Took the First Step to Sell the House!!

Parent Cafe
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<p>The way life goes 15% to 20% over-budget <em>is</em> on-budget. You always want to pad it a little to have the extra for unexpected ‘discoveries’ like dry-rot and mold (or leaky chimneys!) that are a necessary repair. </p>

<p>If you do buy another house, dstark, consider adding in those features that will make it possible for you not to have to move again when you are older. Grab-bars, non-slip tiles, etc. There’s a lot of literature now on how to do it without sacrificing style or feeling like you are living in a nursing home. I have a friend who retro-fits houses for the elderly. So many older people want to stay in their homes but they are not practical or safe places to be any more so they get shipped off to ‘Adult Care’. </p>

<p>Even though I am not old enough to live in a retirement area (I’m not, I’m not, I’m not…so there!), I did consider one that, though advertised for ‘active adults’, had no age restriction written in the covenant. The houses were on a single level, had safety features in place which were modern and elegant, not hospital-ish, and had extra wide halls and such in case a wheelchair is someday needed. My dh already has hip and knee issues which will probably get worse as he ages. It didn’t hurt that the houses were beautiful, well-designed, and well-built…but my dh wanted to be by the ocean and not 15 minutes away. So here we are in a 3 story house with lots of stairs (sigh). </p>

<p>Anyway, consider the future when you buy your next place so that it can be your <em>last</em> next place.</p>

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<p>

What makes you think a landlord is going to maintain a place to the level you are used to in your own house?</p>

<p>Not going to happen.</p>

<p>You see renting as this great thing compared to all the issues you are having now. But all that deferred maintenance you are now catching up on to sell your house? That will never get done in a rental.</p>

<p>If you rent an apartment, you will now have neighbors all around you making noise and getting in your business. If you rent a house, then <em>you</em> might still be responsible for some maintenance like lawn care or snow removal or painting or whatever. Plus, renting a house can be very expensive - in my area, it can cost more than buying.</p>

<p>And, you now have to deal with a landlord, and all his legal and financial issues second-hand. Guess what happens when he gets foreclosed on? Or is just hanging on and won’t spend a dime on anything? Or won’t deal with an obnoxious or dangerous tenant in the building? 20 years ago the issue was condo conversions, and how that was forcing renters out onto the street, today is foreclosures, tomorrow will be something else.</p>

<p>Renting is getting a little over-glorified these days because of the housing crisis, but there’s a reason 2/3 of people (or whatever the number is) buy a house.</p>

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<p>“So here we are in a 3 story house with lots of stairs (sigh).” :slight_smile: yeah…I think having a 3 story place in your 70’s and up isn’t ideal. </p>

<p>My next place isn’t going to be my last place…I still have one kid at home…and that kid will want to move out…someday…</p>

<p>My last place may look like this… without the pink…</p>

<p><a href=“http://fhallen.com/Buyers/495_S_Eliseo_Dr_$549,000_Sqft1093_21100427.html”>http://fhallen.com/Buyers/495_S_Eliseo_Dr_$549,000_Sqft1093_21100427.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>It’s near a grocery store…bus lines…and a hospital…:)</p>

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<p>I found renting an apartment in a very upscale complex, where the units were originally intended to be sold, a very easy experience. We were there more than 18 months. There was on-site management more than 40 hours a week and maintenance even changed my light bulbs. A very favorable long term lease could have been negotiated.</p>

<p>But I prefer my own space as I am definitely a nester.</p>

645

<p>notrichenough…</p>

<p>you make some good points…</p>

<p>I do know a company that does a pretty good job keeping up the rentals…</p>

<p>but renting is not a panacea…you’re right…</p>

646

<p>DStaryk, I agree with Novelisto. Plan your next house so you can stay there indefinitely. You can always decide to move but maybe you won’t want to. We are in the process of making our current house liveable forever. Hubby doesn’t want to move ever again and I am beginning to agree. Too much work.</p>

647

<p>“But all that deferred maintenance you are now catching up on to sell your house?”</p>

<p>It’s not just the deferred mantenance…that definitely exists…</p>

<p>It’s keeping a place updated…</p>

<p>it’s ridiculous…</p>

<p>What cabinets are hot? The width of the planks of a hardwood floor? Countertops? Colors? </p>

<p>It’s a great for those that make their money in the housing industry…</p>

<p>I hear white cabinets are making a comeback…:)</p>

648

<p>"Hubby doesn’t want to move ever again and I am beginning to agree. Too much work. "</p>

<p>:)</p>

649

<p>

</p>

<p>But at the right price, people are willing to forgo updated (assuming the house isn’t a total bomb). When we look at houses on the market, some are updated, some are not. The updated ones command more money but if you’re pouring a boatload of money into your house into order to sell it, just be sure you will recover your expenses. People are still looking for bargains. Of course, in your market you may have no choice but to update it to the hilt. </p>

<p>White cabinets are classic if the rest of the kitchen is done right. I hate, hate, hate the flavor of the month thing when it comes to decorating. Everyone I know now has maple cabinets, dark granite counter tops and stainless steel. People have zero imagination.</p>

650

<p>“. Everyone I know now has maple cabinets, dark granite counter tops and stainless steel. People have zero imagination.”</p>

<p>Yes…you are totally right…</p>

<p>Luckily…I only have 2 out of 3… :)</p>

651

<p>

I don’t know anyone who has updated just because something is a few years out of fashion.</p>

<p>We updated our kitchen because the old kitchen was 40 years old, was small and dark with particle-board cabinets and a crappy linoleum floor. Now our kitchen is large and airy with lots of light, cherry cabinets, granite counters (uba tuba) and bamboo floors. We updated our bathrooms because the tiles were literally falling off the walls.</p>

<p>I guess uba tuba is kind of dark (it is green), no maple or stainless though. So only 1/2 out of 3 for me. Phew! :cool:</p>

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<p>yeah…where I live cherry has replaced maple…</p>

<p>so you are 2 out of 3 and i am 1 out of 3…:)</p>

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<p>Well, I did my kitchen 10 years ago. If cherry is the “in” cabinet now, does that mean I was avant garde back in the day? :)</p>

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<p>I don’t know…cherry has been in for awhile…</p>

<p>It became the in wood right after I put in maple. :)</p>

<p>I like both myself…</p>

<p>I really had discussions about the width of the hardwood floors…
Many people wanted me to consider ripping up a very good floor because I was adding hardwood…to existing hardwood…and the existing hardwood was too narrow…</p>

<p>Fatter hardwood boards are in now.</p>

<p>I ignored them and after adding the thinner plank hardwood floors, now people love my thinner plank hardwood floors…lol</p>

655

<p>I updated my kitchen to sell. I had orange oak cabinets and tile counters, both installed by the previous owners. The cabinets were custom and no doubt very expensive, and tile counters were *de rigueur * at the time they were put in (early 90s). I couldn’t justify the expense of new cabinets (or the waste of the old ones), so I painted over the oak with white and they look good, only a little bit of the grain showing through in certain light. I also bought a couple of very inexpensive slabs of ubatuba (on clearance at the granite yard due to some cracks which my fabricator was able to work around) for the counter. It looks like a new kitchen and will show well when we put the house on the market later this year.</p>

<p>DH and I spent a day looking at houses in a new (to us) neighborhood. The ones that show best have fresh paint and updated kitchens/bathrooms. The ones that look worst are stuck in the 80s. </p>

<p>Most buyers want a house they can move into without having to do anything at all, which is why dstark is so smart to get his house into turnkey condition. DH and I, on the other hand, want a kitchen with plywood cabinets, linoleum floor, and crumbling tile counters. Those houses, typically build in the 40s and 50s, tend to have hardwood floors and lots of possibilities for remodeling. We have very specific ideas of what we want in a house, and finding one with good bones to fix up is our priority. The comments about thoughtful design to allow aging in place are very good - there’s a lot that can be done, if thought about during the design phase, to allow for older folks (not me, yet!) to remain in a house as they become less mobile.</p>

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<p>When I ordered a French door refrigerator in off-white the salesman thought I was crazy. We did put in granite a few years ago; it is light, with a leather finish, and nice to work on. (It replaced first generation corian that had cracked badly.) I repainted my off-white cabinet fronts and had the butcher block from the island refinished. We probably should have done something about the track lighting years ago, but I have put all the money into this place I care to.</p>

<p>Our new house (assuming we get this place sold :() will allow one floor living. Our land slopes to the rear, so we can have guest bedrooms and a family room downstairs (for our imaginary grandchildren). I am also thinking and reading about landscaping and gardening (my passion) that is easier to maintain as one grows older. I know how painful it is for my mom to watch her garden deteriorate because she can’t be out there for hours a day and can’t afford to pay anyone to take that kind of care of it.</p>

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<p>“Most buyers want a house they can move into without having to do anything at all, which is why dstark is so smart to get his house into turnkey condition.”</p>

<p>We will see very shorty…:)</p>

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<p>Wishing you luck, dstark.</p>

<p>My neighbor across the street is pregnant again, and they had a huge garage sale, so I’m waiting for the For Sale sign to go up.</p>

<p>Out of curiosity, we looked at what homes were asking for in the neighborhood. There are a LOT of homes for sale in the few blocks surrounding us right now. Very depressing. The nicest one, on the corner, is asking what the going price has been over the last several years, but the others are $100K lower! Some are a good bit smaller, but not that much smaller! Maybe one bedroom less! And the same neighborhood!</p>

<p>Looks like husband and I are stuck in our armpit of a house. We agree to just sell “as is” and hope to just get enough to make a decent down payment on a smaller house. It would take about the price of the smaller houses to completely update our home, ie, new kitchen, floors, carpet, paint, wallpaper, new bathrooms. If we took out a home improvement loan, we’d wind up with a note from that, plus a new mortgage. No thanks! Not when we’re in our fifties!</p>

<p>I wonder, would it be worth bulldozing the house and just selling the lot? Would we get more for that, since we are in a good neighborhood and a good school district? </p>

<p>Hopefully, things will get better in the next few years. I don’t want to sell until son finishes undergrad, three more years, but I definitely want to be able to leave if husband gets transferred. Son is going to an OOS college, so we’re no longer tied to this area because of son’s school. Only husband’s job is keeping us here, and we’re not telling that goodbye!</p>

<p>Good luck on those of you who are selling! It’s a buyer’s market out there, for sure!</p>

<p>Oh, and one other thing. We are “supposedly” in an area with a good real estate outlook. People are “dying” to move to New Orleans. Oh, yeah? Where are they? Lots of For Sale signs that haven’t moved for at least three years.</p>

659

<p>“I hear white cabinets are making a comeback…”</p>

<p>…because not all cabinets can be refinished, yet many can be relatively easily painted. :)</p>

<p>Good luck, dstark!</p>

660

<p>Thanks Montegut and BunsenBurner.</p>