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Old 01-29-2008, 11:30 AM
 
10 posts, read 48,930 times
Reputation: 16

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Hi! My husband and I are considering selling our home and we're looking for advice. A little about us - we've have a 4 bedroom 1900 square foot home in an established Chesapeake neighborhood - Grassfield school district.

I hear all the horror stories, but I also know our market is different than a lot of others. I want to put the home on the market now, but my husband wants to wait until spring time/summer time.

This is our first time trying to sell, so any advice is appreciated!
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Old 01-29-2008, 12:59 PM
 
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
2,124 posts, read 8,840,120 times
Reputation: 818
Sawmill, I know your neighborhood : ) If you are where I think you are.... I have had listings there. Currently there are 18 houses for sale in that neighborhood. If it were my house, I would be putting my house on the market after the Super bowl, but before the end of Feb. The navy is handing out orders now, and the folks that may buy your property are planning their trips in for March. I wouldn't want to see you miss out on that early spring business.

IF there is anything I can do for you, please feel free to send me a direct message. thanks,

Shelly
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Old 01-29-2008, 01:18 PM
 
841 posts, read 4,838,833 times
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Default Just sold our home in the Grassfield area

Hi Sawmill,
We just sold our home in the Grassfield area (Ships Crossing subdivision) off Moses Grandy Trail. It was on the market for only 32 days! We had a 4 bedroom 2 1/2 bath home about 2200 square feet. We put it on the market a couple of days before Thanksgiving and had a full price offer the weekend before Christmas. We had a lot of prospective buyers come through our house during the holiday season...much more than I thought we'd get. The house closed two weeks ago and it's done with!
We did do some things to stage it correctly. Knowing we'd put the house on the market in the fall, back in the summer of 2007 we replaced carpet in the dining room, stairs, upstairs hallway, and one of the bedrooms. We painted the hallways and one of the bedrooms and master bathroom. We added a bunch of pansies to the front yard, and other little projects.
Also, about a month before we put the house on the market, we rented a storage unit and put all of our clutter in there (extra furniture that junked up the house, nic nacs, linens, china, crystal, toys, books, etc.).
Once the house was on the market for two weeks and we got feedback from buyers, we replaced the fridge and oven/stove with stainless steel appliances. Our house had a full price offer within two weeks. I kept the house immaculate and cleaned like a crazy person before each showing...not easy with two small kids and two dogs. I also packed up the dogs and put them in my car with me, and never let them be in the house during a showing.
Good luck to you. Selling a house in this market CAN be done! We were lucky.
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Old 01-29-2008, 02:15 PM
 
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
2,124 posts, read 8,840,120 times
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Summers, Good Job!! I wish all my sellers were like you. What a dream. and it paid off, didn't it?

Shelly
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Old 01-29-2008, 11:12 PM
 
10 posts, read 48,930 times
Reputation: 16
Thanks for the advice everyone! I noticed there were plenty of houses in our neighborhood for sale. What is typical with regards to paying closing costs on a house just north of 300k? And with all the mortgage company horror stories out there, are there any types of loans we should be wary of?
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Old 01-30-2008, 06:26 AM
 
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
2,124 posts, read 8,840,120 times
Reputation: 818
Saw, right now it is very typical for the sellers to pay closing costs. Especially on that price range.... You will see that buyers expect that, or at least that off the price. There are good mortgages out there... I don't like to see "internet" type loan approvals. i like local lenders.

shelly
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Old 02-15-2008, 10:21 AM
 
78 posts, read 224,998 times
Reputation: 21
This post gives me hope because I have been antsy about putting my house on the market. My husband and I want to move south. We decided last February and have been getting the house ready with renovating just about every room in the house. We are finally ready to put the house on the market March 1st. We had a realtor come in and presented us with some comps. He had a negative additude and I showed him the door feeling that FSBO may not be so bad! I am in Hampton and have a nice home on a cul-de-sac with a big backyard and front yard. The home is almost 2000 sq feet with four bedrooms and 21/2 baths. Its near the military base. I need to keep almost all my equity to move but know that's not realistic in the market. I am hoping the market pick up now that we're heading into Spring! Any additional advice anyone can give me would be most appreciative
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Old 02-15-2008, 02:50 PM
 
Location: Northern VA
798 posts, read 2,727,763 times
Reputation: 354
I would test the waters as soon as possible and post it on militarybyowner.com It seems to be a very popluar site with military members getting ready to head to a new assignment.
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Old 02-15-2008, 03:27 PM
 
Location: Wherabouts Unknown!
7,841 posts, read 18,993,025 times
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I imagine that the market has softened since we sold our Va Bch home in May '06. We received a full price offer with no contingencies 2 days after it was listed. We paid no closing costs...back then. Price range...$330K for 1360 sq ft in Great Neck Estates.

On the flip side, we moved to Grand Junction, CO where we made a full price offer on a home the first day it was listed. We moved into a much nicer neighborhood than Great Neck Estates and bought a much nicer, newer, and more spacious home ( just under 2000 sf with another 850 sf of unfinished basement ) in the low $300's. Since this is currently the #3 market in the US for Real estate appreciation, it has appreciated in value significantly since we purchased it in Sept '06. Good luck with your transaction.

ALthough we made out really well with our real estate transactions, we're both earning less on similar jobs, but our overall quality of life has improved significantly with the relocation.

May the sale of your home and the purchase of your next home be as advantageous and smooth as ours.
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Old 02-19-2008, 07:49 AM
 
5 posts, read 31,306 times
Reputation: 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by shellytc View Post
Saw, right now it is very typical for the sellers to pay closing costs. Especially on that price range.... You will see that buyers expect that, or at least that off the price. There are good mortgages out there... I don't like to see "internet" type loan approvals. i like local lenders.

shelly
Shelly since you brought it up, what is the big deal about wanting to see local lenders? This almost made me walk away from a house when I was making an offer. The real estate agent, not the seller insisted on seeing a "local lender". They didn't explain why.

Since I was moving from NJ I was not going to have a local lender, and there was no way that anyone will dictate to me where I conduct business. I came to the table with a prequalification letter of more than 90% of the house value, and was putting down 75% in cash needing only a very small amount of the offer. The seller's real estate screamed bloody murder that we needed to have a local lender and it wasn't until I told her "fine, tell the sellers that you blew the deal because we are walking" that she began cooperating.

Incidentally, the sellers were clueless of the issue and didn't particularly care where we got financing. Is this unique or do all Hampton Roads agents take broad liberties?
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