2 payments. We have been told that we needed to redo the hardwood floors, so this week we have someone there working on them. Last week a huge storm came through the area and knocked down 1/2 of a huge tree in our yard. Thankfully a neighbor called to tell us and it did not hit the house, but another $400 to the tree service to take it out. And, we dropped the price. If it does sell we will be bringing about $5k to closing. It is never ending..... $$$$$$$ I am glad to see some houses are moving and hope we get an offer soon. The really sad part to me is that I love our home in VA. I hated leaving it. :sad: Where at in VA? I'm on the other end of this equation and trying to find something to buy. Maybe I've missed the busy season but there's nothing. I've driven down 3 times now and still nothing. Heading back down next week and then I may say forget it and rent awhile. GL to all of you trying to sell! I remember selling our last house and it was one of the most stressful things I've done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usvichic Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 Our house is on the market too. we have had it on the market since Feb. I wanted to list is in September, but neither DH nor I wanted to move when there was a possibility of selling and moving during the winter. Since then, our market has collapsed and we are wondering if we will EVER sell it :( Our local economy tanked in the end of Feb and we NEED to move for work now rather than just wanting to move like before - oh well, goes to show you should just do it when you first think about it. I didn't mind the fixing up, it's the cleaning for a showing that I hate. We spend all day cleaning and the potentials only spend 15 mins of their time in the house. Sigh... we just had a showing today and supposedly the people love it so we will see. Still though, I hate waiting. Our house is beautiful, all updated, HUGE yard(.6 acres), pool, stainless appliances, 3 bed 3 bath plus a detached guest house, GREAT HOA, and still no takers. Ideally when we sell we want more acreage and a fixer upper. No idea where yet, but we at least know what we want :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyD Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 Hi home sellers, I am not selling a house, but I have been going through my giant pile of backed-up newspapers and came across this article, which I thought might be of interest to some folks here. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/31/garden/which-is-better-physical-or-virtual-staging-market-ready.html?ref=marketready Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Our closing documents are being overnighted today :party: We close by Monday! So glad to get that portion off our backs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 I'm pulling my hair out with our agent. She listed our house just over two weeks ago, with this as our main photo. Here are the two other photos of the house she included. And here are two photos that she added from who knows where. They aren't our property. We have spent 2 weeks trying to get this fixed. She says she will be emailing me new pictures that she has already taken, and that they will be posted tomorrow. Originally it was supposed to be fixed not last weekend, but the weekend before. Now, we know the house isn't absolutely spectacular. We're priced at less than $90K. I don't have any delusions that it's a showpiece that people should be fighting over. But the crappy pictures of the front with a ladder and the back with stuff leaning on the house and since-removed fencing make it look even worse. It also includes no pictures of the newly remodeled bathroom or any of the interior for that matter. We've looked at enough cheap houses to know that no interior photos usually equals gaping holes in the floors and walls. We've had one showing. I'm frustrated because I don't know if we haven't had any more interest than that or if our agent just isn't following up with potential buyers like she hasn't followed up with us. We listed it higher than we had planned because she swore that we could quickly sell it for that much. I just don't see how that's going to happen. Listing the house with the current photos and the higher price makes it seem like we are sabotaging ourselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K&Rs Mom Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 We've had one showing. I'm frustrated because I don't know if we haven't had any more interest than that or if our agent just isn't following up with potential buyers like she hasn't followed up with us. We listed it higher than we had planned because she swore that we could quickly sell it for that much. I just don't see how that's going to happen. Listing the house with the current photos and the higher price makes it seem like we are sabotaging ourselves. :( I hate to say it, but if I was house-hunting online and those were the only photos, I wouldn't bother trying to see it in person. Can you send her your own better photos? That's what I've done with ours, and she picks which ones she wants to put online. I'm being ignored too - are all realtors on vacation this week? I emailed ours about maybe dropping the price (two months, no movement, maybe 6 showings), and haven't heard back at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 :( I hate to say it, but if I was house-hunting online and those were the only photos, I wouldn't bother trying to see it in person. Can you send her your own better photos? That's what I've done with ours, and she picks which ones she wants to put online. I'm being ignored too - are all realtors on vacation this week? I emailed ours about maybe dropping the price (two months, no movement, maybe 6 showings), and haven't heard back at all. That is exactly what I've tried to say every single time I've talked to her. It looks like a dump. It's not a great house, but it isn't as bad as the photos make it out to be. I wish we could send her our own photos, but we didn't take any before we relocated. If her "new" pictures don't get posted soon, I'm not sure if we will hire someone else to do the pictures or if we will look into our options for ending our contract with her early. Returning phone calls and emails has been a consistently low priority for every agent we have dealt with. I'm sure it isn't like that for everyone out there, but it has been our experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Yay! We really do have new pictures today. I am so much happier with these. I'm not thrilled that it didn't happen until the house fell off the "new" listings, but we will see if this makes a difference. I'm still waiting to see if we get feedback from our showing, and we have another call for the agent to return. Do you guys think they look a little better too? New Pictures!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted June 15, 2012 Author Share Posted June 15, 2012 Much better, beaners! Nice woodwork! We're having showings steadily still. One on Saturday, one on Tuesday, another today. They say you should get an offer after 10-12 showings....and sure enough, we DO get an offer every 10-12 showings. So maybe next time it will actually result in a sale. Our realtor has been quiet this week, too. I get nervous when I don't hear her cheerful in the face of adversity updates every couple of days. One thing I'll say for this thing dragging out is that any nostalgia I might have had about the house I raised three kids and brought two babies home to is GONE! I just want to be done with that place! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeannie in NJ Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 pictures are much better. Too bad you can not get back to being a "new" listing. We are completely rennovating our interier, new bathrooms, kitchen, painting etc and will be having new pictures taken but will have to reduce our price a bit to get on the "hot sheet" that realtors get but your price is already so low that you may not want to reduce it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K&Rs Mom Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Much better pictures for beaners! I talked to our realtor today, she said she's just not getting a lot of people looking at anything. Where are all the buyers? Is it just dead in my town, or is the whole market taking a nap? I asked about lowering the price, and she said to wait a little longer. It's been 2.5 months and I'm getting frustrated - I don't know how some of you managed for a year or more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Beaners...much better photos! (and FWIW, I love that house...but I have a thing for old farmhouses!) Our house closed on Monday :) Now to decide what we are doing next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cajunrose Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 We listed our home 3 weeks ago. NOTHING is moving in our area. Haven't had any showings. We are in the area we are moving to trying to find where we want to live (city wise) and they showed it last night for the first time. The family (not english speaking) had to go and get a relative that could translate so they came back a couple of hours later with them. They REALLY like my house, thinks the structure is great and are in love with my chicken coop. They even asked for our chickens (NOT happening..they are pets, but we did tell them we would buy them a flock of egg laying hens..lol). They have one more house to look at next weekend. I feel like we have a good chance because of the coop. After the first time they saw it, they wanted to know where we stood money wise. My realtor expected an offer to come in last night but it didn't happen but he is still very hopeful because they really liked it. The realtor thinks that the other house would have to be PERFECT for them to not make an offer on our home. We won't know anything (probably) until next week. I know this is bad to say but I'm not mentally ready. If they had made an offer last night, I would have likely had a panic attack. We have no place to go right now...that's the reason we are up here looking. We are ready for a 6-9 month selling period because that's about how long it's taking in our area. We are in absolute shock that we are close to an offer and that it's a possibility. As my husband said "You know, if you put your house for sale, you have to expect to sell it." ROFL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cajunrose Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Yay! We really do have new pictures today. I am so much happier with these. I'm not thrilled that it didn't happen until the house fell off the "new" listings, but we will see if this makes a difference. I'm still waiting to see if we get feedback from our showing, and we have another call for the agent to return. Do you guys think they look a little better too? New Pictures!!! So glad you got new pictures! It's a very cute house! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeannie in NJ Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 I love that you would buy a flock of chickens for the buyers lol. One of our cats (the very tiny fiesty one) always greets people at the door and realtors tell us (since we leave when prospective buyers are there) that Cali follows the people everywhere and everyone loves her. We joking said that we would throw her in with the sale. If you are lucky enough to get an offer soon, perhaps you can rent back your house after closing until you can find a new one to move to. Ask your realtor about that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariannNOVA Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Dropping in to say hi and that I am still sending positive vibes and prayers to everyone here for successful completion to your transactions. :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: Jeannie -- I want to see new photos when you have them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeannie in NJ Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Mariann, I sure will post new pix WHENEVER our remodeling gets done. Dh , dc and I have done all that we can do (painting, etc ) and we have a handyman remodeling the kitchen and bathrooms and it is taking him longer than we thought (isn't that the norm tho with contractors and handymen lol). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariannNOVA Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Mariann, I sure will post new pix WHENEVER our remodeling gets done. Dh , dc and I have done all that we can do (painting, etc ) and we have a handyman remodeling the kitchen and bathrooms and it is taking him longer than we thought (isn't that the norm tho with contractors and handymen lol). Oh, heavens, yes. Hang in there!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 I know this is bad to say but I'm not mentally ready. If they had made an offer last night, I would have likely had a panic attack. We have no place to go right now...that's the reason we are up here looking. We are ready for a 6-9 month selling period because that's about how long it's taking in our area. We are in absolute shock that we are close to an offer and that it's a possibility. As my husband said "You know, if you put your house for sale, you have to expect to sell it." ROFL I know right! I said, 'be careful what you pray for.' Ours is closing August 3rd and we have NO WHERE to go! If we don't find a house to buy we will be putting ALL of our stuff in storage and stay in the tiny one bedroom apartment dh has been staying in during the week--- Going to OK today to look at two places that look promising....So nervous. So excited.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink and Green Mom Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 May I join? We'll be listing our house in a few weeks (as soon as I finish some interior painting, the carpenters do the exterior trim and shutter painting, the windows washer comes, and the carpet cleaner comes. This came out of the blue, as my DH was offered a job in St. Petersburg, FL (he wasn't looking for a job, a recruiter called him). We had a dumpster here last week and I pitched so much stuff it was so liberating. We bought in 2004 during the upswing and are just keeping our fingers crossed that we don't have to walk into closing with a 5 figure check. Sigh. At least the company is picking up a majority of the closing costs. I don't handle stress well and I'm sure this is going to be stressful. Last time we moved we were kidless (my boys were adopted the following year) and I just used to go to the library for the 2 days when there would be 30 showings and then an offer. Gone are those days I know. How in the world does one keep their house pristine day in and day out? My kids are like two mini-cyclones leaving messes every where they go (husband is no better). And really - is it necessary to touch every wall in this house when you've just come in from the woods and are dirty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 I just read this thread today and wanted to let you all know that I am pulling for you. We aren't selling now and hopefully not for a long, long time. We did buy a house last year. So here are some of my thoughts- getting proper listings and photos for your property is essential. We were buying our last two homes we bought on short house hunting trips. That meant we did fast decisions. One way we did that is to tell our realtor non negotiables- like we had to have a garage= not a carport, not something else- because my dh's main hobby is woodworking and he needs someplace indoors to put all his large heavy equipment and lumber. So not having a garage listed meant we wouldn't have looked at it. ANother non negotiable we had for this particular move was a basement or storm shelter. OVer here, that ruled out new neighborhoods but we didn't care about that anyway. It terms of price- I think we bought the second most expensive house of the 11 we viewed. Oh, and we could never buy a short sale or foreclosure since we had to use a VA loan so none of those houses were even shown to us. NOt that the neighborhood we actually moved into had those kinds of issues since I have not seen a single foreclosure or short sale listing here. Well good luck to all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Thanks for all the thumbs-up on the pictures! Photos that actually show the house do it a lot more justice than a picture of a pile of tires from who knows where! My husband was back at the house today, and two different people asked to see the house while he was there. One woman is related to the family who used to own the house, and said she's going to try to come up with a cash offer. (Plus she homeschooled her kids! Awesome!) She was already very familiar with the house, and was happy that we hadn't taken out the original woodwork. She also knew what the old bathroom looked like, so she was very impressed with the new version. We would love for the house to go back to the family that built it, assuming that would work out financially on both ends of the deal. Then a man who has been doing some contracting work on the street also walked through and had a lot of questions about the house based on one of the listings he had seen. Later today an agent is also supposed to be showing the house. That will bring us up to 6 showings, 3 of which we did. We were saying that we would drop the price enough to "bump" it if we hadn't had any more showings by this weekend, but 3 in one day is a big improvement. It would be great to get an offer, but I'm thrilled just to have people finally looking at the place. I hope everyone's closings and remodeling and showings are going well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K&Rs Mom Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 One woman is related to the family who used to own the house, and said she's going to try to come up with a cash offer. (Plus she homeschooled her kids! Awesome!) She was already very familiar with the house, and was happy that we hadn't taken out the original woodwork. She also knew what the old bathroom looked like, so she was very impressed with the new version. We would love for the house to go back to the family that built it, assuming that would work out financially on both ends of the deal. That would be awesome! My mom sold her house to the brother of one of my sister's highschool classmates. It's funny how things get interconnected like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saille Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 Oh beaners, I'm vibing. The new photos are SO much better! I think it's a charming house! kokotg, I'm really hoping that these showing yield you a great buyer. Surely as the school year draws near there will be transplants anxious to get settled? Our house SOLD. We are out and done. I am so relieved. Completely agree with kokotg that a lot of the nostalgia is lost during the selling process. The whole thing was fraught with small mistakes on the part of both of the realtors and the buyers, up to and including a snafu during the final walk-through when they asked, "where's the pellet stove?" We'd gone back and forth during negotiations, trying to get the price up a bit and include the appliances, but they said they didn't need them. We'd asked about the pellet stove twice to be sure, AND they'd initialed specifically that it did not stay. Um, sorry, guys. It's about 23' into that 26' truck over there. (They asked if we'd sell it to them, and my dh looked at the truck and thought, "Are you crazy?") Anyway, the stove is here with us in Indiana. Now I just have to make sure we can get pellets. We were very lucky. NY takes FOREVER to close, so we found a house after ours had been under contract for several weeks, and still closed on our purchase only a week after we closed on our sale. It's not rural...but it's at the other end of my "acceptable" spectrum. In town, walking distance to everything. More square footage, MORE BATHROOMS, and a smaller mortgage payment due to the drop in interest rates. We have a garden, and will likely install a beehive next spring. There's light at the end of the tunnel, ladies! Keep on keeping on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 Thanks for all the thumbs-up on the pictures! Photos that actually show the house do it a lot more justice than a picture of a pile of tires from who knows where! My husband was back at the house today, and two different people asked to see the house while he was there. One woman is related to the family who used to own the house, and said she's going to try to come up with a cash offer. (Plus she homeschooled her kids! Awesome!) She was already very familiar with the house, and was happy that we hadn't taken out the original woodwork. She also knew what the old bathroom looked like, so she was very impressed with the new version. We would love for the house to go back to the family that built it, assuming that would work out financially on both ends of the deal. Then a man who has been doing some contracting work on the street also walked through and had a lot of questions about the house based on one of the listings he had seen. Later today an agent is also supposed to be showing the house. That will bring us up to 6 showings, 3 of which we did. We were saying that we would drop the price enough to "bump" it if we hadn't had any more showings by this weekend, but 3 in one day is a big improvement. It would be great to get an offer, but I'm thrilled just to have people finally looking at the place. I hope everyone's closings and remodeling and showings are going well! The new pictures are SOOOOOO much better. Those interior ones really show the charm of the house and even the close up of the porch makes me imagine sitting there drinking a glass of iced tea! What is up with a realtor who puts up crappy pictures or WORSE unrelated pictures? :confused: That is so weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 Our house SOLD. We are out and done. I am so relieved. Completely agree with kokotg that a lot of the nostalgia is lost during the selling process. We were very lucky. NY takes FOREVER to close, so we found a house after ours had been under contract for several weeks, and still closed on our purchase only a week after we closed on our sale. It's not rural...but it's at the other end of my "acceptable" spectrum. In town, walking distance to everything. More square footage, MORE BATHROOMS, and a smaller mortgage payment due to the drop in interest rates. We have a garden, and will likely install a beehive next spring. There's light at the end of the tunnel, ladies! Keep on keeping on! Great news! We sold our house (close on the 3rd) and bought another in the Tulsa area! On an online auction if you all can imagine that!! We hope to close on the new place before we close on this place....either way we are moving out the last weekend of July! New house is a total fixer....but we are excited because we will have NO mortgage! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cajunrose Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 Scarlett, I'm moving to the Tulsa area too! I just got back yesterday looking for homes. We are wanting rural...very rural. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 Scarlett, I'm moving to the Tulsa area too! I just got back yesterday looking for homes. We are wanting rural...very rural. Really!!!! That is awesome. We are going rural too. Dh will be driving an hour to work every day! So exciting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myeightkiddies Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 Our house SOLD. We are out and done. I am so relieved. Completely agree with kokotg that a lot of the nostalgia is lost during the selling process. The whole thing was fraught with small mistakes on the part of both of the realtors and the buyers, up to and including a snafu during the final walk-through when they asked, "where's the pellet stove?" We'd gone back and forth during negotiations, trying to get the price up a bit and include the appliances, but they said they didn't need them. We'd asked about the pellet stove twice to be sure, AND they'd initialed specifically that it did not stay. Um, sorry, guys. It's about 23' into that 26' truck over there. (They asked if we'd sell it to them, and my dh looked at the truck and thought, "Are you crazy?") Anyway, the stove is here with us in Indiana. Now I just have to make sure we can get pellets. Congratulations, Saille! We experienced something similar years ago. Great news! We sold our house (close on the 3rd) and bought another in the Tulsa area! On an online auction if you all can imagine that!! We hope to close on the new place before we close on this place....either way we are moving out the last weekend of July! Congratulations, Scarlett! I'm sure that is a big relief to have it sold and to have found something. It's definitely easier to deal with fixing-up a house when there is no mortgage attached to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghee Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 Are you guys sure you need to be rural in TULSA? Because I have got a rural house that I'm about to list, but it isn't in Tulsa LOL I can't imagine anyone wanting to move here, I'm praying that I keep my sanity during this process. We've put a lot of work into upgrades on the house, but it's still a small town, rural area and I wouldn't buy it again soo..... I have spent the last week packing. I'm almost to the I-Don't-Care-If-It-Isn't-In-A-Box-It-Just-Won't-Go state of mind. I need to have a gigantic yard sale with what I'm not taking, then off it goes to the local church thrift if it didn't sell. I don't even know where we are moving, so I guess all my stuff will go into a storage unit, but we can't make a move on moving (LOL) until we are free of this albatross....uh, house. Never again, I will rent forever from now on LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted July 15, 2012 Author Share Posted July 15, 2012 Under contract again! fingers crossed that it sticks this time. It's not a great offer, dollar wise, but it's a cash sale and they can close at the end of the month, so it's good enough at this point. I'm so ready to be finished with this and finally be able to put some money into our NEW house for a change! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deannajo Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Yay! Fingers crossed that this one sticks for you Kokotg! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Under contract again! fingers crossed that it sticks this time. It's not a great offer, dollar wise, but it's a cash sale and they can close at the end of the month, so it's good enough at this point. I'm so ready to be finished with this and finally be able to put some money into our NEW house for a change! Like! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blessed3x Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 I am *thrilled* for everyone who has offers and is closing. :) Unfortunately, on the other side our house is NOT selling. We are still having showings and our realtor had an open house last weekend, but the market just stinks. Where we are right now we would need to bring $5k to the closing. We were just told that we need to lower the price another (ready for this???) $20k. We simply cannot. The house was listed 3/1. We have until 9/1 on this contact and are looking at options. We may need to rent the house out, or move back into the area for a few years. UGH. We never saw this coming.....:confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted July 25, 2012 Author Share Posted July 25, 2012 Aww, I'm sorry Blessedx3! We were getting to the point where we were thinking about renting our house out, and I was really hating the idea of it. Are you getting many showings? We're past the inspection (all we heard this time was "inspection went fine") and the due diligence period. There's no finance contingency since it's a cash sale, so everything's looking good. Closing is scheduled for Monday. So close! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deannajo Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 I'm sorry Blessedx3 - have you thought about a short-sale if renting doesn't make sense? Although I've heard (don't take my word for it) that short sales are harder now, because you have to already be late on payments or in default, so your credit would suffer....that would be a bitter pill to swallow, so perhaps renting really does make more sense. Either way, that really stinks, and you have my thoughts. Well we are finally under contract too - nearly 4 months and 90 showings and 3 price drops later - we're taking a huge loss, but at least we can put it behind us. The buyers have been particular though, so I'm nervous about Monday's inspection - but if we survive that, we should be good, as ours is also a cash offer. We are actually moving out of this house next Friday, as our relocation company will handle the closing and all of that, so we don't need to be here...we close on the 21st (if all goes well) and the moving company will be out here to get our stuff on the 17th and 18th - we're headed straight to temporary housing, and I plan to take a deep long breath before we start our house hunting out there. This whole relocation has been an incredibly long and stressful process so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blessed3x Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 Thanks guys. I know in the end it will all work out, but it is tough right now. No, we cannot short sale. We moved because of a promotion and we are able to manage both payments, but it takes everything. With both daughters in college it is a struggle. We will probably rent it out this fall. We cannot come up with $20k+ to lower the price and dh does not want to take out a loan to give our house away. ;) We'll see where this adventure leads us..... :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted August 4, 2012 Author Share Posted August 4, 2012 We closed! It all went very smoothly. It turns out the buyers bought the house for their daughter/son-in-law/granddaughter to live in, so that they could move closer. And they (the people who will live there) have chickens! Just like we did :). And the son-in-law brews beer, just like DH, so he'll appreciate the hops plant we left behind in the garden. I'm so glad that we're all done and that, as a bonus, someone's moving in who will appreciate all the same things about the house/lot that we did. Best of luck to all the people still trying to sell! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
besroma Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 We closed! It all went very smoothly. It turns out the buyers bought the house for their daughter/son-in-law/granddaughter to live in, so that they could move closer. And they (the people who will live there) have chickens! Just like we did :). And the son-in-law brews beer, just like DH, so he'll appreciate the hops plant we left behind in the garden. I'm so glad that we're all done and that, as a bonus, someone's moving in who will appreciate all the same things about the house/lot that we did. Best of luck to all the people still trying to sell! Congrats! :party: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saille Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 How's everyone? I'm trying not to bail just b/c mine sold...any nibbles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 We're listing this week. I'm nervous. We were expecting to re-do the tub/surround in the master bath. The realtor said to leave it as a negotiation item rather than do it ahead of time. Now we're told that covering closing costs is expected of sellers. This means $6000 down before we even do commission. Is that really normal?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn in Ohio Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 We have a contract and should close on the 30th. After coming down $20,000 in our asking price, we finally hit the magic number. We got three offers in one week. They were all very low offers, but we worked with the best of them and came to an agreement. This week we are arranging for a few repairs called for by the inspection. So thankful to be nearing the end! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saille Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 We're listing this week. I'm nervous. We were expecting to re-do the tub/surround in the master bath. The realtor said to leave it as a negotiation item rather than do it ahead of time. Now we're told that covering closing costs is expected of sellers. This means $6000 down before we even do commission. Is that really normal?? We ended up paying all the closing costs on our sale. In theory, it should be possible to keep the actual price of the house up a bit if you're paying closing costs, the idea being that it's easier for first-time buyers to get a slightly larger mortgage than to come up with that much cash in hand in addition to their downpayment. In practice, it probably depends on how much interest there is in your house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted August 14, 2012 Author Share Posted August 14, 2012 We have a contract and should close on the 30th. After coming down $20,000 in our asking price, we finally hit the magic number. We got three offers in one week. They were all very low offers, but we worked with the best of them and came to an agreement. This week we are arranging for a few repairs called for by the inspection. So thankful to be nearing the end! Yay--congratulations! In our market, it's very common for buyers to ask for closing costs. But just don't let it affect your bottom line....if you're willing to take x amount, then the closing costs get subtracted when you're figuring out your net, you know? we actually did wind up taking an offer that didn't ask for closing costs, but both of our offers before that did ask for them. It's kind of funny, we didn't even need closing costs when we bought our house, but our realtor asked for a small amount from the seller anyway, without even telling us she was going to do it. Apparently it's so common it didn't even occur to her NOT to ask for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariannNOVA Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Checking in to see how people are doing. Congrats to those who are moving forward.......and a big :grouphug: and do not lose hope to those who feel as if they are stalled. One short year ago, we were so stalled, even me, little Mary Sunshine, would not have guessed how pretty we would be sitting 12 months later. Hang in there!:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 We're listing this week. I'm nervous. We were expecting to re-do the tub/surround in the master bath. The realtor said to leave it as a negotiation item rather than do it ahead of time. Now we're told that covering closing costs is expected of sellers. This means $6000 down before we even do commission. Is that really normal?? In the house we bought, we had an offering price + $4000 in closing costs. Repair negotiations raised that to $6100. HOWEVER, our realtor told us to think about our original offer as equivalent to "Original price-$4000" -- because that was what the guy was netting. So if the house gets 2 offers, 1 is $180K and one is $185K but seller pays $6000 closing. The offer for $180K, all else being equal, may be the stronger/best offer. (You also want to look at the details of financing, etc. But a buyer that needs closing costs paid may be more shaky on the financing side that they can't afford to do it themselves with their cash.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deannajo Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 We survived the inspection - several small issues, some known, some surprises, nothing major or deal breaking, but the buyers did ask for a credit, making our loss even greater, but no matter, I can't wait to just be DONE - we close next week, and since its a cash offer, I don't see any reason why that should be delayed. I can't wait to be completely done. DH is going back there tomorrow to supervise the movers and do any last minute things... Buying a new home is next on the agenda :lol: :grouphug: to all still in the trenches! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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