I want to add that we didn’t paint anything or remove any old carpeting (although there was hardwood underneath in the bedrooms and it was noted in the listing) and we had over 20 offers on the house - all above asking - within 3 days of putting it on the market.
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I have seen that happen, but it really depends on a lot of factors, timing, market, etc.
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So true. In a seller’s market, anything goes. But there is a good chance that when we decide to sell someday it will be a buyer’s market - in those times, you want your house as generally appealing as possible.
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Back on a financial topic, Wall Street Journal gift link about RIA (registered Investment Advisor) industry
Yeah, there are battles - companies like LPL is buying out firms - big time.
I only watch them - used to date a girl that worked there. She has to be so wealthy from the crazy stock appreciation.
I think Ameriprise is another buying up all these RIA firms too. Like any, I wonder if they truly have your best interests - because ultimately they create suites of products for you to buy.
LPL Financial Named No. 1 Mega RIA on Barron’s 2025 Top RIA Ranking
Oregonian here. We do have a state income tax that’s between 4.75-9.9%, but we don’t have a sales tax on groceries or anything else, and no restaurant tax, etc.
As a result, in the Portland area we get a lot of shoppers from the Vancouver, Washington area (about 15 minutes away, across the river). Because Washington doesn’t have any income tax, but does have sales tax and restaurant taxes (6.5-10.4%). (Washington doesn’t tax most groceries, the exceptions are prepared foods, sodas, and vitamins and supplements.)
Yes, it is less expensive than California (and the greater Seattle area), but the cities here do not have a low cost of living. There was a huge influx of people moving here beginning in the early 2000s, particularly from higher cost areas when our housing was relatively quite a bit less expensive than where they were moving from.
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I imagine Idaho is the next Oregon - and it’s getting pricey too.
We have a ton of CA people in TN (myself included) - and yeah, it’s still lower cost than CA but absolutely not a low cost of living - you are correct.
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Usually when selling a home, if you leave bits of something for someone to add their own personal touch - minor things that are done easily, someone can feel ‘ownership’.
Realtors do hear comments of those looking for a home. On some HGTV shows, they sometimes have snippets of comments from those going through the finished rooms.
By having a ‘clean slate’ on the paint color, people can move in and if they decide to paint various rooms differently, they can do so over time. I always liked the decor of a room, and draperies to be the ‘color’.
When the time comes to sell, hope to have competing offers - but this is largely based on supply/demand.
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I hate those potential buyers on HGTV who rule out a house because of a paint color in one room - ridiculous!
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With so much reno talk lately wanted to relay our lucky windfall. We have been in our house for 24 years. Bought it new. This past August during a wind storm our tree fell on part of our house. Roof was original(was planning on replacing in spring’26). Ins co couldn’t match the shingles or siding so I got new roof, siding, shutters & garage door for the cost of the deductible. And gutters.
In 2025 we did our A/C unit. So all the big stuff has been done except maybe the kitchen, but my wife doesn’t want to do it. 9.5 years max and we downsize.
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Had the same thing happen. Trees fell on the house, yes multiple, they weren’t big trees.
Other trees fell in the yard.
Insurance would only replace 1/2 of the roof but half was better than none. Shingles would not match so the entire roof was replaced.
Paid for all the trees that fell not on the house, 1/2 a roof. Put better gutters.
Cost way more than my deductible
Insurance would not negotiate. The good news is that we have different insurance and that company was willing to insure us.
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If your insurance paid on a 24 year old roof you are lucky. It was going to cover only $500 of ours. They cover less and less each year. Cost me $35k or so to replace - and gutters. But my premium only went up 5%.
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A tree fell through the roof of our last house during Hurricane Sandy. Chubb was the insurer. Once we got their attention (which was hard because all of NYC was submerged for a while), they were very good. I lined up a contractor and a tree guy and while Chubb was working on estimates, I said, “Look. I need to get these guys going or I will lose them and the damage will be much greater by the time they get back as there really is a hole in the roof.” I paid a bunch out of pocket and when they finally got down to it, they reimbursed me for all I had paid. They urged us to stay in a hotel, which ShawWife initially did not do, but she then needed to as the mold/dust from the construction was bad for her breathing. They also paid for half the roof. I don’t know if our premium went up much, but a couple of years later, they dropped us out of the blue. Unclear if that was the reason.
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Shouldn’t all AI assists be “trust but verify”? I mean, isn’t it like a giant Wikipedia search program that gleans info from all sources, good, bad, malicious?
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Oh yes, that celery colored shag! I loved it, it was all over our home in Dallas in 1970! Went perfectly well with the huge flowery drapes that adorned my teenage girl ceiling to floor bedroom window - think Laugh-In styled.
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Colorado smiles…
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We connected with a realtor in Auburn, AL looking for a retirement home, not a 55+ but a nice neighborhood. We fell in love with the area when our youngest was a student and apparently we weren’t the only ones. It is really booming with lots of building and lots of new homes - but it’s now starting to lose it’s charm. The loveliest village on the plains is getting just too darn big! Decided we would just stay where we are, fix it up, and enjoy what we have!
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This is happening all over the south. My town, was 27k when I moved here less than 20 years ago, now 80k plus. The natives hate it and I got it. Traffic is a bear. It won’t quite get that way in Auburn Opeleika but yeah it’s booming. I read an article about luxury Montgomery Dealership locations and it talked about, while much smaller, moving to that area for better customers. I don’t think it’s happened but that it was a thought means something.
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Yep I moved to my Georgia county in 1988 with 40,000 residents, now 287,000…..crazy. But my property value has soared!
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Same here. We moved to an area of BF Nowhere that had our old neighbors shaking their heads, but we now have a Sprouts/Target/Five Guys/Home Depot/Trader Joe’s and an outdoor mall with every chain you can think of on our corner and within two miles, and our community has been annexed to the “big” town next door. Property values have almost tripled in the 11 years we’ve been here. Our area now looks the same as the NE Phoenix/Scottsdale area we moved from. Some benefits of that, some drawbacks.
Please, people, stay where you are. You will not like it here. Really.
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