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Sorry i've not been back. Thanks for the concern. Every day it's something new.
Had the home inspection and have a few things to have fixed. More money.
Just was re-reading my booklet from my agent and looking at the settlement page. RE: taxes.
I had neglected NJ's "exit tax." They may not call it that - but if i've figured right, you pay a 2% tax at settlement on the ENTIRE selling price. No matter if you are a resident, non-resident, selling a primary home of 23 yrs that you did NOT make $250K on (me!), etc. Then you file your return next year and hope to get money back. Well, that doesnt help me. That takes almost $4K away from money to buy my next house. Every dollar is important to me.
It's just been a rough few weeks.
Yes we are packing, but we await the septic and water tests, as they have to be done within 30 days of settlement (after 2/16). Septics are worrisome nowadays. The house in Maine I was going to bid on had pipes burst since we had seen it (it's rented and supposedly the tenants were out of town during a cold spell), so my agent there will be able to get in and take pics of the repairs and cosmetic fixes on 2/16. If it still looks good to me i will bid. If they don't accept, i'll try another. I have a couple that i can try that we've been in, before we will have to make a trip up and look at houses that we did not see last year on our trip.
My husband had a Cardiologist appt. and it went well So that is good news.
I feel like i should be more excited, but the repairs etc. eat away into my small savings every day.
Then there will be the moving van, and repairs i need to get done to my truck first. Not trying to be a downer, as some days when we are packing boxes we get excited! This has been a lifelong dream... i keep trying to remember - "think of what could go right."
Will keep you updated.
We had same issue, I've known a few people that give a relative in NJ address as their forwarding to avoid this, I wasn't comfortable with that so just sucked it up.
Sorry i've not been back. Thanks for the concern. Every day it's something new.
Had the home inspection and have a few things to have fixed. More money.
Just was re-reading my booklet from my agent and looking at the settlement page. RE: taxes.
I had neglected NJ's "exit tax." They may not call it that - but if i've figured right, you pay a 2% tax at settlement on the ENTIRE selling price. No matter if you are a resident, non-resident, selling a primary home of 23 yrs that you did NOT make $250K on (me!), etc. Then you file your return next year and hope to get money back. Well, that doesnt help me. That takes almost $4K away from money to buy my next house. Every dollar is important to me.
It's just been a rough few weeks.
Yes we are packing, but we await the septic and water tests, as they have to be done within 30 days of settlement (after 2/16). Septics are worrisome nowadays. The house in Maine I was going to bid on had pipes burst since we had seen it (it's rented and supposedly the tenants were out of town during a cold spell), so my agent there will be able to get in and take pics of the repairs and cosmetic fixes on 2/16. If it still looks good to me i will bid. If they don't accept, i'll try another. I have a couple that i can try that we've been in, before we will have to make a trip up and look at houses that we did not see last year on our trip.
My husband had a Cardiologist appt. and it went well So that is good news.
I feel like i should be more excited, but the repairs etc. eat away into my small savings every day.
Then there will be the moving van, and repairs i need to get done to my truck first. Not trying to be a downer, as some days when we are packing boxes we get excited! This has been a lifelong dream... i keep trying to remember - "think of what could go right."
Will keep you updated.
Get rid of everything you don't plan on using in Maine, donate, try to sell on sites like offer up, you would be surprised what people buy. I had a very old bedroom set, wood and we were stressing over how to get it to the dump, my daughter put it for sale on offer up and some lady from Brazil bought it for $200 bucks as she buys stuff like this and when she has a full container ships it to Brazil. That was found money, we didn't have the task of getting it into my husband's pick up and getting to dump because even charities like Salvation Army are picky in what they will take.
Get rid of everything you don't plan on using in Maine, donate, try to sell on sites like offer up, you would be surprised what people buy. I had a very old bedroom set, wood and we were stressing over how to get it to the dump, my daughter put it for sale on offer up and some lady from Brazil bought it for $200 bucks as she buys stuff like this and when she has a full container ships it to Brazil. That was found money, we didn't have the task of getting it into my husband's pick up and getting to dump because even charities like Salvation Army are picky in what they will take.
Agree! Less to move costs less, and if you can sell things, that will help make up some of that exit tax, and that way, when you get your refund next year, it will be "extra" money.
We are not taking a lot of furniture, so we can get a van that is not too big. We do have quite a few boxes.
We will furnish the house as we go along, taking the bedroom set as it is reasonably new. Two large, comfy chairs, kitchen table set, dining room table set, and of course 2 big TVs. Trying to figure what size truck will work. My husband also has a large riding mower and trailer, and his old pickup truck which i think we will come back for at a later date, and tow.
Appraisers are human, but they should be fairly well experienced "big picture" people, who should not be overly distracted by the evidence of people who are moving.
The assessor will be applying a value judgment to the ~condition~ of your home versus the other comps, so I wouldn't want floors and walls look filthy or smelly in a way that might suggest ~damage~, but beyond that, I would not worry about boxes and partly packed up rooms... Just make sure they can get into all the spaces they need to see, including utilities, panels and crawlspaces.
Appraisers are human, but they should be fairly well experienced "big picture" people, who should not be overly distracted by the evidence of people who are moving.
The assessor will be applying a value judgment to the ~condition~ of your home versus the other comps, so I wouldn't want floors and walls look filthy or smelly in a way that might suggest ~damage~, but beyond that, I would not worry about boxes and partly packed up rooms... Just make sure they can get into all the spaces they need to see, including utilities, panels and crawlspaces.
Good luck!
Thanks. Yes, we still clean up - but boxes are stacked. And yes i had looked up what they needed to get to to be sure they can.
Stacked moving boxes are fine. As long as your house is generally clean and well maintained (the way it clearly was in your listing photos), it will be fine.
But I understand, it is still a little nerve wracking to wait to be sure that the appraisal is fine.
Update: Making the fixes that the home inspection person and agents said i need to.
Packing etc.
Trying not to stress, and trying to enjoy the excitement of moving soon to where we have wanted to live for so long.
Every day is phone calls, emails, and packing. But things are still moving along on both ends. I now have to see what things can be fixed at the other house by the seller. Or maybe i will get money at closing to do some of them. Just got the report today.
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So that is good news.
