Wow, that's great, KLS. Moving right along!I had a realtor over yesterday...it went very well. I’m shooting for listing May 1. I know this is a buying a house thread but I have to sell first, lol. I will talk about condos/townhouses that we are looking at to purchase if all goes well with the sale of ours.
I have to run out now...busy day ahead. But I’ll be posting later because I have a ton of questions and hopefully you guys can give me some feedback.
Buying a House
- Thread starter AeryFairy
- Start date
One thing that's always worried me about condos or homes with home owner associations are the rules, and the HOA fees that can change. I stay away from any contract that isn't a fixed payment, with fixed terms!
I imagine much is state specific.
I’m finding this to be the case but there aren’t any houses in our price range. We found several condos/townhouses inexpensive enough that our mortgage will be fairly small, assuming we get what the realtor is predicting for our house...we will be able to do a good down payment. *fingers crossed*
I was talking to a woman I know recently and she said her two sons have just left uni and they both have a 5 year plan to live at home and save up as much as possible for mortgage deposits. I was very impressed. 
Fingers crossed. Keep us updated.
I was talking to a woman I know recently and she said her two sons have just left uni and they both have a 5 year plan to live at home and save up as much as possible for mortgage deposits. I was very impressed.
That's the way to go. It's important to get a step onto the property ladder asap. Renting is basically throwing your money away.
Worst experience ever lol. Still for sale. Will fill in some details after I’m out of bed and had some coffee.
Worst experience ever lol. Still for sale. Will fill in some details after I’m out of bed and had some coffee.
Oh no! I'm so sorry! Damn!
Oh, no, that is so disappointing.Worst experience ever lol. Still for sale. Will fill in some details after I’m out of bed and had some coffee.
It’s not THAT bad. You know I have to be a little dramatic. It’s just not what I expected, going by what the realtor led me to believe. I guess I should have known better but this is only my second experience selling a home. The last time was 24 years ago and our realtor then was more of a friend and we ended up selling to a family member.Oh, no, that is so disappointing.
The frustration comes from the house being on the market almost two months and taking the advice of the realtor when he said, don’t bother painting, people will do that themselves. Don’t worry about the basement being cluttered and not very inviting. Don’t worry about the kitchen not being remodeled...we at least were going to replace the floor and paint the cabinets but he insisted it wasn’t important. Don’t worry about the walkway. He did say we should fix the front steps, though, which we planned on doing. But then he went ahead and put it on the market with all of these “flaws” insisting we should list at $325,000. I thought the price was outrageous but a second realtor agreed on the price so we settled on $310,000. But even that was high for the issues that the house has.
Now, even though we are making improvements, I feel like we lost those first few hundred “viewers” on all of the realtor apps because it’s almost been two months now. So the fact that we refinished the bedroom floors, put in a new walkway and front steps, painted the main bedroom (still working on the second one), had the basement painted, and am currently having a new floor put in the kitchen as I type, I’ll likely not get back the potential buyers who already looked at the house online, even though we updated with new pictures and I wrote a new description because what he had written was very poorly done, even the typing/grammar part of it.
So in that respect, it’s been torture lol. I’ll live. It’s working out, actually because I didn’t want to move before my family reunion trip in August. I wouldn’t have anyone to watch my cats if I was living in a new location and that would have been a major problem. I probably would have not gone away and my daughters would most likely disown me, lol.
I’m counting on the realtor being right on something...he keeps saying May and June are “slow” because of holidays, graduations, etc. and that things will pick up after July 4. So I’m going with that.
The other disappointment was I got a call for someone to come see the house last Saturday but it was the one day that I had made plans to see family so I had to say no (I think I posted that somewhere here). That made me crazy for about half a day because I pretty much sit home every weekend hoping we will get a call for a showing.
I’m sure the house will sell at some point. My fear is the price will be considerably lower, which I could have dealt with if I went into this expecting a lower price. But to have two realtors and other people who supposedly know the market, tell me it’s worth more, kind of got my hopes up. Now I have to adjust to the fact that we’re not going to get much for it and that will make a big impact on where we end up. So it’s a pretty huge deal for me.
That pretty much sums it up, for anyone who has made it this far in reading this, lol.
I am sorry it's not working out as planned. Someone like me, who can look past decor/clutter/colors will come along and buy it. You are in a nice town. When I looked at my house initially, the basement was full practically floor to ceiling. But in my mind, I saw a nice huge basement with lots of storage, etc. There are people who want to buy expecting to do nothing. That's fine if you're having a house built, but very few houses are perfectly move-in ready, especially considering people's tastes regarding decor and whatnot. There are new people checking listings all the time, so I wouldn't worry.It’s not THAT bad. You know I have to be a little dramatic. It’s just not what I expected, going by what the realtor led me to believe. I guess I should have known better but this is only my second experience selling a home. The last time was 24 years ago and our realtor then was more of a friend and we ended up selling to a family member.
The frustration comes from the house being on the market almost two months and taking the advice of the realtor when he said, don’t bother painting, people will do that themselves. Don’t worry about the basement being cluttered and not very inviting. Don’t worry about the kitchen not being remodeled...we at least were going to replace the floor and paint the cabinets but he insisted it wasn’t important. Don’t worry about the walkway. He did say we should fix the front steps, though, which we planned on doing. But then he went ahead and put it on the market with all of these “flaws” insisting we should list at $325,000. I thought the price was outrageous but a second realtor agreed on the price so we settled on $310,000. But even that was high for the issues that the house has.
Now, even though we are making improvements, I feel like we lost those first few hundred “viewers” on all of the realtor apps because it’s almost been two months now. So the fact that we refinished the bedroom floors, put in a new walkway and front steps, painted the main bedroom (still working on the second one), had the basement painted, and am currently having a new floor put in the kitchen as I type, I’ll likely not get back the potential buyers who already looked at the house online, even though we updated with new pictures and I wrote a new description because what he had written was very poorly done, even the typing/grammar part of it.
So in that respect, it’s been torture lol. I’ll live. It’s working out, actually because I didn’t want to move before my family reunion trip in August. I wouldn’t have anyone to watch my cats if I was living in a new location and that would have been a major problem. I probably would have not gone away and my daughters would most likely disown me, lol.
I’m counting on the realtor being right on something...he keeps saying May and June are “slow” because of holidays, graduations, etc. and that things will pick up after July 4. So I’m going with that.
The other disappointment was I got a call for someone to come see the house last Saturday but it was the one day that I had made plans to see family so I had to say no (I think I posted that somewhere here). That made me crazy for about half a day because I pretty much sit home every weekend hoping we will get a call for a showing.
I’m sure the house will sell at some point. My fear is the price will be considerably lower, which I could have dealt with if I went into this expecting a lower price. But to have two realtors and other people who supposedly know the market, tell me it’s worth more, kind of got my hopes up. Now I have to adjust to the fact that we’re not going to get much for it and that will make a big impact on where we end up. So it’s a pretty huge deal for me.
That pretty much sums it up, for anyone who has made it this far in reading this, lol.
And this time of year is busy with graduations and holidays. I think the best times to buy are spring and fall, though I bought in the winter, haha. I guess it's a different experience when you are selling a house with regard to realtors. I'm sure they overvalue sometimes because they want a bigger commission. But with price, it's always best to start high. You can always lower a price, but you really can't raise it once it's out there.
Oh rats! I am so sorry! I do think your realtor made a pretty big mistake by asking you to put the house on the market before you'd made the improvements you knew you needed. (Thanks HGTV - for making us think every home for sale has to be remodeled!) My fingers are crossed that you'll get the summer traffic that he's expecting. Are you in a good school zone?
Keeping a house ready for potential buyers for two fricken' months has to be so very stressful!
Keeping a house ready for potential buyers for two fricken' months has to be so very stressful!
Two months doesn't seem long to me. As for doing the upgrades after it's been seen as is could work out well, if the people who've seen it, or saved the listing, look again and see the improvements! I would be so angry at a listing that wasn't edited well. It's good you caught it and made changes. And what's up with all the fisheye pictures? I still like to browse houses in my area and so many do the wide angle lens shot. Like the refrigerator is so wide its square! You can't help but be disappointed when the house is really tiny, but looks huge in the picsIt’s not THAT bad. You know I have to be a little dramatic. It’s just not what I expected, going by what the realtor led me to believe. I guess I should have known better but this is only my second experience selling a home. The last time was 24 years ago and our realtor then was more of a friend and we ended up selling to a family member.
The frustration comes from the house being on the market almost two months and taking the advice of the realtor when he said, don’t bother painting, people will do that themselves. Don’t worry about the basement being cluttered and not very inviting. Don’t worry about the kitchen not being remodeled...we at least were going to replace the floor and paint the cabinets but he insisted it wasn’t important. Don’t worry about the walkway. He did say we should fix the front steps, though, which we planned on doing. But then he went ahead and put it on the market with all of these “flaws” insisting we should list at $325,000. I thought the price was outrageous but a second realtor agreed on the price so we settled on $310,000. But even that was high for the issues that the house has.
Now, even though we are making improvements, I feel like we lost those first few hundred “viewers” on all of the realtor apps because it’s almost been two months now. So the fact that we refinished the bedroom floors, put in a new walkway and front steps, painted the main bedroom (still working on the second one), had the basement painted, and am currently having a new floor put in the kitchen as I type, I’ll likely not get back the potential buyers who already looked at the house online, even though we updated with new pictures and I wrote a new description because what he had written was very poorly done, even the typing/grammar part of it.
So in that respect, it’s been torture lol. I’ll live. It’s working out, actually because I didn’t want to move before my family reunion trip in August. I wouldn’t have anyone to watch my cats if I was living in a new location and that would have been a major problem. I probably would have not gone away and my daughters would most likely disown me, lol.
I’m counting on the realtor being right on something...he keeps saying May and June are “slow” because of holidays, graduations, etc. and that things will pick up after July 4. So I’m going with that.
The other disappointment was I got a call for someone to come see the house last Saturday but it was the one day that I had made plans to see family so I had to say no (I think I posted that somewhere here). That made me crazy for about half a day because I pretty much sit home every weekend hoping we will get a call for a showing.
I’m sure the house will sell at some point. My fear is the price will be considerably lower, which I could have dealt with if I went into this expecting a lower price. But to have two realtors and other people who supposedly know the market, tell me it’s worth more, kind of got my hopes up. Now I have to adjust to the fact that we’re not going to get much for it and that will make a big impact on where we end up. So it’s a pretty huge deal for me.
That pretty much sums it up, for anyone who has made it this far in reading this, lol.
I’m going to look at three houses today where my daughter/grandchildren live. I’m so excited yet apprehensive. I feel like I’m still being premature but then also proactive as I can rule out certain things like area, although where my daughter lives is my first choice as I already know my way around. It will be so comfortable. But it will mean buying a house instead of a condo/townhouse and I really don’t want to go that route. But I think it will be fun, today, nonetheless. I hope I don’t fall in love with anything as I don’t know when I’ll get a buyer for mine. I think it will definitely sell at some point. It will be a matter of what am I going to get for it.
My other dilemma is, what is son going do. I know he wants to be on his own. I love that he is pursuing the option of getting something for himself. But I definitely don’t want a house if he’s not coming with. He sways from wanting to stay with us because we are aging and he said if we get a house he wants to contribute and do the “maintenance” part of it and also be there for us as we get older. But he was only on his own for a short time when he had the one good job where they downsized and let him go. Finding something decent after that has been difficult as he doesn’t have college under his belt.
I really want him to come with us but that’s just because I’m his mom and I got used to having him here. And I worry about him. But deep down I know it would be awesome and I will worry less knowing he is making it out there on his own. I don’t want him to be forced into it when the day comes that hubby and I are no longer around. I’m going to fee so much better if I can see that he is doing it now.
So lots of balls in the air and decisions to be made. All still contingent on what happens with my current house. At least the decision has been made that sI will retire by December. That feels good. If the house doesn’t sell I can still work at my job part time and not have to worry about moving right away. And then come next Spring we can try to sell again. Everything in the house will be completed and we can have a fresh start with the online listing.
I really want him to come with us but that’s just because I’m his mom and I got used to having him here. And I worry about him. But deep down I know it would be awesome and I will worry less knowing he is making it out there on his own. I don’t want him to be forced into it when the day comes that hubby and I are no longer around. I’m going to fee so much better if I can see that he is doing it now.
So lots of balls in the air and decisions to be made. All still contingent on what happens with my current house. At least the decision has been made that sI will retire by December. That feels good. If the house doesn’t sell I can still work at my job part time and not have to worry about moving right away. And then come next Spring we can try to sell again. Everything in the house will be completed and we can have a fresh start with the online listing.
I would look in all surrounding areas. Check the county auditor site to search for individual houses, you'll see floor layouts of homes, taxes and tax history, and history of the home sale transfers. Check into all the different city ordinances, utilities. If your daughter is on one the Nextdoor or whatever they have in the area, neighborhood chat sites, those are wealth of info for finding services and issues. You should know what you'd pay for having maintenence done by your own contractors compared to the monthly fees a condo homeowners association charge- that can change.
I've kept check on zillow long before I moved last! I was not at all happy where I was, for the last 15 years. I based the decision on everyone but my own wants. You pass homes so much and think how much you'd love there! The character, the yard, the local. So rare those houses ever go on sale! So rare they have all you need, or affordable.
I did choose this home that way. It doesn't have it all, I could never afford that! but it called me, and has everything I need!
I would think about having the ability for your son to move in. I sure did! I am such an enabler though, and that really may not be good
. You just never know the best course! Damned if you do, damned if you don'tFor me, the worst thing to do buying a house is compromise. If you look at the outside and think, oh well, it's ok I'll get used to it, if you're in the kitchen and don't get excited about where things will go, and how you'll cook and serve. If you have to overthink how it will be doing laundry or other basic routines. If you have to convince yourself you can change things and it won't cost that much, or be too hard.... Run
Just like animals, your house will choose you. I could be wrong....
Just like animals, your house will choose you. I could be wrong....
