House updates

[mommyoffive]

Not the update I was hoping to see @DawnM.  I hope it sells soon.

[DawnM]

Tonight's showing seems promising.   They said they are very interested and will come back Friday (no idea why) and to let them know if we have any offers between now and Friday.

And 2 of Saturday's showings have said we are on their short list, so we will see.

ALL checked the "priced well" box.

[mommyoffive]

OH that is a great update!!

[Ottakee]

52 minutes ago, DawnM said:

Tonight's showing seems promising.   They said they are very interested and will come back Friday (no idea why) and to let them know if we have any offers between now and Friday.

And 2 of Saturday's showings have said we are on their short list, so we will see.

ALL checked the "priced well" box.

When I bought my current house I went 3 times to look at it.  I wanted my brother to see it and a friend and then my realtor friends.   

[Clarita]

5 hours ago, DawnM said:

Tonight's showing seems promising.   They said they are very interested and will come back Friday (no idea why) and to let them know if we have any offers between now and Friday.

I also went several times to my current house. We wanted to see what things were like during different parts of the day, like noise level, lighting, etc. 

[DawnM]

6 hours ago, Ottakee said:

When I bought my current house I went 3 times to look at it.  I wanted my brother to see it and a friend and then my realtor friends.   

The folks who bought our last house came 3 times too.   And we have gone twice to the house we are buying, although the 2nd time we had already purchased it, we just had to do some measuring and such for some things that need to be done.

[JustEm]

I think we viewed our current house twice. The first was a random open house we happened upon. For the second time, we brought my parents since they were moving in with us after the purchase and our realtor. I think we may have even brought the kids, but that may have been during the final walkthrough. We didn't really need to see it a second time. We knew we were putting an offer in.

[DawnM]

The Friday folks changed it to Thur.   YAY!   

[mommyoffive]

12 minutes ago, DawnM said:

The Friday folks changed it to Thur.   YAY!   

OH ya!!!

[mom31257]

Praying it sells soon for what you need out of it! 

[AmandaVT]

Hoping that today's showing went well!!

[Lady Marmalade]

Any updates yet? I keep hoping I'll pop on and see a good update.  🙂

[DawnM]

Nothing.   There have been more showings, but nothing.   Feedback includes:

• House is stunning but the layout doesn't work for us.
• Beautiful home but the kitchen is too small
• House showed beautifully but we wanted a more open floor plan
• Gorgeously shown but we don't like the garage (our garage is funky, I will give them that)

So, always the bridesmaid I guess......hope to be the bride before too long.

[DawnM]

We have 2 showings this evening and then tomorrow evening will be meeting with the realtor to lower the price.   I can't remember if I posted this or not but I always thought our house was listed a bit high.   Realtor insisted it should be listed higher.   Statistics showed it should be listed higher, but people aren't buying and the two things they have cited as the reason is the garage and the layout.   Neither of those things we can change.  Everyone said it was fairly priced, but maybe they will overlook some of the negatives if the price is lower?   I don't know.   We have a rock bottom we can take and anything below that we will just stay in this house as it won't be worth it to sell and move.

The other house in our neighborhood sold in 4 days.   Yes it was a lower price, but it was also smaller (it actually was listed for more per sq. ft. than ours) and needs more updating than ours.   It is maddening.   

So, we will lower it about 5% of our current asking price.   We can go to 12% lower overall and still be able to get the other house.   

Or we can sit a bit longer and wait.   But we really need to get this moving.

 

[Jaybee]

Hopefully, you will get an offer from tonight and not have to lower it.🤞

[DawnM]

1 hour ago, Jaybee said:

Hopefully, you will get an offer from tonight and not have to lower it.🤞

One couple stayed a whopping 5 minutes.   They weren't interested.   Other couple stayed 20-25 min.  but not sure that is enough to really get a feel.   Who knows.   We always stay at homes longer if we like them, much longer than 20 min.   

 

[Scarlett]

Just now, DawnM said:

One couple stayed a whopping 5 minutes.   They weren't interested.   Other couple stayed 20-25 min.  but not sure that is enough to really get a feel.   Who knows.   We always stay at homes longer if we like them, much longer than 20 min.   

 

I suspect the reason your realtor was so insistent on staging is because she k ew the layout would be a problem.  But what is the deal with your garage? How funky could it be?

[DawnM]

19 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

I suspect the reason your realtor was so insistent on staging is because she k ew the layout would be a problem.  But what is the deal with your garage? How funky could it be?

 

It is a 3 car garage, but it faces the rear of the house.   The original owners didn't like where the garage was going to go (oversized 2 car garage on the opposite side of the house) so they enclosed it and made it into a pool table room with a bar area.   That is the space we ultimately made into my dad's apartment.   It is a great room, we added a bathroom, it has 12' ceilings, etc.....but it isn't a garage.

So they added the garage on the other side, but it didn't really fit, so they had to be creative and made it face the rear.   And one of the bays really can't fit a car because they added a giant staircase to go up to this gigantic attic that is the size of a 3 car garage.   

We actually considered taking the staircase out and making the attic accessible from the inside of the house, but we never really pursued it further.

I like it because you can't see garage doors (most people here have them on the side of the house) but I can also see where others may not like it.   

 

[Scarlett]

1 minute ago, DawnM said:

 

It is a 3 car garage, but it faces the rear of the house.   The original owners didn't like where the garage was going to go (oversized 2 car garage on the opposite side of the house) so they enclosed it and made it into a pool table room with a bar area.   That is the space we ultimately made into my dad's apartment.   It is a great room, we added a bathroom, it has 12' ceilings, etc.....but it isn't a garage.

So they added the garage on the other side, but it didn't really fit, so they had to be creative and made it face the rear.   And one of the bays really can't fit a car because they added a giant staircase to go up to this gigantic attic that is the size of a 3 car garage.   

We actually considered taking the staircase out and making the attic accessible from the inside of the house, but we never really pursued it further.

I like it because you can't see garage doors (most people here have them on the side of the house) but I can also see where others may not like it.   

 

Oh I see. So where does the new garage enter the house?

[DawnM]

Just now, Scarlett said:

Oh I see. So where does the new garage enter the house?

On the side with the dining room and formal living room.   The kitchen is just past there.

[Scarlett]

1 minute ago, DawnM said:

On the side with the dining room and formal living room.   The kitchen is just past there.

Oh ok.  So that is doable. I would think the extra apartment would offset that oddity.  

[DawnM]

2 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

Oh ok.  So that is doable. I would think the extra apartment would offset that oddity.  

doesn't seem to be, in fact, NOT one person has made a comment about wanting that room as an apartment or anything.   I have been surprised.   

[TexasProud]

I've been out of this for so long so not sure you should take my comments seriously.  More of just musing.

It doesn't seem like it has been on the market long enough to lower the price...  I guess the expectation is sell in a week???  I remember my parents sitting on the house for a year before we sold the house in Houston and several months for the one in Arlington.  

Sorry it isn't selling as quickly as you would like. Don't hate me, but when we were remodeling our house, we often went to houses that were for sale just to get ideas. We didn't want to buy. So maybe that is it for some of them?  

[DawnM]

28 minutes ago, TexasProud said:

I've been out of this for so long so not sure you should take my comments seriously.  More of just musing.

It doesn't seem like it has been on the market long enough to lower the price...  I guess the expectation is sell in a week???  I remember my parents sitting on the house for a year before we sold the house in Houston and several months for the one in Arlington.  

Sorry it isn't selling as quickly as you would like. Don't hate me, but when we were remodeling our house, we often went to houses that were for sale just to get ideas. We didn't want to buy. So maybe that is it for some of them?  

Did you have a realtor show you houses and pretend you were buying or did you go to open houses or what?

The current market dictates when to drop the price, etc.....

But there is a couple asking a lot of questions through their realtor tonight, so we are hoping.....

[TexasProud]

1 minute ago, DawnM said:

Did you have a realtor show you houses and pretend you were buying or did you go to open houses or what?

 

Open houses and/or house shows. They have home shows in this area every so often where you pay a small fee (5 -10 dollars) and get to see 15-20 houses, some of which are sold and some of which are not. 

[DawnM]

4 minutes ago, TexasProud said:

Open houses and/or house shows. They have home shows in this area every so often where you pay a small fee (5 -10 dollars) and get to see 15-20 houses, some of which are sold and some of which are not. 

Oh yeah, I would do that too.   And I have been known to go to an open house even when I am not sure we can afford the house or whatever.   I love looking at houses.   If it weren't for the sales end of things, I would love to be a realtor.   I love looking, I love imagining, etc...

[Ottakee]

Do you have any local FB groups of families with special needs kids?  I ask as that apartment would be a big plus for a family with a semi independent young adult.

[stephanier.1765]

I know I would love, LOVE, a house with an apartment. I'm looking for something that can be a guest room for my son and his family and something private like that might just induce them to stay longer.

[kbutton]

I hope things start moving in a more promising direction! Our previous house inexplicably sold for less than what it should have. Selling a house is a weird experience. Hang in there!

[ktgrok]

I wonder if listing it as an "oversized 2 car garage with extra storage" or "oversized 2 car garage with workshop"  would be better than 3 car garage, since you can't fit 3 cars in it? So that people's expectations match what is there? 

And definitely need to get the word out about the MIL suite/semi independent apartment/whatever. I agree that for those with college students or those looking for extra income from renting a room, or special needs adult kids, it would be ideal. 

[klmama]

2 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

I wonder if listing it as an "oversized 2 car garage with extra storage" or "oversized 2 car garage with workshop"  would be better than 3 car garage, since you can't fit 3 cars in it? So that people's expectations match what is there? 

And definitely need to get the word out about the MIL suite/semi independent apartment/whatever. I agree that for those with college students or those looking for extra income from renting a room, or special needs adult kids, it would be ideal. 

Yes to all this!!!  

[DawnM]

Tomorrow will be 2 weeks.   We had one low ball offer but during negotiating they backed out.   They were very nit picky about everything and I think they would have squeezed even more out of us during the process so we were a bit glad it didn't work out.   Another couple said our house was at the top of their list until they saw a house where the wife liked the kitchen better.

We are now having conversations about setting a deadline to just pull it off the market.   Andrew starts school on Aug. 28th and he is enrolled in the new school, but they want a closing statement by October or he will need to move back to the school zone we are in.   Which means the house has to sell by the end of Aug.

 

 

[Innisfree]

That’s got to be so frustrating, after you found a house you like and worked so hard to get yours on the market. I hope an unexpected buyer appears quickly.

[teachermom2834]

Gosh I’m sorry. That’s an emotional roller coaster you have been on for sure. So frustrating.

[DawnM]

Open house tomorrow.   Our realtor is contacting ALL the realtors who have "saved" our house in their listings, she said there are about 400 of them.   She is asking them to let their clients know.

We aren't holding our breath.

[DawnM]

Meanwhile, we ARE returning the furniture at the end of the rental period, DH and I were trying to figure out what we might need to replace it and I will spend this next week finding a few items (we aren't replacing all of it)....but we need bedside tables and possibly an entryway table, other than that, I think we are going BARE in some areas until we decide to take it off the market.

the stress this is producing for my family is higher than I thought it would be.  

[fraidycat]

🤞🏼🤞🏼Fingers crossed for a solid offer on the next few days.

Maybe you need to get a St. Joseph statue to bury:

https://www.rockethomes.com/blog/home-selling/st-joseph-selling-house

[Acorn]

26 minutes ago, DawnM said:

Meanwhile, we ARE returning the furniture at the end of the rental period, DH and I were trying to figure out what we might need to replace it and I will spend this next week finding a few items (we aren't replacing all of it)....but we need bedside tables and possibly an entryway table, other than that, I think we are going BARE in some areas until we decide to take it off the market.

the stress this is producing for my family is higher than I thought it would be.  

I guess I must always be the oddity, but I prefer considering houses that aren’t staged. I see bare rooms and packing boxes as proof that the owners are moving out and therefore have incentive to sell. I think it’s easier to imagine  my furniture into a prospective house if I have open views to a room’s dimensions.

Best wishes for the open house.

[klmama]

Don't give up hope!  It really hasn't been that long.  Just because some houses are snapped up immediately doesn't mean a thing -- the right person will come along!

[mom31257]

@DawnM, I'm so sorry it hasn't gone like you wanted!  Whatever happens, I pray you will have peace about it all. 

[DawnM]

1 hour ago, klmama said:

Don't give up hope!  It really hasn't been that long.  Just because some houses are snapped up immediately doesn't mean a thing -- the right person will come along!

Well, they need to come along soon or we will have to to take it off the market.   At some point, our lives need to be lived again.   

And I have heard that you get the best offers in your first offer, and it was a super lowball offer.   So, I am not exactly "glass is half full" right now.

Edited August 4, 2023 by DawnM

[Jaybee]

11 minutes ago, Acorn said:

I guess I must always be the oddity, but I prefer considering houses that aren’t staged. I see bare rooms and packing boxes as proof that the owners are moving out and therefore have incentive to sell. I think it’s easier to imagine  my furniture into a prospective house if I have open views to a room’s dimensions.

Best wishes for the open house.

I do too. You can also see ALL of the floors and walls and things that might ordinarily be covered up. It's true that it might be easy to misjudge the space of a room, but I still prefer houses empty when I see them.

[DawnM]

1 hour ago, Acorn said:

I guess I must always be the oddity, but I prefer considering houses that aren’t staged. I see bare rooms and packing boxes as proof that the owners are moving out and therefore have incentive to sell. I think it’s easier to imagine  my furniture into a prospective house if I have open views to a room’s dimensions.

Best wishes for the open house.

 

49 minutes ago, Jaybee said:

I do too. You can also see ALL of the floors and walls and things that might ordinarily be covered up. It's true that it might be easy to misjudge the space of a room, but I still prefer houses empty when I see them.

I think most of us on this board are not the "average buyers".  I can see past ugly paint, and I know what my husband can and cannot do in terms of repairs and such, so we are not the average buyers, however, most of America is.   Damn HGTV and all that......

[DawnM]

1 hour ago, fraidycat said:

🤞🏼🤞🏼Fingers crossed for a solid offer on the next few days.

Maybe you need to get a St. Joseph statue to bury:

https://www.rockethomes.com/blog/home-selling/st-joseph-selling-house

He has been buried for 7 days in front of our house.  I had to apologize to him for not digging him up from our last house and promise to remove him once this house sells.   Maybe he is still mad at me.

[KSera]

Are houses still selling super fast in your area? It used to be like that here, but it’s not anymore and two weeks would be totally normal. I don’t think anyone expects to sell in just a few days anymore around here. I know that doesn’t help any since you’re working under a specific timeline, but if it’s normal for your area then it might make you feel better that it doesn’t mean your house it’s just unsellable for some reason.

[wintermom]

I may have missed this, but have you tried lowering the asking price? It can sometimes suddenly bump a house into the range of many different buyers.

All the best! Selling a home is so very stressful.

[DawnM]

21 minutes ago, KSera said:

Are houses still selling super fast in your area? It used to be like that here, but it’s not anymore and two weeks would be totally normal. I don’t think anyone expects to sell in just a few days anymore around here. I know that doesn’t help any since you’re working under a specific timeline, but if it’s normal for your area then it might make you feel better that it doesn’t mean your house it’s just unsellable for some reason.

Yes, the neighbor's house sold in 3 days.   Meanwhile, ours still sits.   It was not as updated as ours, smaller than ours, and much more per sq. ft. than ours but overall a little less (I mean really little) and sold fast.   We have no idea why.   Their kitchen was in worse shape, their bathrooms were not updated, etc....

I am telling you, there is no rhyme or reason why ours isn't selling.

20 minutes ago, wintermom said:

I may have missed this, but have you tried lowering the asking price? It can sometimes suddenly bump a house into the range of many different buyers.

All the best! Selling a home is so very stressful.

Yup, already did that about 4 days ago.   And it is less than any of the houses have sold for in our neighborhood for over 2 years.   Less per Sq. ft.   

It makes no sense.

[KSera]

I’m sorry, I know how frustrating it is to need to sell and have a house not sell. Ours took many months. Is the overall price higher than surrounding houses even though the price per square foot is lower?

[footballmom]

When do you need it sold by to keep the contract on your new house? So sorry it hasn’t sold yet - sending prayers this weekend is THE weekend it sells!

[wintermom]

26 minutes ago, DawnM said:

Yes, the neighbor's house sold in 3 days.   Meanwhile, ours still sits.   It was not as updated as ours, smaller than ours, and much more per sq. ft. than ours but overall a little less (I mean really little) and sold fast.   We have no idea why.   Their kitchen was in worse shape, their bathrooms were not updated, etc....

I am telling you, there is no rhyme or reason why ours isn't selling.

Yup, already did that about 4 days ago.   And it is less than any of the houses have sold for in our neighborhood for over 2 years.   Less per Sq. ft.   

It makes no sense.

That is very strange. Is there something about your property (not the house itself) that vastly different than other houses in your area? My parents' house had a little hut for regulating the natural gas in the neighbourhood, and along with this came a much larger lot size. It was still a turn-off for many potential buyers. I think it may have also had a fire hydrant, but I can't recall. Sometimes these kinds of things are a weird red flag to house seekers.

A friend of mine had a really hard time trying to sell her lovely home, which was kitty corner to a very small, but beautifully maintained cemetary. It was a hard "no" for a lot of potential buyers.