How is the house selling season going?

Parent Cafe
3501

<p>Wow, I’ve never seen a gopher before. What kind of signs do they leave behind that lets you know it’s a gopher vs. rabbit vs. some other creature?</p>

<p>At our lake house, we can see evidence of armadillos. They can be destructive, and something about them just grosses me out. DH laid in wait one night with a rifle and took one out. But there is always another to take its place. We also have raccoons which get into our bird feeder or get into stuff in our boathouse. But the worst was two weeks ago, when DH happened upon a rattlesnake on our back porch and then another one by our boathouse. I’d take any other critter before snakes!!!</p>

3502

<p>Okay, true. Gophers are less awful than snakes or armadillos. You win! </p>

<p>They tunnel underground, leaving large piles of dirt for every hole they burrow through. Then once they break to the surface, you now have a hole in the ground. </p>

<p>Then several. Usually 5-8 in a good week.</p>

3503

<p>^^^^Yuck. And there are regulations about how you can or cannot “take care of the problem?” </p>

<p>We had squirrels in our attic. We called a critter company and they said it is against the law for them to kill squirrels. They had to trap them and take them somewhere and let them go. $100 a pop. They said usually only one squirrel family will take up residence in an attic, usually just a few per family. After $1500 we gave up.</p>

3504

<p>I believe that a nuclear missile strike would be frowned upon on in my neighborhood. </p>

<p>Cannot shoot them. No other restrictions I know of.</p>

3505

<p>Oh my. We had a major squirrel infestation here after our move. The critter control people trapped, oh, I don’t know, at least 15 squirrels (may 18?) and hauled them away. They caught a chipmunk, too, but said they would take him away for free. :slight_smile: And the cats started leaving some ugly little creatures, voles, I think, on our front and back porches. But at least no rattlesnakes! One of our friends in California had rats in the attic. I am told he set rat traps, which, unfortunately, did not kill them, so he would take a hammer up to the attic to finish the job.</p>

3506

<p>^^^Sharp inhale at that image^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^</p>

3507

<p>I realize it’s bad form to interrupt a conversation about gophers, but I am just bubbling over with excitement. We just signed papers on a 6-year-old townhouse in Brooklyn, a multi-unit dwelling with 15 year tax abatement remaining. H and I will live on ground floor with grad school D in a spacious 2-br, finished basement below.</p>

<p>Next floor up, with separate entrance, our married S and DIL in their own “floor-through” unit. Top floor penthouse unit is the cash cow, to command the most rent, for another tenant. Doggie gets the backyard, although I still expect to also walk him in the neighborhood because it’s very social and fun. </p>

<p>I must have visited 60 listings since a year ago, first from out-of-town and more recently from a temporary rental in this city. On this one, we finally had our sense of the marketplace and snagged it after the first open house. There’s still some internal renovation occuring between the last tenant and ourselves, which H negotiated to be somewhat tailored to our fussy needs. In return, we gave him his ask price and thereby averted a bidding war or second open house. So all those “boots on the ground” to learn a complex market paid off for us. Seems like a solid investment.</p>

3508

<p>Paying3tuitions, that sounds very exciting. </p>

<p>Congratulations.</p>

3509

<p>Awesome, paying3tuitions!! Sounds like a great deal.</p>

3510

<p>Congratulations, paying3tuitions! Our nephew and his wife lived in Brooklyn for awhile - what a nice place! That’s so cool your grown kids are going to live there, too!</p>

<p>There’s an unfinished house on our cul-de-sac. The guy started construction on it in 2007, and it has just sat there ever since. It’s got Tyvec covering the plywood, but each year, more of the Tyvec blows off. It’s ghastly! It’s a beautiful, wooded road, so it’s a shame. I guess the bank owns it now. We heard that the lumber company has a lien on it which they won’t release. Here is the property history:</p>

<p>7/14/2009 - Listed for $179,900</p>

<p>11/27/2009 - Price changed to $159,900</p>

<p>1/3/2010 - Delisted
’
4/18/2010 - Relisted for $159,900</p>

<p>7/13/2010 - Delisted</p>

<p>7/17/2010 - Relisted for $159,900</p>

<p>12/9/2010 - Delisted</p>

<p>2/20/2013 - Listed for $199,000</p>

<p>9/3/2013 - Price changed to $175,000</p>

<p>11/2/2013 - Price changed to $160,000</p>

<p>Sigh. The lot is 3 acres in size, so just the land is probably worth $130,000 or so. I wonder how many years it’s going to sit vacant!</p>

3511

<p>I wonder how much the lien is, and if the bank would take a low offer if someone is willing to pay off the lien. We paid a 4K lien for a seller in order to buy the condo.</p>

3512

<p>I wondered as I travelled thru southern Vermont recently, “Who buys these beautiful homes?”.</p>

<p>I did not see a lot of business opportunities that would cause a lot of demand for housing.
I havent been to Maine in a long time, but I have the same question for areas of Maine.</p>

<p>Beautiful areas, but I can see homes sit on the market for a long time. What is the average time to sell a home in Vermont or Maine?</p>

<p>I guess I could look it up.</p>

3513

<p>Congrats, paying3tuitions! That is so great! </p>

<p>Hoping my next sale and purchase goes as well. I think you have to know when to strike, and sometimes it is simply all about timing. The market is so strange in lots of areas. In my area, we figure if we price our house right, it will sell within a month or less. The house on my street doesn’t even have a for sale sign on it - maybe one of those pocket listings? Yet, it has been shown a handful of times this week.</p>

3514

<p>“ It’s got Tyvec covering the plywood, but each year, more of the Tyvec blows off. It’s ghastly!” </p>

<p>To finish the exterior from there is not difficult. We did it in two weeks. Home depot sells a wood panel that can easily go over the Tyvec. What made me worry is if there is a water problem with an unfinished house that requires repair of the plywood or even the frame.</p>

3515

<p>Payingthreetuitions- thank you for sharing your wonderful news.</p>

3516

<p>p3t
congratulations, Brooklyn is such a complicate area to buy, excellent job.</p>

3517

<p>That is so great, p3t! D tells me “everyone is moving to Brooklyn” from our NYC suburb. When pressed, it turns out it’s 2 families, but still!</p>

<p>Back home after a day of killing time while our open house occurred. Between yesterday and today, 10 showings plus the open house which got 12-15 couples/families. I think that’s good traffic.</p>

<p>I’m hoping we get some decent offers this coming week (which is kind of weird because of the dual holidays).</p>

3518

<p>Yes, I told my brother “I have good news! We’re moving to Brooklyn.” He quipped, “That used to be bad news,” but he was joking. As it turns out, we’re blocks away from where my DIL’s great-grandparents settled as immigrants 100 years ago. Her mother knows the exact houses. </p>

<p>Class of 2015, let’s hope the dual holidays give people plenty of chance to consult with their families, to gain that perspective and courage to make a respectable offer.</p>

3519

<p>Congrats p3t! So great you will have your family with you, and great strategy on landing the deal. Sounds like it will be a lively place!</p>

3520

<p>P3t, congratulations! I love the idea of being so close to family, but in separate spaces.</p>