House showing.....

D

dogmom

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<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
:mad:

<rant finish>
 
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.
 
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.
 
I know the feeling about how people suddenly cannot make it. It's a time-waster for sure.
 
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.
 
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. :hug:

I wish you the best of luck.
 
:ty: 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>.
 
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. :)
 
Has your realtor held an open house yet?
 
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.
 
Did you stage your house to make it appealing to potential buyers?
 
@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!
 
:wave:

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.
:ty: 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.:lol:
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.
 
Frisky Feline said:
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.
Click to expand...

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!
 
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
 
dogmom said:
:wave:

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.
:ty: 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.:lol:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
:wave: 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...

:ty:for the advice and links, I appreciate it!
 
dogmom said:
:wave: 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...

:ty:for the advice and links, I appreciate it!
Click to expand...
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.
 
:hmm: 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 :(
 
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