dogmom

<rant>
we had people scheduled to come look at our house - we're trying to sell. Been very difficult to get anybody. So far we've had 3 people - one liked the house but wanted a finished basement; one liked the house but disliked the neighborhood; one walked in and walked back out in about 2 seconds.
Our realtor said he was aware of what seemed to be a very motivated party to come by last week, so once again I frantically cleaned and organized for a day and then hauled all three dogs out to the van to sit out in the cul de sac for an hour in the warm weather <luckily it was later in day>. I waited about an hour and an extra 15 minutes and no one showed up, or called our agent saying they wouldn't make it! I missed dog class that eve. as well as an earlier dog appt. Our oldest has difficulty getting in and out of vehicles at this point, though we do have a ramp for him, which is also challenging for him to use. I may need to get him a hind end sling. With the stress of that, and waiting around in the van with the heat and just the change in activity pattern, it causes him more stress than our young girls.
Our agent was also pissed


<rant finish>

Deafness

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Frisky Feline

I am sorry. I feel you. My parents are trying to sell their house too. She keeps her two yorkies outside when the people comes to look by. But this week no one comes. we all know this year is a bad economy. I really want my parents to sell their house NOW so they can move back to the northeastern so we siblings can visit them again like we used to.

Hope you all will be able to sell real soon and get over with. poor little furkids! hang in there.

Bottesini

It's really hard selling a house. We have done it more than once and I know how frustrating it is.

I hope you manage to sell it soon.

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Banjo

I know the feeling about how people suddenly cannot make it. It's a time-waster for sure.

naisho

Sorry dogmom. Best of luck.

Do you know if your realtor posted it online? If you got a chance to review how it looks. Lots of people are advertising anywhere to get an audience, craigslist, estate searchs, etc.

deafskeptic

Sorry to hear that. I hope you get to sell it. It will take time. It took a year and half for my parents to sell the farm. However, your property is prolly not one of those 4000 sq houses unlike the log cabin my parents built so perhaps it won't take as long.

I wish you the best of luck.

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dogmom

all for your kind thoughts and hugs!!

naisho I do believe it is listed. We actually had the realtor come by and take new pictures, including pictures of the inside with a lot of the dog stuff moved out <for the shots>.

Reba

I don't envy you. Having a house for sale is a real hassle. I hope you get a contract soon so you can get back to normal life.

Reba

Has your realtor held an open house yet?

radioman

remember the golden rule of selling houses. It will ALWAYS sell regardless of features if the right price.

problem is many dont have the funds or budget to go with the seller wishes.

Best of luck for you. Hope it sells.

shel90

Did you stage your house to make it appealing to potential buyers?

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Alex

@dogmom: How long has your house been on the market for?

The other day I heard about this new construction (5 beds, 4 baths) in a nice area in Long Island. It's been sitting on the market for at least a year. I thought to myself, well, it's the economy I guess. When I got there, I noticed stucco all over the house. Not only that, but mold was already growing around the top part of the house. Now I understand why it's not selling.

Anyway, good luck selling your house!

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dogmom

Reba, no, no open house yet, I want to ask the realtor about that-

radioman - yep, that's pretty much what agent said. but there is a point beyond which we really can't keep lowering price.
for good luck wishes!

Shel - no, we actually haven't staged it - I hear about that on those home buying shows but don't know much about it.
With the three dogs it's impossible to keep it pristine and the house is dog-centered, there's no way to change that - though we have put a lot of stuff away and re-took pictures without dog crates and stuff in them.
do you have any thoughts on how we could stage it?


Alex - been on market since April. Like much of market our area and our neighborhood is having difficulty; we have foreclosures in it which also affects us.

Royale

Recently I read some news articles that LI has one of the highest property taxes in the U.S. IIRC, the average property tax in LI is $11,500 per year. OUCH!

dogmom

really?

Reba

To be honest, for staging purposes, your house has to look and smell as though no dogs ever lived there. Pets are often a red flag to buyers. Everything has to be neutralized in the house--no personal color or design elements, no personal photos displayed. It has to be sparkling clean, and all repairs must be done. Curb appeal is important to draw people in. Pretty much it has to look like no one lives there.

Otherwise, you have to be priced really low, unless you're in a highly desirable area.

HGTV.com has some good tips for staging the house.

how to sell house Search Results : HGTV

shel90

personal pictures put away,

minimize the area..meaning less clutter and a few pieces of furniture.

Maybe the living room can just have two couches, a coffee table with a few lit candles, some paintings or framed art on the wall.

The dining room...a formal dining table that doesnt consume too much space. A decorative bowl with some fake fruit in the center of the table. Again with the framed art or photos.

Bedrooms, just beds with nice beadspreads, one dresser, one nightstand and framed art or pics.

Any knicknacks, personal stuff, family photos, or toys...put away during the staging.

You want to draw attention to the space of the house. Too much stuff around the house can cause interested buyers lose interest in surveying the house quickly.

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dogmom

Reba and Shel,

as for the staging - I did think that maybe the house had to be so "perfect" for it, which is why we haven't done that. It's impossible to eradicate any evidence of the dogs being there without spending more money which we can't do.

We have tried to clean/de-clutter and hide stuff as much as possible.

dining room was used for that purpose maybe once in 15 years - that's the main room we had pic.'s re-taken of cuz that room <very large - dining/living room combo> over the years became more "dog space" including crates, dog's freezers, training equipment etc.
Original table and chairs from that room are in basement.
We started working on this last year actually and then we had the Great Flood of July 2010 in the city which kinda de-railed things- though it did mean we de-cluttered our basement big time!

Then my mom broke her hip.

I know it's not ideal but we'll keep trying...

for the advice and links, I appreciate it!

Reba

Yes, life has a way of intruding in our plans.

If possible, it is best to show the dining room as a dining room so potential buyers can visual their table and chairs fitting in there.

The most important focus of buyers is usually on the bathrooms and kitchen. They want perfection in those rooms. I'm not saying that is reasonable but that's what they want. They want everything up-to-date (unless you're selling your house as a "fixer upper;" then they won't expect as much).

Unfortunately, right now is a buyer's market in most areas. That means the sellers have to work harder and lower price goals. I don't know how it is in your area.

If it's too much to do, have you considered maybe pulling the house off the market for while until things improve? Or would you consider renting it out? Those are other options.

dogmom

that's good to know about the bathroom and kitchen - those are better areas in many ways - the main bathroom was a complete gut/re-model over the course of about 3 years. We had a company that installs whole new tub/shower surrounds come in and just put one in over the existing, including covering the ceiling with the material. The interior walls <studs/wood - don't know terms> of tub area were also partially ripped out and replaced.
The last year, we had an experienced handy-person guy we knew of as an acquaintance, come and rip out everything aside from the new tub part - he gutted walls, floor - we had new everything-else put in, including fixtures.

The kitchen was re-painted this year.

yes, it's true about the buyer's market

radioman

another idea for staging is baking cookies or something simalar an hour before people look at it. I never buy the premade dough for cookies, but it would be ideal for you as there is no mess. just baking chocoloate chip cookies is enough to emulate the smell in house. even leaving a few on a pretty plate helps. when done making cookies, just take cookie sheet with you so there is no mess.

dogmom

another good idea, radioman

Frisky Feline

that is pretty a lot. my parents are selling their house in florida.

Frisky Feline

That is a nice idea but sometimes people dont show up after making an appointment for nothing like my parents did last week. oh well.

Reba

Eat the cookies.

KristinaB

When we sold our condo, we got extra laundry baskets and filled them with the extraneous things that are needed for daily life, but not for staging (at the time, it was all the baby paraphernalia in a 1 bedroom condo) and stacked them neatly in the enclosed patio and covered with sheets. If anyone wanted to know what that was, they peeked and saw that we cleaned up. Granted, this was 15 years ago, but after 4 potential buyers, we sold for $8000 above asking price if we could move quickly. We got packed up, repainted the place and were out in 30 days and on our way to Missouri. What helped was that it was in a guarded, gated community, and we were the only unit on the 2nd floor that had sliding glass door (hurricane safe for 1990's) that totally closed off the patio. Made for a nice place during the rain.

Beach girl

Dogmom, if you can - hire a cleaning company to do a really thorough deep clean of your place, including cleaning the carpets. Your house needs to be sparkling.

Then if your interior paint is more than 5 or so years old, repaint everything in nice neutral colors. (Not just beige - could be a light sage green or pale yellow, especially in the bedrooms. It just shouldn't be any color that would scare anyone.) Paint all trim white semi-gloss.

If you have any wallpaper borders, take them down.

Look at your lighting, especially any lights in the entryway, dining room, and eating area in kitchen, if you have that, with a very critical eye. If they are builder's originals, replace with something better. Can be from Lowe's or H.D., doesn't have to break the bank, just something to update what you have.

Is your stove absolutely pristine? The deep-cleaning company can clean it, or you can do it yourself, but a yukky stove will really turn off the buyers.

Plus, as stated above, you need to show the dining room as a dining room. People really need to see proportion and scale, so you need a table and at least 4 chairs in there, six if there's room.

Plan on spending a certain amount to do these updates. It's a case of "it costs money to make money."

Get the dogs groomed, clipped short, and deodorized, which might help with the shedding, if that's an issue.

Has your realtor shown you a comp sheet of what the competition is selling for? (Not just "asking prices," you need to see "sold" prices.) You really need to know that to know that your price is in the ballpark. It doesn't matter what you paid for it or how much profit you hope to make. It's only worth what a buyer will pay for it. You have to make your house stand out from the competition at the same price point.

Good luck with it. It can certainly be a frustrating process these days.

Incidentally, "Audi B" that I've mentioned in another thread has moved here to the Outer Banks from Ohio. We were chatting about where she lived here, and it turns out she and her husband are renting because they couldn't sell the Ohio place. The Ohio place has now been on the market for about a year.

Ouch to paying rent and mortgage BOTH!

whatdidyousay!

It is a lot of work selling a house. I had a small house in Berkeley and my realtor showed it to a woman and she liked it and she told my realtor she wanted her boyfriend to see it too. The boyfriend like it too, and then the woman told my realtor she wanted her husband to see my house too! The husband did not like it! My realtor was LOL when she called me. I was
when I heard the woman wanted to live with her husband and boyfriend in my house , it was small and had 2 bedrooms and only one bathroom. But that is California for ya! It a great place to live...

shel90

[QUOTE=Beach girl;1884568]Dogmom, if you can - hire a cleaning company to do a really thorough deep clean of your place, including cleaning the carpets. Your house needs to be sparkling.

Then if your interior paint is more than 5 or so years old, repaint everything in nice neutral colors. (Not just beige - could be a light sage green or pale yellow, especially in the bedrooms. It just shouldn't be any color that would scare anyone.) Paint all trim white semi-gloss.

If you have any wallpaper borders, take them down.

Look at your lighting, especially any lights in the entryway, dining room, and eating area in kitchen, if you have that, with a very critical eye. If they are builder's originals, replace with something better. Can be from Lowe's or H.D., doesn't have to break the bank, just something to update what you have.

Is your stove absolutely pristine? The deep-cleaning company can clean it, or you can do it yourself, but a yukky stove will really turn off the buyers.

Plus, as stated above, you need to show the dining room as a dining room. People really need to see proportion and scale, so you need a table and at least 4 chairs in there, six if there's room.

Plan on spending a certain amount to do these updates. It's a case of "it costs money to make money."

Get the dogs groomed, clipped short, and deodorized, which might help with the shedding, if that's an issue.

Has your realtor shown you a comp sheet of what the competition is selling for? (Not just "asking prices," you need to see "sold" prices.) You really need to know that to know that your price is in the ballpark. It doesn't matter what you paid for it or how much profit you hope to make. It's only worth what a buyer will pay for it. You have to make your house stand out from the competition at the same price point.

Good luck with it. It can certainly be a frustrating process these days.

Incidentally, "Audi B" that I've mentioned in another thread has moved here to the Outer Banks from Ohio. We were chatting about where she lived here, and it turns out she and her husband are renting because they couldn't sell the Ohio place. The Ohio place has now been on the market for about a year.

Ouch to paying rent and mortgage BOTH![/QUOTE


Ohhh...pls, if you do have any wallpaper borders..pls take them down ASAP and burn them!

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whatdidyousay!

I brought an frozen apple pie and baked that. You should made sure the realtor let you know when they're coming over. One realtor did not tell me he was bringing people to look at condo. I was taking a shower when they came
so I did not hear the knocking on the door. Just as I was coming out of the bathroom I saw the door to my unit opening up,I yelled out I was in the shower! It was very embarrassment having my realtor almost walk in with a couple and we wearing only a towel!!