<p>I think in this day and age everyone looks at the MLS online. If a realtor was unwilling to show me a house in the multi-list I would probably find another realtor.</p>
<p>VeryHappy:</p>
<p>What part of CT do you live in? In our neck of the woods, nothing is selling and prices are dropping. We’ve lived in the house for 24 years and am hoping to unload it in ~6 years assuming the market improves.</p>
<p>One thing we did before selling was have a complete and thorough building inspection (the kind you get if you’re trying to negotiate the price down). Then we repaired everything that the inspector found. In our seller’s notebook (the one with the lot plan, the floor plans, the landscaping plan, the tax report, disclosures, etc.), we included the inspection report–all of it–and a copy of the repair invoices.</p>
<p>I knew we stayed in our smallish home for a reason; we never upsized so now we don’t have to downsize! :)</p>
<p>Good luck. You sound really ready. And, yeah, our house will be paid off in nine years and is what enabled me to quit my job with a psychopath.</p>
<p>VeryHappy…</p>
<p>I have to report to 2 people. The number one guy has OCD. He focuses on things that are not important and repeats himself. Sometimes…if it is a very big issue to him…he repeats himself 100 times over a long period of time. I usually get it the first time. ;)</p>
<p>The number two guy is not trustworthy, will lie to a person’s face, and will undermine a person if it fits his needs. ( he is the hardest working person at the firm and he has the most knowledge which is why he is still at the firm).</p>
<p>This is where I am much luckier than you…VeryHappy…the number 1
guy is one of my best friends and I can tell him he is wrong or nuts or I
can tell him to go F… Himself.</p>
<p>The number 2 guy works in a different office, 2,000 miles away and I rarely have to go there. In fact…I am trying to never go there again. 
And the number 1 guy understands. :)</p>
<p>These guys like any of the guys you work with?</p>
<p>We got a discount for using the same agent to buy our next house that sold our house. It worked out well.</p>
<p>We are happy we have never upsized or done any major remodels–our house is only 1350 square feet & was big enough when we were raising our 2 kids and will be small enough for just the 2 of us and visitors. H did say he plans to die in this home when we bought it decades past. </p>
<p>Most of my sibs & my folks have MUCH larger homes than we do (like twice or three times our size, sometimes with a swimming pool). They also have a much larger mortgage and property tax & insurance & will be rattling around in their huge homes when it’s just the two of them, like my folks.</p>
<p>I didn’t have any problem living in 1200 SF with two small boys when it was in southern California and we were able to be outside year round. It would have been a ittle more of a challenge in central Pennsylvania. I just wish we could have held on to that place for our “golden years”.</p>
<p>I can SO relate to that, thumper. We totally redid the kitchen & master bath in our previous house, just to sell it. I may have used the new stove 5 times before we moved. Oh well.</p>
<p>And, I’m also joining those of you in the “getting ready to put our house on the market” group. H & I took the plunge and are moving to Cambridge (MA) – probably late spring/early summer. It’s a 3 unit condo in a great location, and our unit is all new construction. Since it’s not finished, we get to pick out kitchen & bath cabinets, counters, tile, etc. I also did a slight redesign of the kitchen and gained a LOT more cabinet space. We’ll be putting lots into storage. The good news is we haven’t been in our current house too long, so there’s not nearly as much to purge as for the previous move. We only have a few minor things to fix here – replace a few faucets, etc.</p>
<p>dstark:</p>
<p>My immediate boss is a terrified bully who, I expect, was emotionally (if not physically) abused by his father. He’s the psychopath. He’s mean, abusive, anxious, and undermines everyone. His biggest compliment to me to date: “There’s really not that much wrong with it.” (On a major presentation I prepared.) And another compliment: “I haven’t heard anyone say anything bad about you yet.”</p>
<p>His boss is the OCD lady. We re-do presentations 50 or so times, adding commas, taking them out, aligning footnotes in the left margin, making sure all the fonts are the same size . . . . These are not bad things to do, but the woman earns $375,000, and this is how she spends her time. And, therefore, how I have to spend my time.</p>
<p>DocT: We’re in Fairfield County. Things are certainly not what they used to be, but things are moving if they are priced right.</p>
<p>“My immediate boss is a terrified bully who, I expect, was emotionally (if not physically) abused by his father. He’s the psychopath.” </p>
<p>His boss is the OCD lady. We re-do presentations 50 or so times, adding commas, taking them out, aligning footnotes in the left margin, making sure all the fonts are the same size . . . . "</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>I understand…</p>
<p>Your situation is worse than mine…</p>
<p>Life is too short to put up with that crap.</p>
<p>You have a good plan.</p>
<p>VeryHappy - I am very happy for you! I know you have been struggling with this for a while. I hope it all works out!</p>
<p>VeryHappy, I’ll be following your progress as we too want to downsize. Son is a senior and I cannot wait to find a smaller house. Anyway, we listed ours for three months in the fall and had a few lookers but no offers. I really think it was the timing. We probably should have waited until this spring.</p>
<p>Be prepared to keep it show-ready! In spite of asking for 24 hours notice, the agents still called from the curb. I learned to throw all the dirty laundry in the trunk of my car, and put the clean stuff back into the dryer. It made the laundry room look so clean!</p>
<p>I don’t hate my job. It just requires lots of effort and is very stressful and demanding. I do hate the long commute (about 2hrs/day driving in heavy traffic). I have many, many things I want to do outside of work. The bottom line is I work for money not for fun. I also came to the conclusion that the money is not worth it. My raises just have not been anywhere enough to make up for the cost of living increases on Long Island. If I continue to work I will get closer to being able to afford retirement, not because I am saving lots, but because I am getting closer to the end of my life expectancy. I decided that strategy was not acceptable. The financial plan is simple. I sell the house and move to a more reasonable COL area. If I rebuy in a more reasonable COL area, then I could easily replace my house with something smaller, but nicer and have money left over to live off of for several years while letting my retirement funds grow. I will be able to afford a much higher standard of living elsewhere. If I want to stay here, then I need to work for many more years. It is time to move on.</p>
<p>Good luck with the sale of your house. I am still trying to sell mine after a long, long time downsizing the 20+ year accumulated stuff. In my area houses are selling but not quickly and at about 15% less than a couple of years ago.</p>
<p>givings, We also listed briefly at the end of last summer, then decided to take a break until spring. Whenever we had a showing I threw all the odds and ends into the car, including the dog!</p>
<p>edad, I was watching one of the home buying shows on HGTV last night and there was a couple looking at homes in Knoxville, TN (a college town, FWIW). They were looking at colonials in newish subdivisions, ~2500 SF, granite and S/S in the kitchen, for under $300K. I was ready to start packing.</p>
<p>"They were looking at colonials in newish subdivisions, ~2500 SF, granite and S/S in the kitchen, for under $300K. I was ready to start packing. </p>
<p>I would rather own a crummier house in an area where I want to live. </p>
<p>I have nothing against Knoxville…:)</p>
<p>That’s not what I would choose either; I was just surprised at the price of housing in the area.</p>
<p>We are a few years off from selling, but had to finally do some kitchen maintenance, as the counter collapsed last week. I am just replacing the countertop, with a new sink, faucet and dishwasher, although the color of the countertop is close to the tile on the wall and the island on the other side. I do not have the time or the money for a complete redo of the kitchen, and son is only a freshman in college, so we won’t be selling for at least three more years. I would like to do a new kitchen that I can enjoy, but I know I will have to do brand new everything in order to sell the house. As we hope to move to a whole other area of the country, God and job willing, I will save my “fun kitchen” for the new house.</p>
<p>1moremom, yeah I am surprised on how nice and inexpensive the homes are in some areas.</p>
<p>The land must be really cheap. The labor too. </p>
<p>I have been watching a lot of shows on HGTV.</p>
<p>I like Designed To Sell…although, the show’s premise is a little disingenuous. Fixing up homes to sell for $2,000…and not counting the cost of labor…just a little annoying. </p>
<p>I still like the show. :)</p>
<p>Another couple of tips for showings…</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Get new bathroom towels and rugs that are JUST for showings. When you get the call…toss whatever is in the bathroom in a laundry basket and toss in the car. Pick a nice light color (something you would NEVER buy because it would show the dirt forever after one use).</p></li>
<li><p>Keep an extra box handy. When you get the call for a showing…just toss all the “stuff” from your island or kitchen counter into the box and take it with you for the ride too.</p></li>
</ol>