Took the First Step to Sell the House!!

Parent Cafe
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<p>My H has no idea how much of his old junk I’ve thrown out…</p>

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<p>Laugh of the Day: I told my husband about the matchbooks and he said:</p>

<p>“What’s NOT important to you might be important to someone else.”</p>

<p>Oh brother. He would have kept the matchbooks too.</p>

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<p>S is much better than H or me about tossing things. We all know this, so we leave him to do his tossing while we don’t look (especially for things that are from my mom’s house). It is better for all of us this way. Wish he & H would toss some of the junk H has in the carport, but H wants to be in charge of that, since it’s his & family “stuff.” It keeps aging badly out there, but oh well!</p>

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<p>I don’t think I would throw somebody’s stuff away without permission.</p>

<p>I went from saving everything to throwing or donating away most stuff. My wife just talked me into donating our dining room set away.</p>

<p>I have old cabinets and an old corian counter in my master.</p>

<p>I think we are going to tear that away…and put in something like this…</p>

<p>[Xylem</a> Windsor 60 Vanity - V-WINDSOR-60 by QualityBath.com](<a href=“http://www.qualitybath.com/product~ID~47798.htm]Xylem”>http://www.qualitybath.com/product~ID~47798.htm)</p>

<p>I’m not sure how this will fly but it is easy to remove. :)</p>

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<p>If it is important to get the house on the market this spring, is it possible to rent a storage unit large enough to hold both H’s stuff and give him some room to sort through it there? I think that getting it out of the house in order to get the house ready for sale is pretty critical, but the storage unit at least gives him some breathing space to deal with it bit by bit on his own time…</p>

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<p>Good idea, but how large would the storage unit need to be? It could be expensive, especially since it would have to be climate-controlled. We used a 10’ x 13’ climate-controlled unit while our house was on the market and it cost $225 a month. They may be cheaper in other parts of the country.</p>

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<p>I’m thinking that whatever it costs is less expensive than the cost for failing to get the house on the market at the right time.</p>

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<p>Sometimes there are pretty good deals on storage units, especially for the first month or two. S was able to get the 1st month for under $60 of the largest storage unit with climate control & on the ground floor this summer. He moved everything out after that or it would have increased to the regular price >$200. </p>

<p>Knowing when “the right time” is can be a challenge, but good luck! If things seem to be selling in & around your area, it does seem like it would be worth putting it on the market sooner rather than later.</p>

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<p>DH just told me that my definition of “clutter” is anything that belongs to him.</p>

<p>Ha. Ha. Ha.</p>

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<p>Thanks, VH! I needed a good chuckle today.</p>

<p>DH better be careful or he might end up in the clutter category himself!!</p>

<p>Now what I want to know is Mr. VH really onboard with moving. Mr. WNP is the kind of person who is content wherever he is and would never willingly move. As I think about it, his dad and paternal uncle were the same. His uncle has five houses/condos. His wife has been insisting for years they should downsize. Finally she became so frustrated she bought a condo (residence #5) and they just moved in there but never cleaned out other primary house. I think the aunt is figuring if he dies first, she will just plow down the house.</p>

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<p>dstak… please don’t do it. Not all buyers like claw feet and curved cabinet fronts - they are a pain :slight_smile: That vanity would send my DH running away from your house! And you can do better than that pricewise:</p>

<p>[Costco</a> Vanities](<a href=“http://www.costco.com/Common/CostcoCategory.aspx?ec=bc-ec10618-cat1240&pos=0&whse=bc&topnav=&cat=4304&ecat=bc]Costco”>http://www.costco.com/Common/CostcoCategory.aspx?ec=bc-ec10618-cat1240&pos=0&whse=bc&topnav=&cat=4304&ecat=bc)</p>

<p>Shipping and handling included :slight_smile: vvv</p>

<p>[Costco</a> - New Waves Reni 60" Double Sink Vanity](<a href=“http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11491945&whse=bc&topnav=&cat=4304&hierPath=4304*&lang=en-US]Costco”>http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11491945&whse=bc&topnav=&cat=4304&hierPath=4304*&lang=en-US)</p>

<p>[Costco</a> - Manhattan 60" Double Sink Vanity Mission Hills®](<a href=“http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11485911&whse=bc&topnav=&cat=4304&hierPath=4304*&lang=en-US]Costco”>http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11485911&whse=bc&topnav=&cat=4304&hierPath=4304*&lang=en-US)</p>

<p>[Costco</a> - Today’s Bath Covington 60" Double Sink Vanity](<a href=“http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11524887&whse=bc&topnav=&cat=4304&hierPath=4304*&lang=en-US]Costco”>http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11524887&whse=bc&topnav=&cat=4304&hierPath=4304*&lang=en-US)</p>

<p>I like this one (but I would repaint it white):</p>

<p>[Costco</a> - Midtown 60" Double Sink Vanity By Mission Hills®](<a href=“http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11589237&whse=bc&topnav=&cat=4304&hierPath=4304*&lang=en-US]Costco”>http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11589237&whse=bc&topnav=&cat=4304&hierPath=4304*&lang=en-US)</p>

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<p>Well. Good question.</p>

<p>Mr. VH is generally more passive than I am. I am the driver behind this move. My goal in moving is to downsize the house so I can downsize my job. I am absolutely miserable where I am right now, and I’m also living in another state during the week. So decluttering and generally taking action to sell the house is the only thing making me hopeful right now.</p>

<p>He is not miserable. He’s not happy with my living in another state, but he’s not miserable.</p>

<p>He also doesn’t like change.</p>

<p>I guess I need to think of ways to get him more onboard.</p>

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<p>VH, can you tell Mr. VH that this move is for YOUR health and a better, happier marriage? Can you also tell him that decluttering is a gift you’re giving yourselves and the kids? How about if you both set mini-goals one spot or room at a time? Can you try visualizing and explaining to Mr. VH how your lives now will compare with your lives AFTER you can downsize house and job?</p>

<p>It IS tough getting loved ones onboard sometimes (we still have our carport full of stuff from trying to declutter H’s family home–just moved from there to here–16 years ago–UGH).</p>

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<p>Hmmmm, I wondered. DH would not be happy with my living elsewhere, but he would just work longer hours, exercise more, and flip back and forth between more stations if I weren’t home during the week. He would make sure the house was clean and the laundry was finished when I arrived home. He would adjust. He just never complains about anything. He would say stupid things like, “Well, the good thing is…” which sounds wonderful except when I want to complain about something. Like a job I might not like. :)</p>

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<p>HImom: I like your comments and will use them to remind him how much better it will be when I don’t have to live in another state during the week . . . when I won’t get cranky and anxious every Sunday night . . . when we can eat dinner together every night . . . and it’s a great idea to remind him that the decluttering will help our children. He had to clean out his mother’s house after she died, and it was not a pretty picture. Unfortunately, he now says that he wishes he could have taken more time and more care in doing that. He thinks he tossed things that might have had value. (I don’t really think so.) So he’s resisting my nudges to move forward.</p>

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<p>So bunsenburner…you gave me a nice list…but you wouldn’t do it?</p>

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<p>Clarification: I would not put in anything that has claw feet and curved front. Go with fairly generic, clean lines, etc. unless the rest of your house calls for claw feet. :)</p>

<p>Unless your Corian is so hideous that it would scare the life out of your buyers, I would leave it up to them to do the remodel. I would really hate to have to rip out a new $2000 vanity to replace it with someting like this:</p>

<p><a href=“http://l-shapedcomputerdesk.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/bathroom-vanity-cabinets.jpg[/url]”>http://l-shapedcomputerdesk.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/bathroom-vanity-cabinets.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>:)</p>

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<p>I have a small bathroom…and the claw’s feet shows more floor…</p>

<p>I’m trying to give the buyer a newer looking bathroom so that the buyer won’t feel in a rush to remodel…</p>

<p>The family that is going to buy my house is going to get help from their parents…</p>

<p>I think it has a shot…</p>

<p>I realize some people will be turned off by the new vanity, but some will be turned off by the age of the bathroom…</p>

<p>I think more people will prefer new…</p>

<p>My informal poll is 2 to 1 in favor of new…:)</p>

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<p>Okay. If your buyers belong to the “young family with not too much cash” category, then new makes sense. But please do not do claw feet - you will scare too many potential buyers of the IKEA generation away :slight_smile: .</p>

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<p>Corian is clean and neutral. Why throw away your money by removing it, when you can just dress up the bathroom with new paint, towels, and other cheap fixes? I for one, really, really, really do not like the look of the new vanity you are considering. (no offense, I hope!!! Just not my style) It would be a real negative if I were looking at your house. Declutter, clean - clean- clean, ad some bright touches and new paint, and flowers on the porch, and leave the big stuff…</p>