we just put our house on the market here in CT

[Karen and Jim]

Originally Posted by joeyddog

We've had our house on the market since the end of August, had a few interested lookers but no offers. After this weekend's storm, we now have a hole in our roof with insulation hanging down from our cathedral ceiling, a crushed deck and outdoor furniture and virtually no landscaping left in our yard due to trees falling all over. Not exactly in marketable condition right now

Joeydog, we're sooooo sorry to hear about the storm damage, ESPECIALLY to your poor HOUSE! Jim is STILL cleaning up OUR yard also, but it looks like bombs went off....what a MESS! We, unbelievably, had a "looker" on Wednesday, and they never even mentioned the 2.5 acres of disaster.....so odd! Good luck to ALL of us trying to sell our homes!

[loves2read]

hope everyone has suitable insurance to help cover the costs

[joeyddog]

Thanks for the support. No one was hurt. The bright side is we've got insurance, we got to spend 3 days in a hotel, a mini vacation. Also will probably get a new deck which should make the house more marketable.

Karen and Jim, I know you've been trying for a while- let's hope your luck improves. Maybe the crazy person who came after the storm will buy.

[ecam222]

I too have always preferred to look at a home while it is completely empty. To me, that is the best way to assess the home, which, supposedly, (not so sure anymore) should be my biggest investment. I'm one of those people who has no problem with envisioning how it could look. I feel sorry for those who can't. Aside from that, I mainly wanted to say that if you are trying to sell your home with your furniture in it, I would encourage you to declutter, at the very least! I would even go so far as to spend a small amount of money to rent a truck and haul things to a storage unit to keep out of sight. When I was in the market for a home in the early 90's in CA, I must have gone into a hundred homes over a five year period (I know...that was when I was in the market to buy with someone else, which made decision making more difficult...never again). Anyway, I was amazed at how many people left laundry on the floor and the house untidy. Still, even a home that is furnished and uncluttered, cleanliness is very important. I know that most people know this already, but I'm just stating my experience. Oh, one more thing. When I had my home on the market last year in PA, I didn't get any interest in the first month at all. Just when I decided to change the color of the front door, a relative called and told me she "heard a voice" tell her "twice"..."Tell Elaine to paint the door red." Ok, so I hated that dark green door anyway, so by the next day, that door was red and on it, I placed a solid brass door knocker (a gift from same relative) and a 'brass-looking' kick-plate. I then gave the real estate agent the new pictures of the front of the house and lo and behold, there was an offer in about a week or so and the house was sold. My relative takes the credit and I am happy to give it to her.