<p>dear jym,
So sorry you have had this all happen to you . Financial transactions do seem to bring out the worst in greedy, conniving people[ including you cousin] . It IS almost over. I hope you can see the light at the end of the tunnel , and know that it is not another train coming at you. Deep, deep breathes my friend!</p>
<p>jym–hang in there! Hopefully it will all be over very soon and you can start 2012 with a huge sigh of relief. You really brought back memories. </p>
<p>My buyer’s realtor was the Pushiest Realtor on Earth. I was selling a 1500 sf house, 3 kids, new H, merged household. We were bursting at the seams. She called multiple times a day, insisting her clients be allowed “at least one room” to store their possessions <em>before</em> closing, even though they got poss. 45 days after closing. She kept this up until poss., also had buyer’s grandmother call, etc etc. Demanded storage shed we were taking. On and on. I feel for you.</p>
<p>When exactly is the house selling season?</p>
<p>I’m hitting the empty nest this coming summer, and am looking toward putting my house on the market to move then. I’ve had realtors in to check out what needs to be done, and have watched perhaps to many house selling shows, so I understand the need to declutter and paint. And I hope the house sells in about a week once it’s on the market. (I, too, live in the Silicon Valley on the peninsula.) I’ve heard mentioned that there are some inspections and other papers it’s best to have ready to go. Is there a list of those somewhere?</p>
<p>And as I wander off across the country to my next home, are there problems with closing in 20 days if the offer is cash?</p>
<p>On Peninsula, it is a possibility to sell the house all cash in 20 days, but normally it is longer, if you want the price you have to wait. The price on all cash deals have to be low enough to work, at least 10% below the market(that is a lot). You may not want it because you are selling your “nest” not the bank is forclosing on you.</p>
<p>Just give you an example, a MP home I bid on was offered 520K for a long time, did not sale, forclosed by a bank, relisted for 299K, attracted 35 bidders and sold for 450Kish (but it was not a all cash deal and closed in 30 days).</p>
<p>Any broker will give you a checklist for what paper works are needed to sale your home. In listing presentation, they will walk through the home and give you a better idea as to the prep you need to sell your home.</p>
<p>I wish people were buying houses here. Still no takers on my dd’s house. The realtor said that the only people looking are bottom trolling and looking at nothing over $60,000!</p>
<p>Hang in there, jym. It sounds like the end is in sight for selling your father’s house.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That really depends on where you are. Right now inventory is very low in my area of the Peninsula and so houses are selling very quickly. It also picks up in the early summer when you seem to be considering going on the market, especially in areas with good schools where buyers want to be settled in by the time school starts in the fall.</p>
<p>They seem to do things a little differently in San Mateo County vs Santa Clara. I sold my house in Santa Clara County in 2 days. The buyer’s agent was from San Mateo County and she had my agent scratching his head over the way she approached a few things. She had to kick in $5K out of her own pocket for her mistake on the contract due to the different customs. So one piece of advice is to be sure your Realtor is very familiar with your town and your county.</p>
<p>In my town it’s customary for the seller to do all inspections (house, chimney, roof, pool, termite, etc) prior to going on the market. The seller’s agent typically purchases a 1-month home warranty that covers any repairs that come up on the inspections. All disclosures are posted online as PDFs and given out via a link. Anyone can see the disclosures but must provide a name/phone number before downloading the forms. There’s also a binder available in the house with everything printed out that people can review during showings.</p>
<p>All cash deals can close immediately if there are no other contingencies. My recent experience is with bidding wars on several houses where the “winner” is an all-cash bid around 8% over the asking price. Anything’s negotiable, including the date to close escrow.</p>
<p>Price your home UNDER the price realtors suggest, and be ready for multiple offers. Be willing to accept backup offers, especially if there are multiple bids. Be very careful about accepting offers from foreign [ non US] buyers. Many seem to want to play “lets renegotiate the price” games at the last minute [ hubby is a long time Realtor on the peninsula and nothing is more frustrating these days than dealing with Asian buyers or their agents [ sorry if that offends anyone] who dont seem to under stand that a signed contract is not a starting point for opening new negotiations 1 week before escrow closes. If a buyer needs to get a loan to buy your home, dont accept any offer from someone who is not pre-approved and thoroughly qualified for a mortgage[ i.e has at least 35-40% of the sales price in cash reserves].</p>
<p>This article does not look too good for housing in the Bay area.
[Huge</a> loss in home values cratered the Bay Area economy - San Jose Mercury News](<a href=“Huge loss in home values cratered the Bay Area economy – The Mercury News”>Huge loss in home values cratered the Bay Area economy – The Mercury News)</p>
<p>That’s a good article…</p>
<p>There are pockets of the bay area that are doing better than other areas.</p>
<p>It’s hard to figure out what is going to happen because a lot of inventory is not on the market.</p>
<p>One thing that is happening is that the survivors in some businesses are doing ok because a lot of the competition is out of business.</p>
<p>I think a lot of people are feeling more optimistic than they have in years…but realistically…with all the debt…it is going to take years for the economy to really get going…</p>
<p>Having said that, when companies like Facebook go public…a lot of money will be added to the economy…and real estate will benefit.</p>
<p>"Having said that, when companies like Facebook go public…a lot of money will be added to the economy…and real estate will benefit. "
that has already happened here- many of the early facebook employees sold some of their stock through private placements and have been buying properties over the last 4 months.</p>
<p>I don’t see why demand for housing won’t increase more after Facebook goes public…</p>
<p>There should be more demand when Facebook goes public…and more when the lockout period is over…</p>
<p>Oh , it will I’m sure! I’m just saying that some of the richest facebook employees [ the early ones] have already bought homes in the area, that’s all.</p>
<p>I understand.</p>
<p>Personally, I see no reason for young people to own RE. Unfortunately we own RE as old people.</p>
<p>“I see no reason for young people to own RE.”</p>
<p>well, if you have enough income then the mortgage tax deduction can come in handy.</p>
<p>I imagine that many have lost more in home values than their deductions have been worth. Furthermore, you give up the standard deduction when you itemize.</p>
<p>Quick update-
Will spare you all the un-friggin’ believable stuff that has happened and that the buyers attorney was trying to pull (he tried to throw his buyers under the bus and blame them, but finally apologized to our attorney for his behavior). We were hoping to close next week but there is a soil contamination to remedy and that will take, if all goes well, 7-10 days before the clearance can be offered. It has been an unbelievably stressful week, but all the items have been removed from the house today. Sad feeling…</p>
<p>Housing in the DC area is en fuego…houses are on market for days with multiple bids…</p>
<p>I know how you feel jym626. So glad to have the hassle done but sad also. It’s very conflicting.</p>
<p>But it is time for skiing, jym…</p>