<p>And down goes our price… now 15% below original asking price…</p>
<p>jym, whoa, that sounds painful. What percentage would this put you down from the original asking price? Have you double-checked your agent, to see what you think of the pricing (i.e., zillow or trulia, to check the recently solds). </p>
<p>I could take the mortgage for these folks, but if they’ve put themselves in more debt just prior to trying to buy a home, they don’t seem like a very credit-worthy couple. I don’t want to make a major error in judgment in order to sell the house. </p>
<p>If they could get a strong mortgage, and I would be taking the mortgage to save them money to make the house more attractive, that’s one thing. But to enable a couple to buy the house when they really are in over their head, might end up with them not being able to pay off the mortgage, and leave me having to foreclose. That’s a scary thought from both my financial and moral senses. However, I appreciate the input. Any and all ideas welcome! Maybe I’ll contact my realtor and see if she thinks that offering to do the mortgage might be a good incentive to a different buyer.</p>
<p>BCEagle, I have actually heard that cruise ships are putting in flat-screen displays, connected to a live feed from a camera mounted on the front of the ship. They put them in the inside cabins, so that the inside cabins have the feel of outside cabins. I think that’s a terrific idea. I love your out of the box thinking like that. But I have a feeling that’s not what dstark is looking for . . . . . . :)</p>
<p>“How about putting in a 27 inch thin low-power flat-panel display in the kitchen with a feed from a video camera going out the front window with a stock market ticker running along the bottom of the screen? Seems that it would be far cheaper than knocking out a wall.”</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>“But I have a feeling that’s not what dstark is looking for . . .”</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>I have been superficially reading about knocking out walls…and you ask 5 people and you get 5 different answers…</p>
<p>
Probably. Something has to hold up the beam. There’s likely to be a point load at each end of the beam. That load needs to be carried to the ground. Sometimes if a post to the ground would be inconveniently located you can use a steel beam to carry the load somewhere else.</p>
<p>ok…thanks mathmom…that is kind of what I was thinking…</p>
<p>Maybe I should just partially open up the wall…:)</p>
<p>Jym … ooowwwwch!</p>
<p>Dstark … when we redid our kitchen we took out a load bearing post and replaced it with … well, basically a pipe which then had flanges put on to hold the windows. So sort of a custom window frame thing. We are very happy with it. Yes, the pipe and sides of the window are sort of in the middle of the sink, but with windows on both sides (there was one small window before) that go down to the counter level there is SO much more light. And I remember being really surprised that this special thing did NOT cost all that much. About the same as getting an exposed long beam put back up above the ceiling so that the kitchen and family room were less divided. </p>
<p>The load bearing “pipe” was stronger with a smaller diameter than the wood post that it replaced. No, I have no idea what the pipe is really made of, that was 20 or so years ago.</p>
<p>Here’s my personal drama. No action for weeks, then the showing last week. Spent the weekend sprucing up for a second showing on Wednesday. Then I got a call from a different agent. In the context of setting that appointment I was able to mention that I had a family coming for a second look the same afternoon. The second group has now been to the house three times in 36 hours. Their agent will present their offer this evening.</p>
<p>Go 1moremom!!! Send the losing family to my dads or hayden’s house!!</p>
<p>Forgot to ask mathmom- our “on-call architect”:
Could someone put in an exterior door from the side of the house (where the driveway is) into the den/home office as another option for an entrance that doesn’t go into the private residence? Just mulling this in my head…</p>
<p>1moremom - woo hoo! Good for you. Maybe if your agent tells the other couple, you may end up with two offers. In any case, one offer is all you need. Good for you!</p>
<p>Well, we haven’t seen it yet. And, I’m afraid I’m already experiencing “seller’s remorse”. (I couldn’t bring myself to end my post with a smilie. 
)</p>
<p>No. No. No. No seller’s remorse. You are going to be off to a new adventure, 1moremom.</p>
<p>Good luck with that bid.</p>
<p>esobay…i am glad your remodel worked out for you.</p>
<p>I just attached a steel plate to an existing wood header above the garage at my old house. i was kind of hoping to be done with that stuff. </p>
<p>But no…the kitchen wall is a weight bearing wall…:)</p>
<p>I needed that reminder, dstark. Thank you. :)</p>
<p>If the wall is load-bearing, there will be a wall(s) underneath that carries the load down to the foundation. So the supports for the beam across the opened section will be on ae load-bearing wall.</p>
<p>As long as the posts aren’t over a doorway in the floor below, it should be fine. At worst you might have to open the wall below and add support from under the posts down to the floor.</p>
<p>The engineer who sizes the beam and posts should be able to tell you what if anything is needed underneath.</p>
<p>Notrichenough…thanks.</p>
<p>So…hopefully…the cost to open up the wall won’t be an arm and a leg. :)</p>
<p>dstark, how do you estimate closing costs? Is it a fee-based thing, or is it a percentage of the house price? I thought I’d while away the time now that there’s no offer on the table.</p>
<p>Hayden, this is a terrible answer but I don’t know…</p>
<p>In California…the buyer is expected to pay for some things and the seller is supposed to pay for some.</p>
<p>With all the money I had to put in the house…the closing costs were almost incidental.</p>
<p>In California…the seller has to pay maybe .1% of the sale price in fees to some governmental body…</p>
<p>I think there were another 2,000 to 3,000 in fees and expenses.</p>
<p>^ Well… there are other issues to worry about besides the structural ones. If there are plumbing or electrical lines going through that section of wall they will have to be moved.</p>
<p>How big of an opening are you talking about?</p>
<p>There are plumbing and electrical there. The width is a refrigerator and 4 cabinets wide. </p>
<p>8 to 10 feet.</p>
<p>My first choice is to open it all up…</p>
<p>Second choice is to open it up partially…maybe a door way wide.</p>
<p>Third choice is to put in a pass thru.</p>
<p>Fourth choice is to not open it up at all.</p>
<p>Ok, thanks, dstark.</p>
<p>Just wanted to put this in as we’re getting our two water oaks trimmed, pruned, in preparation for our big lawn/concrete work. </p>
<p>The estimator noticed the short sale next door and that their magnolia tree is dead. He said, you can’t sell a house with a dead tree in front. He took down the agent’s name and number and said he’d call. I told him not to hold his breath, the house has been basically abandoned for five years. </p>
<p>Just wanted to put this here because I know in our area, both the suburbs and the city, trees are a big selling factor. One big seller for the house we bought my mom before Katrina was the abundantly producing fruit trees in the back yard. My brother in law put a Japanese magnolia in the front yard. The fruit trees and magnolia did not survive Katrina. But our final purchaser loved the other trees and the beautiful wooden swing I had built in the back yard, and it was a major deciding factor in their buying my mom’s house. They visited with their family three times before purchase, and every time, they had to pry themselves off the backyard swing.</p>