House for sale

[momx3boys]

Does anyone else have their house for sale? Ours has been for sale for 5 weeks now and has been the most stressful 5 weeks ever. People calling and never showing up or showing up late. I feel like I'm in limbo. Trying to keep the house in decent condition all the time. I know you have to go through some inconvience when you have your house for sale, but it sure is hard especially with 3 kids. We have had alot of people look, but no offers. Anyway, just felt like whining. Does anyone have any postive stories to share or just feel like whining with me.

 

[FreshTressa]

Check for the post "anyone with their home for sale, Part 2" I think it is on the next page.

Plenty of whining there!

It is about the most stressful thing I can imagine. I walk around all day with knots in my stomach.

 

[momx3boys]

Wow, I did read what you have been through, how awful!! Big hugs to you, so sorry you have to deal with that!! I guess I could have it worse.

 

[grinningghost]

We sold ours in March. It only took 1 day, but we were lucky - that's all there was to it - lucky.

But now, we're not so lucky. We have to live with my parents until our house is built - won't be finished until March, 2007!

Hang in there. And from what people have told me. Keep the odd smells down - it's the biggest turn off. Your 3 cheese lasagna might smell heavenly, but some goofball out there might not think so.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

NO!

We sold our house last year. Selling your house is very stressful. We are in our 3rd house now.

Good Luck.......

 

[momx3boys]

We sold ours in March. It only took 1 day, but we were lucky - that's all there was to it - lucky.

But now, we're not so lucky. We have to live with my parents until our house is built - won't be finished until March, 2007!

Hang in there. And from what people have told me. Keep the odd smells down - it's the biggest turn off. Your 3 cheese lasagna might smell heavenly, but some goofball out there might not think so.

Wow, that is lucky!! I'm ready for ours to sell. We plan on building a new home when this one sells, so we will have to rent somewhere for awhile, I just don't think we can handle living with my parents or husbands parents. I know I will have alot more to deal with in building too.

 

[grinningghost]

Wow, that is lucky!! I'm ready for ours to sell. We plan on building a new home when this one sells, so we will have to rent somewhere for awhile, I just don't think we can handle living with my parents or husbands parents. I know I will have alot more to deal with in building too.

Unless you have a Brady Bunch type family - I would HIGHLY suggest not moving in with the parents. We've only been here a month and the stress level is sky high. It's much easier to talk about it than actually do it.

 

[Certifiable WDW Nut]

I'm sitting here hating life. We've been on the market since January. Got one contract that fell through when the sale of their house fell through. Since January, we've lowered the price $65K, had to replace carpeting upstairs because my DD6 decided to puke spaghetti & meatballs all over the hall carpet, spent $2300 on a new air conditioner compressor (entire outside unit), now we are having the painters come back because our agent misjudged and now thinks we should change the family room/kitchen to a neutral color! It's just been awful. My kids are so tired of keeping their rooms picked up all the time and I just want it all to end. And I'm going through all of this so my husband can go back to school for another five or six years!!! Like I said - hating life!

 

[momx3boys]

I'm sitting here hating life. We've been on the market since January. Got one contract that fell through when the sale of their house fell through. Since January, we've lowered the price $65K, had to replace carpeting upstairs because my DD6 decided to puke spaghetti & meatballs all over the hall carpet, spent $2300 on a new air conditioner compressor (entire outside unit), now we are having the painters come back because our agent misjudged and now thinks we should change the family room/kitchen to a neutral color! It's just been awful. My kids are so tired of keeping their rooms picked up all the time and I just want it all to end. And I'm going through all of this so my husband can go back to school for another five or six years!!! Like I said - hating life!

I'm so sorry!!! I haven't gone through that much, but I know how stressful it all is. We've painted inside and out, fixed areas of the fence, replaced wallpaper and trying to keep the house picked up all the time is so hard with kids.

 

[fanofdisney]

We sold our home in December after 29 days on the market. The main thing was luck- right person, right time. Some other things that may have helped: a great realtor, he used open houses, postcards, you name it. We threw everything into the garage and covered it all with blankets, with an excuse the mess sign on the door. We hid things like dirty laundry and dog things in the trunk. Some people are freaks about pet dander, so the dog went with us while we showed the home. We always had a candle burning. Baking scents like cinnamon apple are great. We also kept the satellite radio on the t.v. on the soundscapes channel, softly playing in the bathroom. Spotless windows with the blinds wide open to let light in, and we hid half the stuff on our kitchen counter to make it look roomy.


Watch shows on HGTV like "Sell this house". They have great tips. I know the stress, believe me! Good luck to you. The right person will come along, and when they do, do whatever they want in the way of negotiating to sell it if you're desperate!

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I'll whine along with you.

Our house has been on the market for about 7 weeks. Like you a ton of people looking but no offers. My kids toys are all stored away. I have to pack up two kids and two dogs everytime its showed. You are right so frustrating and stressful.

All the agents that come through say its beautiful and it will sale, just not their clients choice. I can't stand it. Please someone buy our house!!!!

 

[NewJersey]

I'm on the other end of the spectrum. I've been looking online at tons of new construction (centex, khov, karahomes, tollbrothers, etc) and finally this weekend I went in person to a sales office of a new townhouse complex in Philadelphia. What a chore! It was my first time looking in person, but I was disappointed because I was so deflated from not being impressed at all with the plans. But I know theres tons more out there for me to choose from. I've been looking in the Philly area, DC and DC area, and my area (NY metro). Sadly, those are some of the most expensive housing markets.

But I'm still super excited to be looking into buying my first home!

 

[Divamomto3]

I am right there with you and this is the most stressed I have ever been in my entire life. We have had our house on the market for 9 weeks. We have had a lot of people come to our Open Houses and only a handful at other times. We haven't had one offer yet. Everything is looking great in our house. The agent is doing a great job marketing. A very similar house down the street sold with the same agent in 23 days. (That's how we found him.) I am a complete wreck. We are relocating to another state for my husband's job and we're building a house there that won't be done until probably February 2007, so we are renting a house in the meantime. I just wasn't planning on paying a rent AND a mortgage. UGH. No, the company won't buy our house...it's a very small company. I have 3 boys and it's a lot of fun keeping the house in showplace condition all the time. My agent says everyone loves my decorating, can't believe we actually live there, how do I keep it so clean, etc. Yet NO ONE IS BUYING IT. I'm seriously close to a nervous breakdown. We are packing up and leaving in August no matter what because I need my kids to start school in the new place.

Here's some luck and pixie dust to all of us.

 

[barkley]

we put ours up the week of st. patty's day and got a contingent offer a week and a half later for full asking. we did'nt want a contingent but since we had the worst rain in YEARS (flooding enough in adjacent towns/counties that they are getting fed. assistance now) we decided no-one would likely look during the 30 day period we gave the buyers to sell theirs. surprise, surprise-with 72 hours to go they sold their house!

they were a pain to deal with (kept wanting to move up the move in date)-but we got out just before memorial day into a rental we like (we want to move out of state at some point but have no time line set). i'm so glad we listed when we did-the market is realy slowing down here and there is a huge glut of homes that went up at the end of may (everyone else trying to sell before "the bubble bursts").

it was terrible, it was stressful, it was awful-but now it's kind of like being in labor, begining to be more of a foggy memory.

3 suggestions for keeping the house in ready to show order:

1-keep the washer and dryer empty (you can throw clothes/towels in and sort them later)

2-keep the refridgerator and dishwasher empty-dirty dishes can fit in both

3- take an empty rectangular casserole dish and wrap it in tin foil-if you've had a spill on your stove top that you have'nt had time to clean, place the casserole on top of the affected area (it looks like you have a cake or item set to go in the oven-much more appealing than burnt on stains).

good luck to all-i think there are still plenty of buyers out there, we see droves going to the local open houses.

 

[carolfoy]

A queation from a real thickie here....
what is the system to buying a home in the US?
In england you can put in offers for as many houses as you like, theres no law to state you can't, then when an offer is agreed a surveyor checks the property out and lawyers get involved, parties can and do quibble over prices, usually leading to a renegotiation. at some point an exchange of contracts is agreed where a deposit is taken from the purchaser and kept in holding by the solicitor, up to this point either party can back out and both parties will have incurred every legal fee and expenditure, after exchange the completion date is set - sometimes 1 week, sometimes 2, sometimes even on the same date! the purchaser can pull out now but loses their deposit and both parties lose their legal fees.
Completion is when all monies get transferred through lawyers funds to the correct party and you move on this date.
Its different (and better!) in Scotland where you are legally bound once an offer has been accepted so theres no weeks and weeks of wondering if everyones going to keep their word and move.

just wondering what the US is like? and does it differ from state to state?

 

[BuzzBoyMom]

Sorry - can't relate to the house selling thing...we've been in ours for 5 years and prior to that we went thru an agent re-buy process where if your house didn't sell within 60 days, the agent bought it at a fair market value. We got a great deal.

But I wanted to send a hug to everyone...b/c it sounds very stressful

 

[barkley]

A queation from a real thickie here....
what is the system to buying a home in the US?
In england you can put in offers for as many houses as you like, theres no law to state you can't, then when an offer is agreed a surveyor checks the property out and lawyers get involved, parties can and do quibble over prices, usually leading to a renegotiation. at some point an exchange of contracts is agreed where a deposit is taken from the purchaser and kept in holding by the solicitor, up to this point either party can back out and both parties will have incurred every legal fee and expenditure, after exchange the completion date is set - sometimes 1 week, sometimes 2, sometimes even on the same date! the purchaser can pull out now but loses their deposit and both parties lose their legal fees.
Completion is when all monies get transferred through lawyers funds to the correct party and you move on this date.
Its different (and better!) in Scotland where you are legally bound once an offer has been accepted so theres no weeks and weeks of wondering if everyones going to keep their word and move.

just wondering what the US is like? and does it differ from state to state?

in california the "buyer" would make an offer in writing (usualy with a timeline for response) and provide recent proof of loan approval for the amount of the home and a check for the amount they wished to put down as a deposit (we accepted $10,000 as the deposit on our home) there can be counter offers back and forth or a down right turndown of the original offer, but once agreement has been reached on a purchase price the deposit would go into an escrow account to be applied to the purchase price of the home. depending on the contract, usualy within 10 days of accepting an offer the "buyer" will have had a whole home inspection and appraisal of the property done (and the sellers a pest inspection)-the buyers may ask to renegotiate the price if the inspection shows costly repairs, and their mortgage lender may require that some repairs be done prior to funding (windows and roofs are biggies here). from the end of that 10 days depending on the situation the house may transfer title in as little as 5 days or upward of 35 or 50 (the buyer and seller decide when they want it to close). usualy the keys are handed over on the recording date-but alot of contracts allow the seller to rent back the property for a few days to a week to get moved into a new place.

while some people opt to use a real estate lawyer it's not required here-there is no "lawyer review" provision.

oh, and if the buyer backs out on the deal it's usualy written into the contract that they lose their deposit. if the seller backs out the buyer can successfully take them to court to enforce the sale.

 

[carolfoy]

Thanks, it does sound similair to our position although probably a bit 'safer'. was just wondering
thanks again