What would you fix before putting a house on the market?

[herdtoDisney]

I was reading this thread because I have purchased 2 foreclosures (not on purpose! this last time I wanted NEW, hahaha yeah right, luv my home now though) but I got stuck on the part about the condition of the inside.

Even with 7 people in the house, it should not be all moldy and dirty. I have 7 in my family also and we simply don't allow things to get that bad, or anywhere near that. That is long term neglect. That house is only 9 years old! Here, that is practically new.
Your choice is either to get some bleach water and cleaner and scrub everything down yourself, or get out of that mess and live an orderly life. No one is going to buy that house in that shape. My 50-some odd year old foreclosure was that bad , which we called trashed. No way did I pay market price for it, not even close, and it was on the market for a couple years. And I live in a stable market.

Look, from what I read, these people in that house aren't going to do anything to help themselves and if you put your own $ and effort into it, it will not benefit you at all. They don't care, or else they would not have let it get to this point. Unless you like living like this, you might want to cut your losses and leave. I'm not trying to be mean-it's just that I think you need to watch out for you.

 

[Swan4Me]

, \

Look, from what I read, these people in that house aren't going to do anything to help themselves and if you put your own $ and effort into it, it will not benefit you at all. They don't care, or else they would not have let it get to this point. Unless you like living like this, you might want to cut your losses and leave. I'm not trying to be mean-it's just that I think you need to watch out for you.

I dont think that will happen

People-you really need to read all the locked threads the OP has started
Its a good way to pass a rainy weekend

 

[brunette8706]

They're not willing to pay for the mortgage yet the OP has enough money to go on all these Disney trips!? I just don't get it.

I could not stand to live in "filth". No way no how. I think you sure expend your energy in fixing and cleaning the house. How can you live with mold, broken glass, no lighting (no bulbs).. Something is wrong here!

 

[ilovemk76]

I don't think there's any way that house is going to sell. Dirty + mold + broken down + no maintenance + ant problem = FORECLOSURE.

You forgot the best selling feature of the home. It comes complete with 7 leeches that you get to support.

 

[DisMN]

I haven't read the other replies and I apologize for not doing so.

My suggestion would be make sure it's well fed, has had all it's immunizations and a thorough vet check and also a good brushdown might be a good idea.


Oh.

Crap.

I was sure I read that as horse.


Sorry. Silly mood tonite.

But seriously, OP best of luck selling the house. Wish I had some suggestions but all I can come up with is the typical fix and/or replace anything that's broken, clean up the yard, fresh coat of paint, clean it like crazy...you know, very very basic common sense stuff.
Good luck!

 

[DisMN]

Oooooookey dokey then, now I've read the whole thread.

And then a few words come to mind.

Run and run away fast.

Sounds like you're living in unpleasant surroundings. Very unpleasant. And unhealthy.

Sounds like you're the only one wanting to accept responsibility, and with half a dozen others living there that's one heck of a lot of responsibility to take on alone. Wow sweetie......run away.

The whole thing just sounds like one big clusterduck.


Good luck, and I'm serious, you might just wanna run away from this one. LOL Sorry, sometimes there just is nothing you can do to help, especially when it's as bad as it sounds. I really do feel for you especially if you're feeling stuck there due to this being your boyfriends family and all.

 

[SandrA9810]

Disney trips? I'd love to be back home in Florida, walking through those gates whenever I pleased. going to Sea World and Aquatica every other afternoon.

nothing is honorable if it's stolen money.

 

[brunette8706]

Disney trips? I'd love to be back home in Florida, walking through those gates whenever I pleased. going to Sea World and Aquatica every other afternoon.

nothing is honorable if it's stolen money.

*
NOt to sound rude, but why don't you use your energy into finding a job so you can get back on your feet instead of living in squalor. Maybe instead of writing nearly 7000 posts on this DIS forum you can start looking for a job...Where are your priorities?

 

[SandrA9810]

This really isn't about "should've could've would've" stuff, or what we plan on doing in the short term future. I'm here now, and trying to figure out what I can do to help the situation.

This house has a grossness factor, but I've actually seen worse. My mom was a hoarder, with no cleaning skills at all. And the broken stuff... just learn to work around it. Not really that hard.

However, I know that as new owners of a house, they're not going to want to work around some one else's busted stuff. They're going to expect everything to be in working order.

The realtor was telling me that they'll accept lower bids, but wouldn't accept a 15-20K lower bid (like around 150k), because they'd just be wasting her time. Thinking about it now, when my aunt bought her house, she put in a 10K less offer. That house is in spectacular condition, and I think wound up with an $800 concession to fix the fireplace and a window (it wasn't broken, just foggy between the two panes). So I could see an actual buyer putting out an offer that low, and that might be the best shot. Of course, I know with a short sale, the price has to be approved by the bank.

 

[bumbershoot]

The kitchen lights went out about 8 months ago, so now you have to turn on the little light above the sink, the light above kitchen table, and the light above the fireplace to have enough light in there. There's three lights in the hallway, only one works. I've replaced them all about twice before, and two of them keep burning out. The lights in the garage don't work, the florescent have been burned out for more than a year, and the light bulbs on the door opener burn out quickly, so I keep a lamp in there for lighting. The last set of florescents in the utility room are burned out, for more than a year as well.


Ohh and she still wants him and me going to live with her...

Do you have a Costco near by? At mine, they keep running extreme specials on the new types of bulbs, which are subsidized by the local power company. Seriously good deals. Anything like that?

And if the lights have gone out more than once, in the relatively short time you've been there (it hasn't been THAT long if I recall), that's a problem. We have problems like that in our condo and in our previous rental house, both of which were worked on by our landlady's husband, an we would NEVER EVER buy one of her houses. I know he did something wrong with the wiring, and I would't be able to live with it, or all the burned out bulbs, for a lifetime or even more than a few years.


As for living with the mother who let it get like this...omg really? You're not actually considering this, are you?

RUN, SANDRA, RUN.

I agree! Sandra, you know I've generally been behind you...so this isn't anything negative against you, but get OUT of there. With or without the boyfriend, this just isn't good. Not your responsibility, not your problem....

 

[usnuzuloose]

I sold my home as a short sale, and the bank is the one that dertimines how much they will accept. I put mine on the market in june 08 it sold sept 08. We moved out but I went back everyweek maintaing everything the pool, the lawn. I cleaned everything. I made it smell wonderful. I had two people bidding and the man that bought it offered more than the bank said they wanted. He was not willing to buy a foreclosure that was in terrible shape. We were ready to sign the closing papers before we even heard from the bank if they would say it could be sold. We ended up emailing them and we got a email back saying they accepted the offer and it closed. Thats unheard of as it will take at least 6 months.

Sandra you need to think about the situation you are in. If the mother is like this, this is how the guy your with will be like. You could make all the repairs but if it is not kept up forget it. It wont happen. I believe that you have alot of things you think about for very good reason. You are to young to live like you do. I am not trying to be mean I just want to see the best for you.

 

[disneyofcourse]

I couldn't imagine living like this! You need to just find work and get out of this place. It is not healthy and just doesn't seem right. (nothing meant against you just this situation just what its become.)

 

[mdsoccermom]

I still don't understand where you, your boyfriend, and his Mother plan to live if you sell the house. Does anybody have a job? How would you pay rent? I don't know about Modesto but around here rents are going sky high as people are moving out of troubled housing and into apartments etc.

Really, wouldn't it be better for you all to just .... clean up the house .... and go get jobs and make the mortgage payment? 3 working adults (not even counting the family that has moved in) should easily be able to pay that mortgage payment and take care of a house. And replace the light bulbs. Buy a couple gallons of heavy duty cleaner, some masks, and scrub the place down. It may not be granite counter tops and whatever but there is no reason it shouldn't be clean.

It's not like you have kids to care for or anything. How is this even an issue?

Sure there is something good to say about your BF's father: Unlike everyone else surrounding this situation, he paid the bill he was supposed to pay.

So true, so true.

Sandra, you need to get a JOB. And then you need to do what millions of people do - work at that job AND take care of your house.

Please, no excuses.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

I did not read all the post so not sure if this was mention. A well manacured front lawn! Curb appearl to attrack buyers. Give the front door a fresh coat of paint. Trim bushes and flowers. Fresh mulch.

 

[powellrj]

I am sorry, but if none of you is working, how are you living? How do you buy groceries and pay utilities? If you do plan to leave, where would you go? Its been a while since you have worked at Qdoba, so I think finding a job may be hard at this point.

I think its time to have a "come to Jesus" meeting with the group and assign some responsibilities to people. Someone needs to get a job, someone needs to do home repairs and someone needs to take over the daily cleaning and that would pretty much solve all the problems.

 

[SaraJayne]

This really isn't about "should've could've would've" stuff, or what we plan on doing in the short term future. I'm here now, and trying to figure out what I can do to help the situation.

Ummm, yeah, your short term future is what "this" is about. Where are you going to live when the house sells? How are you going to support yourself? How are you going to eat?

Get a job and get the heck out of there. This house isn't your responsibility, nor is it your right to sell it.

 

[Planogirl]

Dirty can be cleaned up and it's not unusual to see a porcelain sink with some damage over time. Disposals are easy to replace. However, the lights continually burning out indicates a problem and possibly a dangerous one with wiring. I also don't understand them not fixing the broken window and door. That's just odd.

I tend to agree with the others who have suggested that you get out.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

This is the recommendation of a Realtor. She was here today to draw up the paper work and take pictures of the house. Those are the three things that need to get done, to be considered move in ready. The garage was a bit more optional than necessary.

There's a run down list of "smaller" things that need to be repaired, which for the most part I can do, like fixing the kitchen cabinets or replacing outlets that are finicky. Two bedroom doors also need be replaced. Oh and smoke detectors need to be put in. Which isn't that a law? I also think it would be best to replace all the light bulbs, most of them don't work. Plus the garbage disposal needs to be replaced.

I know things like painting the walls, replacing/cleaning the carpets, cleaning and resealing the grout are usual things most new owners do. Something about not wanting to live in some one else's dirt... don't really know how to explain it. Which might be a few hundred bucks. But I start looking at the things I wrote down, and it would kind of make me want to turn away. With all the other things that need to get done.

The house was built in 2002, original owners, tile roof, slab foundation, and stucco exterior. It's your extremely cooker cutter basic house, with really cheap parts (like the kitchen cabinet hardware).
The last thing I'm worried about is gonna come with an inspector, is this house is like an ant hill. There's trails in the walls, trails outside, massive mounds outside. Everywhere has traces of them. I've been trying to kill them with boric acid and sugar water. I'll put a bait cup out on a trail, and in a day or two, there's two more trails from other directions going after it.
I'm also concerned about the black mold in the other bedroom closet. There's also some along the ceiling in the bathroom.

I don't understand how you're living with all of this and only concerned now that it's time to sell. Most of this is basic "housekeeping & maintenance".

I'm confused on how someone lives with a busted glass door in the first place. Wouldn't it be drafty? I guess it sounds like an obvious fix after first broken.

I'm more confused on why the OP is asking about all this. I thought she was living with some guy somewhere not having bought a house. Of course its not any of my business. I'm just being nosey.

I would ask an inspector to come through with a complete list of things internal and external. To even think of being approved FHA your house has to be pretty good shape.

How can a house that is less than 10 years old be in that terrible of shape?

For me, as a buyer, I expect a 10 year old house to be in almost new condition.
Is this your house?

I agree! We have been in our 60s built house for almost 15 yrs. Since we live here, it's in much better shape than when we 1st bought it.

How can such a new home not have smoke detectors? I couldn't live that like. This whole scene just blows my mind and don't think I can read beyond the 1st page. The word "squalor" comes to mind. jmho. My house is not immaculate but we take care of it.

 

[Green Tea]

If you want to help your friend's mom, then clean the place. If you've been living rent free and not helping around the house, then you owe it to her. Cleaning supplies are cheap. Go buy some.

As for talking to realtors, investing in projects, making listing decisions, entertaining offers....it is not your house. You don't get a vote. If you want to make important decisions, you need to buy someplace of your own.

 

[krcit]

If you want to help your friend's mom, then clean the place. If you've been living rent free and not helping around the house, then you owe it to her. Cleaning supplies are cheap. Go buy some.

As for talking to realtors, investing in projects, making listing decisions, entertaining offers....it is not your house. You don't get a vote. If you want to make important decisions, you need to buy someplace of your own.