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I hope I never need to sell another house. It's a pain. It's just me now, kids are grown and gone, husband is dead. Cleaning out 30 years accumulation of stuff was bad enough; selling the house itself is such a pain. Salvation Army made 2 pick ups. How did we end up with so much furniture?
My home inspection was completed today. I left. I didn't want to be there when 3 perfect strangers went thru my house examining it minutely to determine how much it is worth.
The first day it was listed, I had 6 people come thru. I had already removed valuables, put jewelry and such in the trunk of the car. Just a precaution. Then, I made sure I wasn't there. I really didn't want to hear negative comments about a home that had such wonderful memories for me. Since then, there has been a steady stream of people. At least one person each day. Each time, I left. I think I have read all the magazines at our branch of the library!
And, oh my goodness, the paperwork. One page of nothing but questions about any defects. I don't know if there is a cavity under my slab (I can't exactly lift it and look!). I don't know if my footings are still level. Termites . . . that I could answer. I have always had a termite service. The pages that did not require a signature required an initial.
Then were was the well inspection and testing; then septic system inspection. I have accepted an offer and I hope that this is it.
Get ready kids - Mom is coming for a visit. . . . to each of you. I expect you to wine, dine and entertain me to help me get over this trauma.
Selling sucks for the most part except the relief in knowing you've passed off a great home to another family that will love it.
Showings always feel so creepy. We always made sure to leave and it would feel odd to return knowing people had been through the house. The worst was any negative feedback. We got such odd comments like...."want a bigger yard, when our house was on a acre and they could see that on the listing. The suspense after each showing wondering if anyone would make a offer and wondering why people didn't fall in love with the house instantly. We sat on the market for 4 months with nada.
I never expected the buyers who bought mine. We were driving up after the showing and they were still there...I saw this elderly couple having trouble getting down my front steps and I thought "oh no way are they going to want this house (3 story) and they bought it!!! I still can't believe it and feel sorry for them to maintain such a big home and yard but I was thrilled to have it sold ...but if im honest I do miss it a little now.
We also got rid of countless items to charity, friends and two dumpsters of things. Was a wakeup call to never collect crap again and we didn't even think we had that much.
Hang in there.....prepare to get a little sad about three months after life settles down again....take pics of the house and embrace your new adventure ! Good luck.
"The worst was any negative feedback. We got such odd comments like...."want a bigger yard, when our house was on a acre and they could see that on the listing." How were you getting this feedback?
"The worst was any negative feedback. We got such odd comments like...."want a bigger yard, when our house was on a acre and they could see that on the listing." How were you getting this feedback?
Yes, tell me about it. We have a backyard that is heavily treed, not a flat open yard like people apparently want. Thus we were careful to put lots of pictures of it in the listing. Still, tons of comments about the backyard being inadequate. My favorite was one that complained that it was not big enough for the hockey rink they wanted to install.
"The worst was any negative feedback. We got such odd comments like...."want a bigger yard, when our house was on a acre and they could see that on the listing." How were you getting this feedback?
Everything is online and technological now, including your own personal account through your Realty that allows you to see comments from the agents that are showing your property.
A necessary evil at some point but one I do not wish on anyone. Lucky are those that put the house on the market and receive multiple offers immediately but those same lucky ones must question in the back of their mind's whether they priced their nest too low.
It is just a miserable experience- the mad dash cleanings because someone wants to see the house in 20 minutes, the no shows, the families with little kids that run around your house like animals, jumping on furniture etc. and of course the feedback comments that some are enlightening and helpful and other's that are just plain ridiculous. Trying to find my dream house now so that then when the time comes to sell I'll either be dead or too old and senile to care.
We were dreading selling our house in Florida. It needed loads of updating and we had pretty much figured that we would bite the bullet and sell to a flipper. Then last summer when I was out walking, one of our neighbors up the street stopped me and asked if we were still thinking of moving. When I said yes, he said not to list the house when we were ready as he wanted to buy it for his son. He said not to update anything as they would work on it together when we left.
So in November when we were getting close, I paid for an appraisal and also got offers from a couple of flippers, to get a bottom price wise. We got together and we offered to sell to him at what we though was a fair price and he said yes. We closed in January with it stated in the contract that we had until March 31 to vacate and if we needed, we could stay three months longer by paying rent. We might have been able to get a bit of a better price on the market, but we figured that with no realtor fee and the free living time, we did OK. Sure was better than going with the flippers as their best offer was $34k less than what we sold it for.
All in all, we got lucky as our previous home took two years to sell and for the last year we were not living in it, just paying the mortgage. Hopefully we are finished with the house selling as through the years it has been a royal pain in the posterior. Though maybe, if the right house came up for sale on a couple of acres up on the Plateau . . . . . .
I hope I never need to sell another house. It's a pain. It's just me now, kids are grown and gone, husband is dead. Cleaning out 30 years accumulation of stuff was bad enough; selling the house itself is such a pain. Salvation Army made 2 pick ups. How did we end up with so much furniture?
My home inspection was completed today. I left. I didn't want to be there when 3 perfect strangers went thru my house examining it minutely to determine how much it is worth.
The first day it was listed, I had 6 people come thru. I had already removed valuables, put jewelry and such in the trunk of the car. Just a precaution. Then, I made sure I wasn't there. I really didn't want to hear negative comments about a home that had such wonderful memories for me. Since then, there has been a steady stream of people. At least one person each day. Each time, I left. I think I have read all the magazines at our branch of the library!
And, oh my goodness, the paperwork. One page of nothing but questions about any defects. I don't know if there is a cavity under my slab (I can't exactly lift it and look!). I don't know if my footings are still level. Termites . . . that I could answer. I have always had a termite service. The pages that did not require a signature required an initial.
Then were was the well inspection and testing; then septic system inspection. I have accepted an offer and I hope that this is it.
Get ready kids - Mom is coming for a visit. . . . to each of you. I expect you to wine, dine and entertain me to help me get over this trauma.
To be honest this sounds less of an issue with selling a house and more of a series of painful events in your life. Selling a house is like selling a car or any other financial transaction just with more $$, paperwork, and PITA.
Losing a husband, throwing away/donating your belongings, and leaving your family home with all those memories I can imagine is a very painful and personal psychological process.
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