<p>OH! I did not mention that the garage is not attached (a consequence of the period in which the house was built). Would that it were–for MY convenience. </p>
<p>But attaching a new garage would not only be very expensive, but would block 3 windows.</p>
<p>VH, I’m looking for an opinion from you or anyone else here. Don’t know if this has been addressed as I have followed this thread somewhat, just not all 20 pages. We’re getting ready to put our house on the market (again) but having a disagreement.</p>
<p>I want to ask for 24 hours notice from the showing agents. DH does not. As I explained to our listing agent this past fall, I would always make exceptions for out-of-towners (and I really have in the past) who called from the curb. I just can’t keep it “show-ready” and have any quality of life on a day-to-day basis. I believe that serious buyers in my neighborhood would be able to give a day’s notice.</p>
<p>Our home is 4000+ square feet, we have no weekly cleaning service, and the constant reminders to my teenage son go on deaf ears and make me a crazy woman. DH promises he will step in. Puh-leeeese. Been there, done that. (He left the upstairs windows open last night after doing a little paint job…I woke up this morning, went upstairs and found the heater running full blast with a strong frigid breeze coming out of our guest room. He was really sorry.) My point is, he will say he’ll keep it show-ready but I think our marriage would suffer. And I don’t want to promise I will do it by myself. We’re at a stalemate.</p>
<p>I respectfully ask for opinions/feedback.</p>
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<p>When we sold our last house, we had a dog. We asked for 24 hours notice so that we could deal with our pooch. It was right on the contract and showing information. All the agents saw it right up front. It was not a problem.</p>
<p>givings, selling a house is PITA. You need to get used to the idea of living in a “fake house” that may, or may not, have visitors on almost no notice. We’ve just been through it. And it was an ordeal.</p>
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<p>Oh, we asked for 24 hours notice, but they ignored it and asked anyway. Or should I say the scheduling service that all the agents contract with ignored it, which meant we had to say “no” a few times. I didn’t think it was a big deal, but DH spoke with a realtor friend who said asking for 24 hours is a mistake…</p>
<p>Mafool – We may think of those ‘charming’ details as screaming grandma’s-house. But the generation that is buying now to start their own families grew up in and around largely cookie-cutter developments, and ‘grandma’s house’ is a condo someplace. The delightful details were stripped out of those houses – a lot don’t even have crown moulding let alone anything but a little bit of shoe moulding on the floor – so they could go up fast and cheap. So a lot of younger folks are dreaming of a house with character and charm. If the kitchen and baths are reasonably up-to-date and the systems are all okay (<em>major</em> plus on the bigger-than-normal-for-the-period closets…congratulations!), arches and mouldings and stained glass and crystal door-knob type details are very desirable to a good portion of the home-buying demographic. </p>
<p>Givings – Depends on the market. If you are in one of the remaining ‘hot’ zones, you might miss out on a buyer or two. If, however, like most folks you are in a slower zone, 24 hrs here or there won’t make much difference. You might consider having 24 hrs notice during the week, but have it pretty much good to go on weekends. That way, if you do get a call, you can say, ‘Come on down!’ </p>
<p>As for DH and boy-child, time for some tough talk. If they want to sell, they’ve got to step up to the plate. The nicer you keep it, the quicker it will sell and the sooner none of you will have to deal with the hassle. And it is a hassle. Keep the less frequently used rooms in show condition, have an under-bed basket ready to go to do a major toss-n-hide when you get a call, and be prepared to throw laundry baskets, etc., into the car as you leave the house! </p>
<p>I had a list when I was showing:</p>
<p>Turn on all lights.
Open all curtains.
Wipe all counters…clearing as you go.
Close all cabinets.
Throw all dishes into dishwasher.
Spray airfreshener (nothing too strong…just Febreeze).
Pull the bedspreads over the beds.
Anything too big to hide goes in the back of the car.
And we’re outta here!</p>
<p>15-20 minutes tops.</p>
<p>Novelisto: I like your list. I would add to it: bake a small plate of slice-and-bake chocolate chip cookies while you’re running down the list. Leave on counter. The smell of fresh-baked cookies is irrestible.</p>
<p>dstark - we spent about $13k to have the pool demolished and the topsoil in place, ready to plant. Another bidder would have hauled all the broken concrete to the dump, and cost us $10k more. We figured it was fine to use our own concrete for fill, since something had to be put in that hole. But we went with a relatively high-end contractor who was very careful to fill in all the little nooks and crannies with small gravel. The last thing you want is your very own sinkhole! If you end up doing this, pm me and I can give you more details. But yes, it’s worth getting several bids on a pool project.</p>
<p>mafool - around hear, people love what realtors call old world charm. It’s what we bought this time around, and it is a bit of an adjustment living in a house with a total of 4 closets, and 1 electric outlet per room. But the arches and other old features are a huge selling point in our area, as long as the mechanical systems are in good shape, and the house doesn’t leak.</p>
<p>So today was day 2 of wallpaper scraping, aimed to demolish the bright and cheerful decorating I did for my son’s room when we moved into the house we’re about to sell. What a pain!! Also painful was picking out the blandest possible paint to replace it. To say I like color is an understatement, so this neutralizing the house thing is tough.</p>
<p>Fauxnom…thanks…I’m hoping I can sell my house without demolishing the pool…we’ll see…</p>
<p>I do like your prices better than the numbers I have heard…</p>
<p>My dad’s hous has arches into the livingroom and dining room. This is a good thing?</p>
<p>We will be selling out house soon. My son’s room has the “splatter paint” on the walls that was here when we bought it 16 years ago. He still likes it! The realtor said it needs to go. I tried sanding it down in an inconspicuous place - it didn’t work. Has anyone else ever had to get rid of this? Can’t someone else with a child buy this house?</p>
<p>I would add putting out fresh towels to Novelisto’s list. We’ve also always had the “dog excuse” and asked for some notice, though it did not deter some anxious buyers. Once when we were selling our CA house we had a family show up while we were in the middle of dinner; with a newborn, a two year old and our hound it was impossible for us to make a quick exit. We had the entire family (three generations, maybe eight people plus their realtor), filing around our tiny kitchen while we tried to get out of the way.</p>
<p>dmd77 – I’m not really very swift so I probably would have forgotten to take the cookies out. The smell of burning would not have helped sell the house, no matter how much Febreeze I might spray! I did leave a bowl of fruit – lemons and oranges – in a fancy bowl on the kitchen counter.</p>
<p>rumandting – Killz primer should cover that. Lightly sand down the walls first to get a good adherence, going over them with a ‘tack cloth’ to pick up the dust. Then prime with care…don’t wait too long after priming to paint with a good latex (like months). The latest thing is paint with primer all-in-one but I have not used it so cannot tell you if it’s as good as they promise. </p>
<p>One of the greatest inventions of the 20th century is blue painter’s tape! Just don’t leave it up too long or it will take the paint off too. But the time it saves – esp. when doing windows or fancy treatments – is worth the risk!</p>
<p>OT wallpaper update: Prior owner did not prime drywall before applying wallpaper. Wall is now a ripped up mess, despite careful peeling with my fingernails because the tools did an even worse job. Installing new drywall is not in my skill set.</p>
<p>I am installing new drywall in a room about 20’ by 8’ times 3 walls…one wall has many windows… The cost is about 2000…that includes paint</p>
<p>I’m in Norcal…so i assume that is more expensive here…</p>
<p>Painting contractors can usually install drywall…as well as handymen and some owners…(i’m not one of those owners)…</p>
<p>Countingdown – Yeah, I was afraid of that when you said the previous owner didn’t have a lot of ‘gifts’ when it came to home repair. Sorry to hear it. One of those jobs you wish you hadn’t even started, right? </p>
<p>You may just need to re-skim the surface – depending on how bad it is. </p>
<p>Read this to see if it is something you feel you can do yourself:</p>
<p>[Drywall</a> Repair - Plaster Repair](<a href=“http://www.askthebuilder.com/B250_Drywall_Repair_-_Plaster_Repair.shtml]Drywall”>http://www.askthebuilder.com/B250_Drywall_Repair_-_Plaster_Repair.shtml)</p>
<p>Had a third realtor come to the house yesterday. She will also be giving us a formal competitive market analysis, but in the meantime I nearly fell off my chair.</p>
<p>Her off-the-cuff assessment was about 45% higher than the first realtor’s. I laughed outloud. If we could get what she alleges we could, I’ll never have to work again and we’ll be able to buy a new house for $100K more than I’ve been anticipating.</p>
<p>I think, however, that she is full of – ummmmm – that she’s incorrect in her assessment.</p>
<p>six months into my over-a-year-selling-my-house experience, when I interviewed a second set of realtors, and they said how much the house was worth, I asked the question, “Do you have someone particular in mind that you think will buy my house for that price?” “Have you sold anything at that price in the last six months?” “what were your sales the last year?”</p>
<p>But your location has held up better than most! Good luck - I hope you get to retire :)</p>
<p>We had two professional appraisals in the past six months, which came in about $100K apart. Our house is unusual, but it doesn’t give one a lot of confidence in the “system”.</p>
<p>“I think, however, that she is full of – ummmmm – that she’s incorrect in her assessment.”</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>45%…seems a little ridiculous…</p>