Anyone else's house currently for sale?

[Simba's Mom]

I'm interested especially if you're living in it. This is the first time I've ever had a house I was living in for sale-it will probably go on the market next week. I'm not the greatest housekeeper here so I'm pretty nervous. Is is really a pain? Hectic with last minute calls to show the house and constantly trying to keep it clean? Any tips? We decided that now that we're "empty-nesters", we want a smaller "nest". But I'm getting last minute nerves here! Or is it a lot smoother and more spread out than I'm expecting?

 

[autochick]

my house is currently on the market and we are living in it. I just put it on so I havent had anyone look at it yet.

 

[dvcfamily41801]

Good luck to you with your house for sale!!

When I sold my condo a few years ago, it was on the market for 3 days and sold Thankfully because keping it clean was crazy, I am a neat freak to begin with, and my mom was my realtor and my toughest critic LOL!! Anyway, one thing you can do is make them confirm showings with you and ask for certain amount of hours notice that way you can get things ready. Also light a candle or bake some of those break & bake cookies to make the house very inviting when they walk in!

Good luck!!

 

[alabamaalan]

We are living in it and speant a lot of time getting it ready to show. I have a 5 year old and a 3 year old, and we have a daily ritual of vaccuming, cleaning bathrooms and everything off the floor.

If we know someone is coming we do the real cleaning, but still keep it presentable at all times just in case.

I can't wait to move so I can be a slob again

 

[dianeschlicht]

Well, kinda sorta....But with all the road construction, we can't even have a sign up, so no one knows about it! I hate all the lookers when they can get here. We have a kennel full of dogs, so we always have to make sure the kennel room doesn't smell like dogs. Not easy with 8 of them in there!

 

[I <3 Eeyore]

When we bought last year, the realtor was required to give the owners 24 hrs advance notice before showing us any properties.

 

[dennis99ss]

There is probably a listing service, in Houston its CSS (?). They usually give you a days notice. Remember, you can say no to the key on the door, and can say no to incovienent visits.

Anyway, get a storage room, and put all __yes, all of the stuff that is on the floor, cluttering the shelves of the closests, the garage, etc. that you will not use in thext couple of months. Make the house look like a model home----one that is not lived in.

Also, throw some mulch, color flowers etc. outside. Powerwash the drive and sidewalk, amazing how a $125 machine can bring the "white/grey" color back to darkened concrete.

Touch up paint on the inside, not the whole hose, but just the bottom couple of feet and the top couple of feet. It really does make a difference.

Clean the carpets.

Cost money, yes. But, it should help it sell.

Also, remember, the price you set is what you are stuck at. Even if you lower your price later, some of the people who thought the house was 15k to high probably already found a place, or will not come back.

No, I'm not a realtor, but, I did do a lot of research into selling the house we just moved out of. It went to the third person through, while there were two house next to us that heasd been for sale for months. Price and appearance.

 

[binny]

I found some interesting sites for you...

http://www.soldbyowner.com/tips.html


http://www.ihomeowner.com/templates/content.asp?section=prepare

http://www.homestore.com/RealEstateNews/Sellers/default.asp

Good luck! we'll be in the same boat in a couple of months.

I think the storage unit is the best idea. Im going to clear out my garage completely and all the crud in the closets. My plan is to pare it down to just what we need to live on.

 

[4greatboys]

My best friend who is a realtor and has her house for sale got a storage room to put alot of her stuff in. That way you closets wont be stuffed with all you stuff, lol.
We are toying with the idea of getting a new house. I love our house but we have outgrown it so its get a new one or add on.

 

[ahutton]

There was an article in Good Housekeeping a few months ago that had many suggestions on how to do what you can to help it sell quickly. Ours was listed for 3 months but he market here is awful. We were lucky that DH got another job here in town and we were able to take it off the market. I went to Target and bought a ton of those Rubbermaid plastic tubs that have lids, about $4 each, and packed up much of the stuff I would not need now but would need quickly in the new house. I figured then I would know where to begin...

 

[luvtogo12]

From previous experience I can tell you that the first few days are the most hectic. I tried to spend most of my time outside with the kids in an attempt to keep the house clean. It was not easy though with three little ones. We ate out alot.

Although we got a few offers within the first 2 weeks we did not sell at that time. The market is hot here and we could not find any thing we liked without spending every dime we have. We recently decided it was time to sell again and I am dreading it! I do need a bigger house though.

Good luck!
P.S. Packing up as much as you can and putting it in storage is a great idea. An added expense but a great help in the long run.

 

[luvflorida]

We put our house on the market about a month ago and the very first people to look at the house made an offer for the asking price. This was on the first day the house was shown. We thought that was great and we sighed with relief that we wouldn't have to go through the hassle of showing the house to other people. Well, after having the house under contract for a few weeks, (at which time the house was taken off the market), they decided that they didn't want the house because the inspection revealed a few places on the clapboards that had some water marks on them. They were going to put siding on the house and they decided it would be too expensive.

Anyway, our house is back on the market and we've had to leave at least six times while the realtor showed our house to prospective buyers. It is very stressful because every time someone comes to look at the house we have to leave, and we have to make sure the house is clean and picked up. The only one who is enjoying all this is our Black Lab. He is loving all the car rides he gets to go on. I'm not the neatest person in the world, so I'm not used to keeping everything picked up! I always make sure the beds are made, trash is empty, clutter is picked up, windows are open, no dirty clothes hiding anywhere, etc., etc., etc.

Yesterday someone made an offer after looking at our house twice. So we are back to counter-offering and hopefully, a contract. The stress is also coming from the fact that we have another house that we are buying and we've had it under contract for awhile, but we can't do anything until we sell the house we're in now. We're afraid of losing that house if it takes us too long to sell ours.

Oh well, hopefully everything will work out in the end. To answer your question- yes, it's stressful, but we hope worth it! Good luck on your house!

 

[Cindyluwho]

Originally posted by dennis99ss

"There is probably a listing service, in Houston its CSS (?). They usually give you a days notice. Remember, you can say no to the key on the door, and can say no to incovienent visits.

Anyway, get a storage room, and put all __yes, all of the stuff that is on the floor, cluttering the shelves of the closests, the garage, etc. that you will not use in thext couple of months. Make the house look like a model home----one that is not lived in.

Also, throw some mulch, color flowers etc. outside. Powerwash the drive and sidewalk, amazing how a $125 machine can bring the "white/grey" color back to darkened concrete.

Touch up paint on the inside, not the whole hose, but just the bottom couple of feet and the top couple of feet. It really does make a difference.

Clean the carpets.

Cost money, yes. But, it should help it sell.

Also, remember, the price you set is what you are stuck at. Even if you lower your price later, some of the people who thought the house was 15k to high probably already found a place, or will not come back.

No, I'm not a realtor, but, I did do a lot of research into selling the house we just moved out of. It went to the third person through, while there were two house next to us that heasd been for sale for months. Price and appearance. "

Dennis, this is excellent advice, you've really done your research. I need you to come talk to my sellers when my husband and I list their homes The only think I must disagree with is the 24 hours notice to show. It can cost you money in the long run, by not having the home sell as fast as it could. Let agents show it whenever they can get a buyer in the door. Is it incovenient? You bet! But the more showings you have, the faster it will sell and the more money you'll end up with in the long run. If it sits too long on the market and gets "shop worn" you'll have to lower the price.