<p>^^^^ we had a similar problem with a retailer offering a deal if we opened a credit card with them…it was for less then a $1000 purchase…the bank doing our refi asked for allkinds of documentation for that 1000 dollars…</p>
<p>In many towns flaglots are illegal because it’s hard for a firetruck to get down them, much less have access to a firehydrant.</p>
<p>speaking of negatives of flagged lot, how about LAND LOCKED lot?</p>
<p>We just got a card in the mail for a public hearing for a development of 15 houses in a land locked parcel. The ingenious developer had negotiated an easement with the utility company to build a road access under the high tension towers. Oh lord.</p>
<p>Wow, I didn’t think the possessor of a utility easement had the power/authority to cede a full-blown right of access to that many new houses (maybe that is why they are having a hearing?). If I was the property owner and it dimished my property value, I’d be very opposed.</p>
<p>qdogpa and MaineLonghorn bring up something that a lot of people are not aware of. All those offers at the cash register to open and account and save and additional percent. My H’s business for many years was dependent on getting construction loans. A totally clean credit report was essential to getting the best rate with minimum amount of hassle. My H has drilled into me to never open additional credit cards just to save an extra percent. For many years we took out loans with little documentation. The last couple of years we have had to go through more hoops but the big surprise was a recent loan for a business property that due to our high credit score we did not have to provide any income tax returns.
I take this to mean that the banks are getting a bit easier to deal with if you have a proven track record.</p>
<p>Business loans are completely different from personal residential loans. Personal residential loans are highly regulated, the bank will look at your credit score and employment history. While Business loans are totally dependent on the cash flows from the property and the ability of the management. Credit scores and employment history are less important in business transactions. In a developement project, the seller and the bank first want to see the past performances and experiences of the buyer.</p>
<p>[You</a> think you have problems](<a href=“http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2012/04/10/versailles-biggest-house/?iid=HP_LN]You”>http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2012/04/10/versailles-biggest-house/?iid=HP_LN)</p>
<p>^^^ 10 acres for a house that size is not a substantial piece of property.</p>
<p>Don’t get me started on flag lots, landlocked property, wetlands, greenbelts, etc.!! Eons ago, we had a neighbor from hell. Yup, he came directly from there! Oh, the stories I can tell! There will be enough for a novel about redneck property wars. :)</p>
<p>Speaking of castles… I don’t think BG’s lot is that big. As I recall, it sits on a out 5 acres… But then again, it is Medina, not Snohomish :rolleyes:</p>
<p>[Bill</a> Gates’ house - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href="http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gates’_house]Bill">http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gates’_house)</p>
<p>The post above was edited, but the iPad did not save the changes. The edited phrase was, “As I recall, his 60,000-plus sq. ft compound sits on (about) 5 acres…” Darn iPad.</p>
<p>Met with realtor today. I’m on the fence between “as-is” sale and fixing up then listing higher. I am sure doing the work will bring more $ but I’m also sure that I don’t want to do the work :)</p>
<p>She suggests perhaps doing an office exclusive for 3 weeks while I begin painting rooms, fixing shed door, refinishing bathtub, similar cosmetic work. The idea is that she tells buyers it will go on the market in 3 weeks for $X but if they want to buy it before I do all the work, I’m more negotiable.</p>
<p>Thoughts on this idea?</p>
<p>Once I started the work to get the house ready for sale…</p>
<p>I did not want anybody looking at the house.</p>
<p>People don’t have great imaginations.</p>
<p>I think you have to decide which way to go…</p>
<p>If you paint …I will be shocked if you don’t get more back than the cost. </p>
<p>I think painting and flooring are well worth doing…</p>
<p>“Thoughts on this idea?”</p>
<p>I don’t see that you have anything to lose. And three weeks will pass by in the blink of an eye.</p>
<p>obm,</p>
<p>I would suggest you do some homework before any “fixup” idea.
I just spent 4 hours today in heavy down pour looking at all homes for sale in the Active and Pending category in my area with the similar size of my house and try to figure out whether it is more profitable by fix up or sell as is. When I say fixup, in some cases it is a total makeover. Painting and small cosmatics do not count, it should have done before the listing anyway.</p>
<p>I prep homes (different than staging which I don’t do) for sa, le. If you don’t want the hassle put your home on the market As Is, just price it very, very realistically. Most buyers have no imagination and simply cannot see beyond cosmetics even if the price is right. They also may mistakenly believe other, more important and expensive items (like heating, electric, plumbing, etc,) might not be in such good shape. Also, if there are homes in your market priced a bit higher but in move in condition yours may sit. </p>
<p>I would decide which way you want to go. I would not put any house on the market with the exclusive 3 week offer while you fix it up.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your input. I believe I am committed to painting some of the rooms and the porch, repairing a couple of things that would come up in an inspection and then seeing where I am at that point.</p>
<p>The plus as I saw it for the exclusive is that the house isn’t on the MLS during the 2-3 weeks it’s exclusive so when it is, it is a new listing. However there would be a sign. This was how it was explained to me, perhaps I have it wrong? My realtor is the #1-all-that realtor in our area so it’s very possible the buyer will come from her in any case. She sold our last house in 3 weeks but it had been recently redone so de-cluttering was really all we had to do.</p>
<p>If I do the listing this way and finish all the projects I think I’d do an open house as soon as the work was all done, right when the listing goes up. Does that make sense?</p>
<p>We toured some comps. The only one in the village that is in the price range I’m thinking of was fixed up nicely (no marble counters or anything, but all paint, etc done), but it’s a lot smaller. Anything larger needs substantial work or is priced much higher than I am thinking. In fact there were only about 4 comps nearby, so it’s a good time to be on the market for my niche.</p>
<p>The way I see it, my big pluses are location (walkable to schools and college in town, village center - think Normal Rockwell postcard, it’s important for many to be able to walk their kids down to the ice cream shop), little traffic on street, large for the area fully privacy fenced yard, deck and screened porch, large downstairs master with bath, all wood floors, high ceilings. The entire village is in about the most desirable school district in the state but all houses on market here have that so no special advantage to mine there.</p>
<p>Minuses are no garage (but off street parking, that setup is not atypical here), a quirky second floor (sloped ceilings in both bedrooms but perfect for kids and super huge bathroom), basement only good for storage and tornadoes, and general wear, *most *of which we could fix with paint and refinishing the bathtub. Also landscape is a bit overgrown or as I always liked to say, “natural” :D</p>
<p>We have houses in the downtown area of our village from $140K (a real wreck of a foreclosure we toured yesterday) on into the millions. On my street, $200-400K is the norm. Mostly historic older homes that have been added onto and sometimes restored, garages added, or not. Mostly smaller yards.</p>
<p>I realize no one can really give me advice without specifics. Between S’ college decision coming up, running my own business and a busy kid sports schedule, I feel the need to vent a little of the stress of this additional decision and upcoming work, I guess :)</p>
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<p>What do you mean that listing won’t be on MLS…? Unless specified by contract, all Exclusive Listings will be on the MLS. There are two kinds of Exclusive listing, one is Exclusive Agency the other is Exclusive Right to Sell, which one are you talking about? or if it is an Open listing, where there is no need to put it on the MLS?</p>
<p>Knock on wood, house selling season appears to be drawing to a close. Accepted an offer on our house tonight (offers from two different bidders in the last four hours). The one we accepted is a cash offer with no mortgage contingency from a couple who looked at the house at for the first time at 3:30 this afternoon and knew we had another offer on the table.</p>
<p>It’s been a whirl-wind day. I’ll catch my breath and see if I can post something a little more complete tomorrow.</p>
<p>Wow, idad, that is absolutely awesome. </p>
<p>Make sure they lose a bundle if they get cold feet.</p>
<p>I looked at a very inexpensive (for this area) house today, knowing it needed work and being energetic about getting it done. Upon reflection, it needed too much work, even for me. The garage had been made into a family room and would need to revert to a garage. (I’m not living in New England without a garage!) It needs a full 2nd floor added, with three more BRs. And it needs a new kitchen and significant landscaping.</p>
<p>Too much even for me.</p>
<p>Interesteddad…awesome.</p>
<p>VeryHappy…that is a lot of work…</p>
<p>Why do you need so many bedrooms?</p>