We met with a realtor last night.
She came to our house and walked through it with us, taking notes and pointing out things that would be appealing to a buyer. It was a nervous experience. It seemed as though every little ding and scuff jumped right out at me. I was noticing more dust and clutter than I hoped to. In my mind, I was thinking, "how on EARTH are we going to pack up all of this stuff??"
So, what did she say about our house? She liked it and thought it would be appealing to buyers! She pointed out a couple of drawbacks; one-car garage, only 1½ bathrooms. She suggested that along with getting our ceiling repaired in the family room (on our to-do list since 2007) only some minor touch-ups would be needed. She also thought it possible to get our house on the market in MARCH!?!? As in the month following this one. As in less than three weeks away. As in, "Not a chance!" March. Wow. Overwhelming. But, I do find it reasonable to have it on the market by summer. We are busy people. It is not going to be easy to find extra time to get things done. I'm going to try as hard as I can to do it, but slow and steady wins the race. We are in no rush to move. Having said that, I also understand that the market is great for buyers right now and if we were to sell, we would be able to move to the area we want and possibly afford a house that we might not otherwise. It's definitely a lot to think about!
Advice time! I want to know what you did to sell your house faster. What was appealing to you as a buyer? I'm sure you all have seen pretty much the entire inside of my house from the photos on my blog... What do you like/dislike? I won't be offended, I promise. I'll just go over to your blog and bash your house ;o) Seriously, Mike and I have lived in our house for almost five years. We don't notice the flaws anymore because they are so much a part of our daily lives. I want to know! In the meantime, I think that if I pack up one or two boxes a night, I'll start to feel better. I think that if I box up all of the stuff that we don't really use on a daily basis, our house will look bigger. I think that if I pick through our house, one room at a time, I will be more focused. I also think that if I hire a stand-in wife/mom, I will be able to get all of this done faster! Any takers?
I want to be the stand in mom!!
ReplyDeleteAnd my offer stands....move closer to me and I take the girls every other night...overnight....supper and bath....
If I remember correctly, you always told me, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!" Oh, how that came back to bite you ;o)
ReplyDeleteWatch "Sell this house" on HDTV for pointers on how to make the spaces in your home appear bigger. Also have your friends come over and pretend like they are potential buyers...see what they say maybe that can help you see what you need to remove from the rooms to make them appear bigger.
ReplyDeleteI have no advice on how to sell a house. I do know if you are very busy, it will make the sale/buying/move very stressful. We moved when Jack was a tiny baby. It was a lot of work and a lot of stress. I had a friend move in the summer, she started packing now, cleaning walls and anything else to make it easier. She did a little at a time.
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