Julpost Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 Alright Hive....I NEED your advice and input.....shower me w/some wisdom..... I'd like to start getting our house ready to sell. It's a raised ranch, built in the 60's, and in major need of maintenance and updating. We've lived here almost 10 years, are raising 5 dc, and therefore, have no money right now! What a quandry, huh? It's going to be hard to sell anyway because we live in a beautiful, affluent, New England town w/gorgeous houses and architecture. SO.... We have 2 options: Sell our house as is and end up with very little profit with which to as a downpayment on another house..... OR Refinance or take out a home equity loan and hopefully re-coup the money when we sell. Our house is the oldest and smallest in our neighborhood so I don't think we can lose. Anything we do should be a good thing! The things we really need to do are: Either re-side the exterior or somehow stain the siding...they're old cedar shakes. We would also need to scrape and paint the trim. (I doubt we could afford this.) We only have about $40K in equity.... I can paint our cupboards, but the countertop is old, old (white w/gold specks) and stained and starting to chip. Our appliances are white but not new. The floors are a nice oak and I have a nice valance up, I think the walls would just need to be repainted and perhaps moulding put up....dh gave up in a complicated corner, so the moulding is only partially installed. It's been like that for about 8 years, I've gotten so used to it! We have popcorn ceilings in the dining room and living room that it would be nice to either remove or cover w/pine tongue and groove and paint. I'm sure we would need to alway paint it a nice neutral color. It's a pretty yellow right. The carpeting is frayed around the edges and missing a piece under one of the sofas. We would need to move about 80% of our furniture out to help it look roomier. The bathroom needs new grout. Our bathroom just needs to be gutted and start over. (Dh is good w/ that!) And basically the house needs a good scrubbing all the way through. Oh and we need to cut down a few trees, we haven't kept up w/all the growing and expanding of our landscaping. It's getting a little wild out there! Whew!! Wow, just typing that list is a bit intimidating....maybe we should just stay put. Dh doesn't have a lot of energy and we just don't have any money right now. Is this a crazy idea??? If I get a chance I'll post some pics in a bit. The downside to all of this is that we have a toddler and preschooler that take up a tremendous amount of energy. Sometimes I think it might be better to preserve our emotional strength and sanity and just take a loss financially on the house, rather than try to do so much. We're hoping to relocate across the country to be closer to family. I just don't want to move and then end up being more of a burden on my family rather than a blessing because we'll be so strapped financially. I don't know...can anyone help me think this out?? Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shenan Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 Sell as is.. Wait and see what a prospective buyer may want fixed before they will purchase. In this market you most likely WILL NOT recoup what you put into fixing it up... And you may need what little equity you have to meet your purchasers offers/demands becuase it is a buyers market. I would give the house a good scrubbing and paint where needed. Paint is the cheapest way to make things look new and clean. Just my 2 cents.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julpost Posted July 25, 2008 Author Share Posted July 25, 2008 What a relief...that sounds WONDERFUL!! :001_smile: I posted some pics on my blog, just to give an idea of what I'm working with....or in case anyone would like to buy a fixer upper in a wonderful little New England town, 5 minutes from Lake Champlain???? Any takers????:D www.thelifeoffive.blogspot.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1bassoon Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 I'm going to agree with Shenan, here - We sold our house in CT, and put waaaay too much money into it. We did things we didn't really need to do. Can you have 2-3 realtors come over and give you their feedback? We had one come to our house here in AL - he was great. He gave us a detailed list of things to do to improve our home's value, and divided it into 3 parts: no $$, just sweat equity; little $$, sweat equity; lots of $$. First category: have it clean, clean, clean! Box and store most of your stuff, clean out closets, etc. Second category: freshly paint everything you can. Third category: update kitchen, bathroom You get the picture. This was very helpful advice for us. Our home is on the market right now, and we've had lots of showings - which is great for a slow market. We're confident that the right buyer will come through soon. The feedback we've gotten has been that the house shows well, so clean, etc. so it leaves buyers with a good impression. I don't know if this is helpful. I KNOW the NE real estate market is tough - but get a RE's opinion (or 2 or 3) before you do ANYTHING!!! And, finally - if you really don't need to sell your house right now, DON'T!!! We live in AL, where the market hasn't been hit, and we're probably going to sell for 10K less than we bought. Wait it out til the spring, if you can at all. And remember that your equity will get eaten up with realtor's fees, etc. :grouphug: It's a tough spot. Hope this is helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alenee Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 We just sold our house last summer and did what would look to others at first glance like A LOT, however it was mostly paint, new carpet, and repairs. We needed new carpet after a huge flooding accident so while the carpet was up, we screwed down the floors (they were nailed down and made a lot of noise). We: painted every wall inside with updated colors. patched any possible nick in the walls. found some cute updated light fixtures for the outdoors at a garage sale. basic repair on worn-looking items. new trim (inside). new bed spread and throw pillows. The carpet and paint were the biggest expense. We spent a total of $6000 (and this was paying someone else to do most of it). Our first realtor came into our house before the repairs and said we could expect to get $250,000. Our second realtor saw it before and after and we sold for $319,000. After you do the repairs, take out any furniture that doesn't *go* with the setting. Keep things that only dress-up the house (read: no family photos, no personal treasures that aren't purely decorative in someone else's mind). If you have shower curtains, buy new fresh clean ones. If your bed spread is worn, buy a new one. There are so many little touches that keep people from seeing the flaws that you see after living there for 10 years. I was pretty excited that there wasn't even ONE thing our realtor said to change once I showed it to him the day our sign went up. We had A LOT of action on our home and were told by every realtor that came through that the house showed perfectly. If you have any questions I'd be glad to help! Real estate is one of my hobbies. ETA: Once you find a realtor (if you need new carpet) ask them if they have a vendor they use. We got our new carpet 50% off the retail price. Our realtor uses a particular vendor who gives his clients a price break. Also, as the other poster said I think, keep the house spotless for the showings. My girls were 8, 5, and 3 yo but they all knew that we would have showings. When the calls came in, we all went into action getting things done. Everybody helped and we had a good time doing it. This was great practice at helping mom and dad and their hearts changed toward the work during that time from one of "Oh mooooooooom!" to "let's do this!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momofkhm Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 The thing I see when I look at your pictures is clutter. It's kid toys, but to perspective buyer, it's clutter. When we sold our last house, I got our 2 kids (3 and 1 at the time) down to one milk crate of toys down stairs and one small toy box upstairs, none in their rooms. Also do what you can to clear the counters in the kitchen. Paint, clean the carpets and weed the outside. Other than that let a agent tell you what to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alenee Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 I looked at your pictures and here's what I would do (this is purely from a business standpoint, not a reflection of you :): Take out those bookcases by the fireplace if they aren't built in. Move the keyboard/piano out. Get some big baskets for the toys and keep them to the side or in a closet. Take everything off your fridge and remove anything from the counters that is not necessary. De-clutter the mantle on the fireplace. Re-arrange the living room furniture. If you have throw pillows that don't match, ditch 'em. Take out the window air conditioner. It looks like you might have wires loosley hanging, I can't tell, but try to hide those as best as possible. From your pics, you have an adorable house. I think just some paint and if any repairs, that's all you'd need to do. Pressure washing the siding can make a huge difference. If you aren't in a rush to sell, make a list of everything you want to do and then talk to a trusted realtor to get their opinion. Work thorugh it slowly so as not to over-burden yourselves. We had a few people try to get us to do granite counters or outdoor paint. We also had a friend who was selling her million dollar home and the first realtor told them they needed to do $50,000 worth of updating. If you get a realtor like that, tell them to take a hike. Interview as many realtors as possible and ask friends for recommendations. Don't settle. There are some great realtors out there who will work *for* you rather than just get your listing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweetpeach Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 Install the trim, paint a neutral through-out, clean and de-clutter and let the chips fall where they may. You still own your house, and you still call the shots. I would list the house privately as a "handy-man, fixer-upper" in a fabulous neighbourhood . . . let someone with renovation skills buy the house and flip it, if they desire. It sounds like you don't want/need the renovation hassle (with 5 kiddies) . . . and the market doesn't justify taking a risk on pulling equity. (Although it might be different in your neck of the woods - I'm generalizing the overall poor state of the US housing market). Worse case scenario is that you pull the equity, do the renovations and your house doesn't sell. Then you're stuck with a higher mtg payment in a house that you no longer wish to own. T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweetpeach Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 What a relief...that sounds WONDERFUL!! :001_smile: I posted some pics on my blog, just to give an idea of what I'm working with....or in case anyone would like to buy a fixer upper in a wonderful little New England town, 5 minutes from Lake Champlain???? Any takers????:D www.thelifeoffive.blogspot.com I was expecting a *dump* . . . this house just needs to be packed down (live with your bare minimum), cleaned, painted neutral. I think you could sell it as is. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen500 Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 Install the trim, paint a neutral through-out, clean and de-clutter and let the chips fall where they may. You still own your house, and you still call the shots. I would list the house privately as a "handy-man, fixer-upper" in a fabulous neighbourhood . . . let someone with renovation skills buy the house and flip it, if they desire. It sounds like you don't want/need the renovation hassle (with 5 kiddies) . . . and the market doesn't justify taking a risk on pulling equity. (Although it might be different in your neck of the woods - I'm generalizing the overall poor state of the US housing market). Worse case scenario is that you pull the equity, do the renovations and your house doesn't sell. Then you're stuck with a higher mtg payment in a house that you no longer wish to own. T :iagree::iagree::iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 I looked at your pictures and here's what I would do (this is purely from a business standpoint, not a reflection of you :): Take out those bookcases by the fireplace if they aren't built in. Move the keyboard/piano out. Get some big baskets for the toys and keep them to the side or in a closet. Take everything off your fridge and remove anything from the counters that is not necessary. De-clutter the mantle on the fireplace. Re-arrange the living room furniture. If you have throw pillows that don't match, ditch 'em. Take out the window air conditioner. It looks like you might have wires loosley hanging, I can't tell, but try to hide those as best as possible. From your pics, you have an adorable house. I think just some paint and if any repairs, that's all you'd need to do. Pressure washing the siding can make a huge difference. If you aren't in a rush to sell, make a list of everything you want to do and then talk to a trusted realtor to get their opinion. Work thorugh it slowly so as not to over-burden yourselves. We had a few people try to get us to do granite counters or outdoor paint. We also had a friend who was selling her million dollar home and the first realtor told them they needed to do $50,000 worth of updating. If you get a realtor like that, tell them to take a hike. Interview as many realtors as possible and ask friends for recommendations. Don't settle. There are some great realtors out there who will work *for* you rather than just get your listing. I agree with all of these. Power washing a house can really make it look new. Good luck, we are in similar boat. We had a realtor look at our house who was a business acquaintance of dhs. I wanted to choke her, she cautioned us against putting our house on the market without updating. We have a 70's ranch in the beautiful south, lots of plantation high pitched roof homes, ours is not. She acted like we needed to completely restructure the house to sell it. okay, off rant. :D Your home is very adorable, I find your kitchen charming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julpost Posted July 26, 2008 Author Share Posted July 26, 2008 Thanks for all the help guys! A possible financial mistake has been averted and I'm getting ready to start a cleaning frenzy!! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 I have to agree with pressure washing. (If you can afford it, I would have someone else do it.) We just had our house pressure washed today - for the first time. The difference is absolutely amazing. We paid two professionals to do the house (it is two story and on nine-foot stilts) but my dh wouldn't have wanted to do it regardless. They were FILTHY when they were done. For the $200 we paid, I think we could charge an extra $5,000 if selling. The house looks ten years newer and so clean and fresh. You really don't see the grime, the cobwebs, the mildew, the dust everywhere until you see what your house actually looks like clean. They did the stairways and the sidewalk as well. The whole yard looks better now. :) We stood outside gawking for fifteen minutes at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julpost Posted August 2, 2008 Author Share Posted August 2, 2008 I moved the shelves out of the living room (into the dining room where they were originally) and it looks so good! I'll post pics tomorrow but I wanted to share that I posted pics of the exterior on my blog if any cares to take a look and share thoughts. I can not possibly express how much I appreciate the advice I rec'd!! On a related note, I found a young couple on Craigslist who were looking for a fixer upper...short commute, less than 2000 sf and fenced yard! Voila-that's us!! So I emailed her pics and all and waiting to hear back. Wouldn't that be perfect.....a buyer all ready! Now we just have to find dh a job!! Anyone live in Anchorage or Fairbanks, AK and looking for a hard-working systems engineer??:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty in Pink Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 i find your house to be quite charming, and i agree w/ the PPs regarding the renovations. just declutter, patch and paint, and it will make a huge difference! are those bricks in your kitchen? i *might* paint them a light, neutral color (taupe, sage, etc.) but i know nothing about painting brick. your big window is georgeous btw! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julpost Posted August 2, 2008 Author Share Posted August 2, 2008 i find your house to be quite charming, and i agree w/ the PPs regarding the renovations. just declutter, patch and paint, and it will make a huge difference! are those bricks in your kitchen? i *might* paint them a light, neutral color (taupe, sage, etc.) but i know nothing about painting brick. your big window is georgeous btw! No, those aren't quite bricks...they are brick "tops" glued on somehow. They were red when we moved in and I painted them off white immediately. They probably are ready for a new coat though. I'm having a yard sale tomorrow to try to get rid of a lot of stuff. I'm so tired already though and it rained, so I think my signs are ruined! :glare: I posted pics of the exterior again....I had posted them earlier then deleted them because I got some weird comment in some odd language. I freaked out and became paranoid that it was some psycho-hacker-stalker that had hijacked my computer and now not only knew what my family looked like but also had a picture of my house!!!! Once I regained my sanity and discovered it was just some spam (I posted a thread asking about it earlier)...I put the pics back up. I really want some input....you know how you just can't see your house anymore after living in it for a long time?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 We recently bought a new home and it had a *horrid* fireplace with ugly red brick. I painted it with this paint (essentially a decorative paint system where you paint a base coat and then several layers of glazes and whatnot smeared and streaked on top -- really easy to do following their instructions. . . ) http://www.brick-anew.com/ Our fireplace truly looks fantastic -- just like the pictures in the website. It seemed like a lot of $ to spend $200 on a couple gallons of paint, but I am telling you it made a $3000+ improvement to my house. If I had your house, I'd consider getting the shakes powerwashed and then using the brick anew on the outside bricks as well as any bricks inside. It is really amazing!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 I was expecting a *dump* . . . this house just needs to be packed down (live with your bare minimum), cleaned, painted neutral. I think you could sell it as is. Good luck. :iagree: I'd doll up the kitchen and bathroom, only. Cruddy bathrooms are a turn-off. There MUST be a checklist on the net somewhere about what little things add the most to selling price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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