I can't believe it but we have been doing some serious house hunting lately. We feel like it is the right time to upgrade our house, but it is hard to find exactly what we want...I am beginning to believe that I will never have my dream bathroom!
We have found a house that is amazing, huge, and possibly affordable...it's in the same price range as what we want but it's so big, I'm concerned about the costs of keeping it heated and/or cool. I need to research. It's on a Cul-de-sac way outside of town in the Washington Fields area, so that's a concern too. Taylor would have one more year of elementary school and then she would have to be bussed clear out to Bloomington Hills for Intermediate. Nothing would be close to us though.
Also, we have to start getting our place ready to sell now. I've been putting it off, but we need to get top dollar. We've had the realtor give us a market value estimate and it's hard to believe (again) that it could be worth so much....We missed the 'seller's market" by about six months so it may take a while to sell...but I'm hopeful that everything will work out. We've never sold a house before, so if anybody has any advice for us...please let us know.
It's an exciting time, but scary too! Scott's given me the final veto power so I just have to decide if I want to hold out for my bathroom or not. Our love to everyone...enjoy your President's Day...hope to hear from you soon.
Wow! Big step. I wish you the best in your search and in your sales. There is a show on HGTV(I think) called "Designed to Sell". It is the best thing that I have seen for advice to sell a house. Ask your realtor for a video / CD with information to sell your house, they should have one or should be able to get one. The advice goes like this:
ReplyDelete1) Take everything out & put it in storage.
2) Clean & fix everything.
3) Paint everything nuetral colors, outside & inside. Accent moldings in white to contrast the wall color. Don't have any theme paint / trims, etc.
4) Put just enough inside of each room to show the purpose of that room. Make sure that each room has a focal point & that everything in the room is coordinated. For ideas, take pictures of the model homes that are in the housing developments.
5) Use accent lighting to give everything a "warm glow".
6) Stand across the street and look at your house. What makes it different than the other houses up & down the street. Try and make it feel "Welcoming" before they ever get out of their car.
6) When you leave in the morning, it should look like a model home.
7) Leave the automatic bread baker going so the house smells like 'fresh baked bread'.
8) If you are having an open house, bake fresh cookies throughout the day.
9) Set your price 10% above the realtors recommendation. This gives you room to negotiate down to the realtors recommendation. You can negotiate down, but not up.
10) Most realtors set the price higher for their own house than they recommend to their clients. They also wait an average of 2 - 3 weeks longer to get their price. When they are selling their own house, they want the highest price. When they are selling your house, they want the commission on the sell. The small amount that they get for waiting to sell your house is not worth it (to them).
PS: On picking a realtor, interview 6 - 10 of them. Ask them what they will do to sell your house. You want the one which has a plan to get other realtors to create traffic through your house. They should sell to realtors, not to clients. Why? If you hire one realtor who sells to clients, you get one person working for you. If you hire a realtor who sells to 10 other realtors, you get 10X the traffic, and a much better probability of getting the person who loves and will pay your price for your house.
Hope this helps. As always, I am here to help out where I can. Love, Dad
Thanks Dad! I watch that show too and I always think they have great ideas. You could write an article with your good advice. We will do our best...we have to get top dollar from our house to afford the house we want....so any little bit helps. Also, if you know of any investors who are wanting a property down here...most of our street is turning to rental homes, so ours would be a good one for that. Love to you and Pam! Hope to talk to you soon...
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteWhat are the average prices, sq. footage & rental rates for those houses on your block. I just might know someone who could be interested.
Love, Dad
Sounds like you got good advice. I watch the show too.... minimize the clutter is the key. I will offer the most important thing. If you need my help to paint or whatever just call.....Love you Mom.
ReplyDeleteTouble is by the time you fiix it up to sell. You want to keep it..... resist..
There is no such thing as too big of house for a good price. You can always remodel the bathroom eventually....If that is all....:)
:( You'll have to work either way probley.....love you always Mom:)
Love you Mom! Thanks for the offer of help...we have been busy painting and getting ready for a buyer who is coming tonight to look...It's the mother or brother of the guy who is selling the house we want to buy...They may have a vested interest in us selling our house so it would be nice if we could just swap. What is it they say about Too Good to Be True?
ReplyDeleteHey Dad: I don't have any "official numbers" but most homes our size (1400 sqft) are selling for about 250,000, We are setting our price at 259,900 (I had Market Value Estimates from 245,000 to 265,000 so we are splitting the difference) so we can bargain down if we need to, Most homes are around 1100-1600 sqft and I think the average rental price is around $1200 dollars. Our house is one of the nicest houses on our street because the others have been rentals for quite a few years and that takes its toll, many, many homes in this area are being bought by investors for rentals. Last year a california guy went on a rampage and bought about 6 just in our ward. How would that be?
Anyway, thanks for all the good advice and help....but most of all for letting me sit down for a minute to type on the computer...My back is killing me and I have hardly made a dent! There is a reason we need a bigger house...too much junk! Well, better get back to work....Love to all!
Hi,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info. $260K @6% is P&I of $1560 / mo. I can't do like the Californians do and buy a house with a negative cashflow and wait for the appreciation to take care of me. Oh well.
I wish you the best with the swap! I will keep my fingers crossed.
It's a long ways, but let us know how we can help.
Love, Dad