Is there a thread for people selling their house?

[mom2pirateNpooh]

I stumbled onto this thread today, and can't tell you how relieved I am to find other people in similar situations!

Our house has been on the market for six months. Due to a horrible family situation, we had to move away from a wonderful house in a great - older, but extremely desirable - neighborhood with great schools. The community seemed to be weathering the housing crisis fairly well, and just this month had its first foreclosure.

We've been lucky to find another good school district, but we have been renting a much smaller house in our new location since last fall, and can't buy another house until ours sells. Oh, and the house we're renting is now on the market, so we have to keep it clean, too.

We moved out most of our stuff, rented a couple of storage units, and left the "good" furniture and accessories behind at the stager's request. We have now been living out of boxes for 11 months. DS9 and DS2 don't know where "home" is anymore. Thank goodness we have a vacation condo to visit occasionally, because that's the closest thing we have to a home at this point!

A couple of months ago we got what we considered a lowball offer, complete with a "Dear Seller" letter that they basically copied off the Internet. We countered, they countered, etc. Then they started asking for all sorts of concessions beyond the usual fixes: throw in various personal belongings, appliances, stereo/TV equipment. Okay, we thought, we can replace those. We went into escrow. Halfway through the 30-day period, they demanded we make changes to the house that would have constituted a remodel AND put the house out of compliance with state and local regulations. Umm...no. We chalked it up to their being out-of-state buyers. Another round of negotiations, and we were back on track. We scrambled to get everything done the way they wanted it, emptied the house of our remaining belongings (another storage unit!), and, hesitantly, a week before close of escrow, put an offer on a house in our new community. An hour after our offer was accepted, our house fell out of escrow. The buyers decided to go with another house - apparently they had made offers on several houses (5 that we know of) and played us all against each other. A realtor friend tells us that's becoming very common in this market.

We're back where we were, only worse. The seller of the house we want doesn't want us to cancel (understandably), even though our offer was contingent on selling our house. We've changed realtors, and have lowered our asking price well below the lowball offer, because at this point we just want to be rid of the place. We love that house, and it hurts to say this, but it's become a burden. So we're now asking almost $200K below our original price, which at the time was consistent with the comps. Yesterday we got another offer, for $50K less than our new price! At this point, we're basically back near the amount we bought our house for 8 years ago, which is even worse because we did a major addition/remodel at the time, effectively doubling the size of the house (it was one of the smallest in the neighborhood at the time).

Whoops - I guess I really had this bottled up, as it's turned into a bit of a rant - sorry! For now, we're just hoping that the latest offer is real, and that the potential buyers don't walk away!

 

[klmall]

I stumbled onto this thread today, and can't tell you how relieved I am to find other people in similar situations!

Our house has been on the market for six months. Due to a horrible family situation, we had to move away from a wonderful house in a great - older, but extremely desirable - neighborhood with great schools. The community seemed to be weathering the housing crisis fairly well, and just this month had its first foreclosure.

We've been lucky to find another good school district, but we have been renting a much smaller house in our new location since last fall, and can't buy another house until ours sells. Oh, and the house we're renting is now on the market, so we have to keep it clean, too.

We moved out most of our stuff, rented a couple of storage units, and left the "good" furniture and accessories behind at the stager's request. We have now been living out of boxes for 11 months. DS9 and DS2 don't know where "home" is anymore. Thank goodness we have a vacation condo to visit occasionally, because that's the closest thing we have to a home at this point!

A couple of months ago we got what we considered a lowball offer, complete with a "Dear Seller" letter that they basically copied off the Internet. We countered, they countered, etc. Then they started asking for all sorts of concessions beyond the usual fixes: throw in various personal belongings, appliances, stereo/TV equipment. Okay, we thought, we can replace those. We went into escrow. Halfway through the 30-day period, they demanded we make changes to the house that would have constituted a remodel AND put the house out of compliance with state and local regulations. Umm...no. We chalked it up to their being out-of-state buyers. Another round of negotiations, and we were back on track. We scrambled to get everything done the way they wanted it, emptied the house of our remaining belongings (another storage unit!), and, hesitantly, a week before close of escrow, put an offer on a house in our new community. An hour after our offer was accepted, our house fell out of escrow. The buyers decided to go with another house - apparently they had made offers on several houses (5 that we know of) and played us all against each other. A realtor friend tells us that's becoming very common in this market.

We're back where we were, only worse. The seller of the house we want doesn't want us to cancel (understandably), even though our offer was contingent on selling our house. We've changed realtors, and have lowered our asking price well below the lowball offer, because at this point we just want to be rid of the place. We love that house, and it hurts to say this, but it's become a burden. So we're now asking almost $200K below our original price, which at the time was consistent with the comps. Yesterday we got another offer, for $50K less than our new price! At this point, we're basically back near the amount we bought our house for 8 years ago, which is even worse because we did a major addition/remodel at the time, effectively doubling the size of the house (it was one of the smallest in the neighborhood at the time).

Whoops - I guess I really had this bottled up, as it's turned into a bit of a rant - sorry! For now, we're just hoping that the latest offer is real, and that the potential buyers don't walk away!

Ventilate all you want! What a nightmare! I can't imagine being in your situation with a hideous potential buyer for your house and then being forced to keep lowering the price on a home you once loved just to dump it.

I sincerely hope your latest offer works out! Crossing all limbs for 'ya!

We are still sitting on a four month listing of a great house that is at least $50k over-priced for the current market and I can't imagine dropping our listed price $200k!!!

Keep us up-to-date!

 

[Chris2597]

Still no email or brochures from the Realtor. I emailed him on Monday advising him we needed more for the box on the sign. I hope this isnt a sign that he thinks it is hopeless and doesnt want to spend the money on colored brochures. I am going to try emailing again and suggesting, once again that we offer some sort of incentive about the updating or help with closing costs.

Momtopirate....so sorry to hear of all your troubles with selling your home. It is so frustrating.

 

[maddiemom]

I stumbled onto this thread today, and can't tell you how relieved I am to find other people in similar situations!

Our house has been on the market for six months. Due to a horrible family situation, we had to move away from a wonderful house in a great - older, but extremely desirable - neighborhood with great schools. The community seemed to be weathering the housing crisis fairly well, and just this month had its first foreclosure.

We've been lucky to find another good school district, but we have been renting a much smaller house in our new location since last fall, and can't buy another house until ours sells. Oh, and the house we're renting is now on the market, so we have to keep it clean, too.

We moved out most of our stuff, rented a couple of storage units, and left the "good" furniture and accessories behind at the stager's request. We have now been living out of boxes for 11 months. DS9 and DS2 don't know where "home" is anymore. Thank goodness we have a vacation condo to visit occasionally, because that's the closest thing we have to a home at this point!

A couple of months ago we got what we considered a lowball offer, complete with a "Dear Seller" letter that they basically copied off the Internet. We countered, they countered, etc. Then they started asking for all sorts of concessions beyond the usual fixes: throw in various personal belongings, appliances, stereo/TV equipment. Okay, we thought, we can replace those. We went into escrow. Halfway through the 30-day period, they demanded we make changes to the house that would have constituted a remodel AND put the house out of compliance with state and local regulations. Umm...no. We chalked it up to their being out-of-state buyers. Another round of negotiations, and we were back on track. We scrambled to get everything done the way they wanted it, emptied the house of our remaining belongings (another storage unit!), and, hesitantly, a week before close of escrow, put an offer on a house in our new community. An hour after our offer was accepted, our house fell out of escrow. The buyers decided to go with another house - apparently they had made offers on several houses (5 that we know of) and played us all against each other. A realtor friend tells us that's becoming very common in this market.

We're back where we were, only worse. The seller of the house we want doesn't want us to cancel (understandably), even though our offer was contingent on selling our house. We've changed realtors, and have lowered our asking price well below the lowball offer, because at this point we just want to be rid of the place. We love that house, and it hurts to say this, but it's become a burden. So we're now asking almost $200K below our original price, which at the time was consistent with the comps. Yesterday we got another offer, for $50K less than our new price! At this point, we're basically back near the amount we bought our house for 8 years ago, which is even worse because we did a major addition/remodel at the time, effectively doubling the size of the house (it was one of the smallest in the neighborhood at the time).

Whoops - I guess I really had this bottled up, as it's turned into a bit of a rant - sorry! For now, we're just hoping that the latest offer is real, and that the potential buyers don't walk away!

Wow, that is pretty harsh. I sure do hope that you can come to an agreement on your latest offer that will suit you and that you are able to sail smoothly through closing and put an end to all your frustrations!!

 

[maddiemom]

So we are at a the two week mark since our last showing. Nothing is happening. Last week I figured it was because of Tropical Storm Hanna. This week I started off very upbeat, thinking things would get moving again, but not so much yet.

The rates are LOW right now so we really would love to lock in for our new house but we don't want to with our current home unsold and no offers. I just really want this to work out.

Hope everyone else has some luck this weekend!

 

[donna6635]

Sold our house in the Pittsburgh area in Feb. Did it ourselves and sold it to our neighbors daughter----NEVER-----again would I ever sell my house to someone I know. First they gave us a hard time about signing the papers, told us we would have to move out without even any hand money. When I called and said NO because no papers were ever signed, I was given a hard time. Once papers were signed, they got the house inspected and we told them and the papers said--AS IS---they wanted us to pay for a new furnace and air conditioner to which I refused to do, they then threatened to sue which I told them they could go ahead and do. To appease them my husband gave them some money toward the furnace and air conditioner and they still have not had it replaced... You live and learn!!

 

[Chris2597]

We have toyed with the idea of trying the For Sale by Owner route, but I don't know if I want to deal with screening tours of the house and issues that may arise during or after the sale.

 

[maddiemom]

We actually did a FSBO in 2002. We had an amazingly uneventful experience with it back then. I held maybe 2 or 3 open houses and did some individual showings. A couple agents tried to convince me to list but we wound up selling the house in less than 2 months to some people that had come through during our first open house. The closing went smoothly. We did feel very lucky. I wouldn't even think of FSBO where we live now though.

 

[Mickeyluver37]

Wow mom2piratenpooh, sorry to hear it's been so hard for you guys. Unfortunately, I can sympathize with a lot of it!

We were under contract for a little while. I had mentioned on this thread that we got a lowball offer. Well, we countered, she countered back only going up 5K but we decided to go with it just to be rid of the place (and its mortgages!) Of course, this was hinging on a home inspection, understandably. Well, the inspection actually went great- no major things to fix. But the inspector listed every little thing that could possibly be wrong with the property, and the buyer asked for EVERY SINGLE one to be REPLACED. She didn't want anything fixed- all replaced, and it was mostly cosmetic. OK, so we agreed to 29K less than asking in the first place. THEN, the things they asked for- driveway replaced, sliding glass doors replaced, outdoor light fixture replaced, eaves replaced. And of course all of it had to be done by a licensed contractor. We said yes to all the little things, no to all the big ones, and as expected, she walked. Her realtor said she's just canvassing, and seeing how desperate people are. Evidently she's VERY wealthy and just looking to buy rental properties for cheap.

And the flip side of this? The house that we are renting/will be buying belongs to family. So they didn't give us the courteousy of going through this place and doing anything to it. They just packed up their crap and left. The house is a mess, the yard is a mess, etc. So we spend all of our time dealing with fixing up and maintaining two houses. We'd almost be in a better position if we at least had the opportunity to house hunt in this buyers market! All the little things we had to do to the other house like all new blinds, light fixtures, fresh paint- now we have to do it all here! The worse is the wood floors are in desperate need of refinishing and the baby is crawling. Calgon...take me away!

 

[javaj]

Our townhouse listing expires at the end of this week, and we haven't decided exactly what to do yet. No surprise that it hasn't sold yet, since things really aren't moving in our area. But it is still kind of depressing considering we've had the place for over 7 years, are expecting to walk away with nothing, having put in around $10K in improvements over the years.

We're considering the following options:

1. Extending our listing with our realtor

2. For Sale By Owner - this may be our best bet since we're willing to sell as cheaply as possible as long as we don't have to pay anything at closing. I'm just worried about having to "show" the house myself...is that safe?

3. Take it off the market for a while, spend about $8K to redo the kitchen (which is outdated but in good condition, new appliances, just needs cabinets and countertops), other cosmetics. Relist after a few months -- - but when we relist, we would lose our super low price advantage. We're listed at 129K, most other comparable townhouse units are 148K and above. BUT if we end up not being able to sell for a while, at least our kitchen would be updated and nicer to look at LOL

Anyone have any input?

 

[mom2pirateNpooh]

I sincerely hope your latest offer works out! Crossing all limbs for 'ya!

QUOTE]

Thanks, klmall. We need all the crossed limbs we can get! I hope your house sells sometime soon, too. It's just soooo frustrating, isn't it?

 

[mom2pirateNpooh]

Wow mom2piratenpooh, sorry to hear it's been so hard for you guys. Unfortunately, I can sympathize with a lot of it!

We were under contract for a little while. I had mentioned on this thread that we got a lowball offer. Well, we countered, she countered back only going up 5K but we decided to go with it just to be rid of the place (and its mortgages!) Of course, this was hinging on a home inspection, understandably. Well, the inspection actually went great- no major things to fix. But the inspector listed every little thing that could possibly be wrong with the property, and the buyer asked for EVERY SINGLE one to be REPLACED. She didn't want anything fixed- all replaced, and it was mostly cosmetic. OK, so we agreed to 29K less than asking in the first place. THEN, the things they asked for- driveway replaced, sliding glass doors replaced, outdoor light fixture replaced, eaves replaced. And of course all of it had to be done by a licensed contractor. We said yes to all the little things, no to all the big ones, and as expected, she walked. Her realtor said she's just canvassing, and seeing how desperate people are. Evidently she's VERY wealthy and just looking to buy rental properties for cheap.

And the flip side of this? The house that we are renting/will be buying belongs to family. So they didn't give us the courteousy of going through this place and doing anything to it. They just packed up their crap and left. The house is a mess, the yard is a mess, etc. So we spend all of our time dealing with fixing up and maintaining two houses. We'd almost be in a better position if we at least had the opportunity to house hunt in this buyers market! All the little things we had to do to the other house like all new blinds, light fixtures, fresh paint- now we have to do it all here! The worse is the wood floors are in desperate need of refinishing and the baby is crawling. Calgon...take me away!

Oh, Mickeyluver37, that sounds SO familiar! We spent the weekend responding to the 50-page itemized list from the buyers' first inspection, which listed the same issues over and over, and included unbelievable nitpicky little things like pruning shrubs. What...?! Oh, and apparently the inspector couldn't figure out how a GFCI circuit works - he tripped the switch then complained that the outlets didn't work! Brilliant, huh? He also couldn't tell the difference between stamped concrete paving and stone. We, too, have no major items to fix. Instead of replacing the driveway (we put a new one in last summer), the previous buyers wanted us to replace the garage floor because it had a crack in it. In good faith, we did that - then they walked anyway.

We have a "siding inspection" coming up tomorrow. It seems they don't like the existing siding and are trying to find something wrong with it so that we'll REPLACE it. Um...that siding is only 7 years old. Bizarre.

Plus, today we told the owner of the house we wanted to buy that we just can't afford it if this sale goes through, as we'd have nothing left over for the remodel we'd need to do (the house is beautiful, but poorly designed from a functional standpoint, and really doesn't work now that our toddler is older and so mobile). It's awkward, because this is the house we've been renting since last fall, so now we're worried that he'll be angry and decide to kick us out. Like yours, this house is a mess and needs a lot of little issues (and a few big safety ones) resolved. We don't believe in being obnoxious about unnecessary repairs, but even that has come back to bite us. And, similar to your situation, though he's not a relative, the owner left his junk here, too. Half of the garage and the storage shed are filled with stuff that he agreed to move out when we first signed the lease. He doesn't want to fix anything, so unless he can lower his asking price to meet our new price (very unlikely), we're out of luck. On the other hand, maybe it'll be good to move again. I don't think I can live in a house for sale with a toddler much longer - it's impossible to keep it realtor clean!

 

[mom2pirateNpooh]

Still no email or brochures from the Realtor. I emailed him on Monday advising him we needed more for the box on the sign. I hope this isnt a sign that he thinks it is hopeless and doesnt want to spend the money on colored brochures. I am going to try emailing again and suggesting, once again that we offer some sort of incentive about the updating or help with closing costs.

Momtopirate....so sorry to hear of all your troubles with selling your home. It is so frustrating.

Thanks, Chris2597. If it's any consolation, most of the houses in our area (both where our home is listed and where we've moved) are sporting black-and-white brochures these days. Some have colored brochures available inside but not in the box - even new listings. Perhaps it's just another manifestation of the current market?

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Our townhouse listing expires at the end of this week, and we haven't decided exactly what to do yet. No surprise that it hasn't sold yet, since things really aren't moving in our area. But it is still kind of depressing considering we've had the place for over 7 years, are expecting to walk away with nothing, having put in around $10K in improvements over the years.

We're considering the following options:

1. Extending our listing with our realtor

2. For Sale By Owner - this may be our best bet since we're willing to sell as cheaply as possible as long as we don't have to pay anything at closing. I'm just worried about having to "show" the house myself...is that safe?

3. Take it off the market for a while, spend about $8K to redo the kitchen (which is outdated but in good condition, new appliances, just needs cabinets and countertops), other cosmetics. Relist after a few months -- - but when we relist, we would lose our super low price advantage. We're listed at 129K, most other comparable townhouse units are 148K and above. BUT if we end up not being able to sell for a while, at least our kitchen would be updated and nicer to look at LOL

Anyone have any input?

Hmmmmm.....when do you have to move? Obviously updating the kitchen *might* yield you a higher price. This economy is scary so hard to say.

It certainly will help sell it.

Feb. begins the selling season and you have until before April 15th to get it sold.

When did you put it on the market?

 

[Chris2597]

I finally got an email from our Realtor....he apologized for not "getting back to me". He said he was at a Realtor conference last week and while there his car was stolen. He said he delivered more color brochures to the house....My dh is sure that the house will eventually sell and he thinks we should just plug along, doing things along the way to make the house more marketable. We have the luxury of doing this since we dont have a mortgage payment on it....but it is still expensive with homeowner insurance, utitility bills. I have an appt with a handyman on Fri to give me an estimate for removing the wallpaper from the bathrooms and kitchen and repairing the roller on the closet doors.

 

[minniecarousel]

It's a tough time to be selling a house. The house across the street from us sold after being on the market for only 2 months. I haven't heard the final selling price, but the asking price was several $100,000 less than houses in this neighborhood went for a year ago.

Good luck to all of you.

 

[Chris2597]

Well..... with this huge mess on Wall Street it looks like we wont be getting any buyers anytime soon:

 

[luvflorida]

Well, we dropped the price of our house AGAIN. We talked to our real estate agent about doing a FSBO, or something similar, when our contract is up next month. Then my husband told her that we'd drop the price another $15,000 if she dropped her commission from 6% to 5%. She agreed, so as of today our house has gone from $449,000. to $409,000. It is priced well below comparable houses, but we just want to sell the darn thing!

She's also holding two more open houses (not that they've attracted any interest before) and she's putting a lock box (I think that's what it's called) on the house. I guess it's easier to show the house at a moment's notice with the lock box on it. Since the house is empty, that's fine with us.

 

[Chris2597]

OMG....luvflorida......I bet that hurt coming down that much. I hope the house gets moving soon. My inlaws live in Jupiter Fl and they said that things are moving a little better in the last few weeks.

I sent my realtor another email today. A little history....3 weeks ago i emailed him that we were out of brochures in the box by the sign (i dont live in the house). No response for a week. I emailed again asking why i hadnt heard from him and asking again for brochures. I also had some questions about some homes that have either sold or been taken off the market in the neighborhood (MLS showed 11 homes last month, now there are only 6 on the market). He finally wrote back saying he had delivered brochures to the box and had also put some in the house. I went to the house no brochures anywhere. I emailed him again asking about the brochures. I also advised him that we were either going to do additional updates to the house or offer an update or closing cost $$$$ to a buyer. No response since last Tues....So today I emailed him and told him I expected a response in a timely manner and that dh and I are considering removing the house from the listing. I am waiting for a call or email but nothing so far. If we dont hear from him by tomorrow I will cancel our contract with him. Thankfully DH's company set us up through their moving program with this real estate company and one of the perks of DH's company overseeing it is we can cancel the contract at any time.

 

[mom2pirateNpooh]

Once again, we've had a potential buyer walk away mid-escrow. They didn't even wait for the results of their latest inspection (which came out fine), just bailed. This gets more frustrating every day.

I read an article today that said housing prices will probably keep falling for another 6 months or more. Great....

Chris2597, it sure sounds like you need a new realtor. We had one like that with a previous house we sold - he was so unresponsive we cancelled the contract and found a new realtor. A few months later we received a brochure from the first realtor. He'd decided to change professions, and had been working on that the entire time we were under contract with him! Oh - and he became a financial planner and wanted our business.

Luvflorida, good luck with your new price. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that that will bring in some interested buyers.