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A house with cats or dogs was a turn of when we looked at houses.
People proclaim................" pets are equal family members"
My reply is....................." are they allowed in the supermarket while shopping or in the church on Sunday?"
Kids are !
I'm actually turned off when looking at a house full of kids toys, rooms decorated with kid stuff, yards torn up by playground equipment, etc. That mural of baseball might be good for the current owner's kid, but all I see is work to remove it.
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Teddy, I'm not sure of your point. If you don't like pets then don't own them, plain and simple. People say that pets are THEIR family members. That doesn't translate to pets being in the grocery store or church. What a weird example.
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I have a "this has to change this week" meeting with my realtor tomorrow and I plan on letting him know that I no longer want my house to be used to generate traffic that is not serious.
I will be the first to admit that I'm leery of realtors. I hate the whole notion that they are working for you, they want you to buy the right house, they want you to sell your house as quickly as possible, they are your buddy who is looking out for you, etc. A realtor is looking out for their commission. That's it. As a rule, I never fully trust anyone who is working on commission. It's a good rule of thumb in life.
I have a couple of realtors in the family and I'm friends with one. Realtors don't make their money from sellers. They make their money from buyers. It does't matter how many people are selling. It's the buyers who put money in their pocket. So realtors will often have the mentality of "throw it against the wall and see what sticks." As in, bring as many people to your house as possible. Maybe one of them will buy and then to you, it appears they are doing their job. "Look at all of these showings I got you! If the house isn't selling it's your fault."
I looked at many houses over the years as a buyer. I saw many homes where it was clear the sellers were motivated, wanted to sell quickly and that they wanted preapproved serious buyers only. Honestly, these were my favorite homes to see. I bought my current house that way. Give me the sellers that are hardcore about leaving. They are most likely to negotitate price, convey their appliances, give some cash back for repairs. What I hated were the sellers who really didn't care if they sold or not. They just put an exorbitant price on their home and weren't willing to budge on anything. You are the kind of seller that a SERIOUS buyer like me wanted. The nitpicky people are not serious. Or they are serious buyers who are still new to looking. They want the fully updated house on the foreclosure budget. Eventually they realize how ridiculous they are being but in the meantime, they are the worst people to have coming through your house because they pick on everything and it makes a seller crazy.
So don't feel bad telling your realtor to let the agent of potential buyers know that you are motivated and want serious inquiries only. Hopefully this will drive away some of the lookie loos.
When you move out in a couple weeks and the house is empty, hire someone to come in and clean it really good. I know people say empty houses are harder to sell but I LOVED empty homes. The staged homes make things hard to see. The empty homes showed me all of the flooring, the walls, if there were holes, if there were smells. An empty house gives you the idea of a true house. Staged homes can hide too much. BUT there were two kinds of empty homes......the kind where everything was spotless and shiny and it felt like I was walking into a new construction and the kind where it was really 95% empty and there were random things left behind. One house had old curtains in a few of the rooms, bare windows in another, some broken kids' toys, some older furniture they didn't want, random ugly pictures on the wall and tons and tons of dirt and dust. You could tell they moved out, left the crap behind they didn't want and never cleaned. These types of homes were really the least appealing. I felt like I'd be moving into someone else's mess.
So when your house is empty, just hire a cleaner to scrub the sinks and toilets, countertops, wash the floors, leave everything smelling clean and fresh. And make sure that it's truly empty. Don't use the house as the dumping ground for things you don't want to take with you. Not that you'd do this but I had to throw that out there!
Best of luck!
Teddy, I'm not sure of your point. If you don't like pets then don't own them, plain and simple. People say that pets are THEIR family members. That doesn't translate to pets being in the grocery store or church. What a weird example.
That example is actually why I refuse to get into a debate about pets with people. It is beginning to sound irrational. Don't want pets? Nobody is forcing you to have them. Unless you are dealing with a seller who is insane/heartless/whatever, those animals won't be there when they are gone. If you are allergic, pop a Clariton before you go house hunting.
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The nitpicky people are not serious. Or they are serious buyers who are still new to looking. They want the fully updated house on the foreclosure budget. Eventually they realize how ridiculous they are being but in the meantime, they are the worst people to have coming through your house because they pick on everything and it makes a seller crazy.
I'm wondering if the upcoming holiday season will scare off the nit pickers. We were originally advised to take the home off the market on November 1, but I'm thinking that the limited inventory would work in our favor + a buyer who wants to buy rather than look would be more common during Nov-Dec.
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One house had old curtains in a few of the rooms, bare windows in another, some broken kids' toys, some older furniture they didn't want, random ugly pictures on the wall and tons and tons of dirt and dust. You could tell they moved out, left the crap behind they didn't want and never cleaned. These types of homes were really the least appealing. I felt like I'd be moving into someone else's mess.
I bought that house once. It was not fun and I would never do it to someone else. The worst was the house that I found 15 old car batteries in the basement that I had to call someone to remove. You can't just throw that down on the curb for the garbage man. Thanks for leaving me your mess....
The only thing I may leave behind is a bar in the basement. We hand built it out of mahogany and it is a lovely piece. But we built it in the basement and unless the mover is exceptionally skilled, it isn't fitting through the stairway. If that stays, it's a gift to a future owner.
The bar in the basement sounds nice. Leaving behind nice things is a great idea. In fact, another pet peeve were sellers who wouldn't convey any appliances. Nothing like moving into a house and then having to buy a fridge, stove, washer and dryer. We were moving from out of state and had to wait until we were in the house before we could get appliances. So leave the good stuff, but take the crap, lol.
Definitely leave your house on the market over the holidays. The people looking in Nov/Dec are the real serious buyers. There is less traffic but as you can see, traffic is not helpful. You want one good buyer. And since so many people take their house off the market for the holidays, you have even less competition. Sometimes people have no choice but to move around the holidays since they move for work or they had to wait until their own house was sold. It happens. We closed on our current house December 30th. You have nothing to gain by pulling an empty house off the market for the holidays. Just make sure that there is heat going so if there is a showing, people aren't walking through a cold, empty house. That is if you live in a colder climate.
I'm wondering if the upcoming holiday season will scare off the nit pickers. We were originally advised to take the home off the market on November 1, but I'm thinking that the limited inventory would work in our favor + a buyer who wants to buy rather than look would be more common during Nov-Dec.
Two of my houses closed in December, one Dec 16 and one Dec 20. Not EVERYONE drops what they are doing during the holiday season. I wouldn't take it off the market. It wouldn't hurt to just leave it listed IMO.
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great thread! i feel your pain and i find the advice and experience people like ella tea, the lonelygoatherd, etal is right on.
it is a hassle to get ready for a showing, it takes time and energy. i'm lucky to work nearby and have a flexible work schedule, so i take the gates down take the dogs for a drive turn on all the lights music and put away the clutter, and i am just getting frustrated with the useless feedback. i am not going to justify nor explain here that my house is priced right, staged perfectly yada yada yada. it just is taking longer for homes in my area to sell and lack of a good agent who is aggressive and who has buyers for my home. i have 2 -3 showings every week. i am hoping with new price reduction, patio repair, and successful open house, that October will be my month. and if not i will keep it on the market until it sells but with a different agent. buyers need to be realistic, not just sellers.
We got an offer! It was completely ridiculous and borderline insulting, but I'm dancing with joy right now. It's an investor who wants to pay cash, so doubt we'll get much negotiation. We won't be accepting if they don't move up.
Anyhow, this is a good sign. I was beginning to think something was so wrong with my house that nobody had the heart to tell me!
I have no facts to prove what I am about to say other then experience. The selling price will probably be between what the investor offered and what you are presently listed at.
One wants $250K, Investor offers $200K. I will bet the eventual sale price will be about $225K. It might even work out to a %. Investor offering 20% less. Eventual sale price 10% off where it is now.
If he would meet me in he middle between what he's offering and what we're asking, I'll gladly accept (especially since he didn't write in a 42" Thermidor stove in his offer, I'll gladly take it with me!)
Waiting for my husband to review.
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