Hello, beautiful house. Dig that porch--it goes all the way around!So, we've been very busy for the past few weeks. We found a house and are now under contract! In retrospect, we are Very Happy that the first house fell through, as what will soon be our new home is perfect for us. Lesson to buyers: everyone finds their perfect house. It might only take a weekend, or it might take several months, but your perfect house is out there. Just as I tell sellers to attract the right buyer, for one house, you are the right buyer. So, if you're having a hard time, don't feel discouraged. Know that your house is there, and shop for it with intent.
To sellers: now more than ever I suggest using a Realtor. Unless you have been around the block many times or are a Realtor yourself, now isn't the time to sell without representation. The house we are buying was offered For Sale by Owner, and after going through this whole experience (we close in two weeks), we realized (with insight from our amazing Realtor) that they had really just been testing the waters. When we made our initial offer, they were actually quite taken aback. As the process moved along, it became obvious that the sellers could have benefited from being represented by a less emotionally invested third party--a Realtor. I know that when we sold in Florida, we relied heavily on Paula and appreciated her cool head and keen insight. And more recently, during the shopping/offer/negotiation process, Steve's professionalism has been invaluable.
At any rate, I do apologize for not keeping up with posting here. I guess my excuse is that we are buying a house! Before I go, here are some items for you sellers to keep in mind, based on some observations that I made while continuing to shop and eventually making an offer and signing contracts. Most of these observations do not pertain to our new house. The sellers had it beautifully staged.
- Do whatever it takes to have all of your belongings packed up and out of the house the day before closing. You want the house to be completely empty, because the buyers will be doing their final walk-through and need to be able to see the whole house. After closing, the house is no longer yours, and if your stuff is still in the house, it belongs to the new owners. To avoid any sticky situations, just have all of your belongings out the day before.
- In your face religious iconography is a turn off. I'm sorry, but it's true. We went into one lovely home, and they had a religious music station on the television as well as religious artwork on every wall of the house. I think it's wonderful that you have the strength of your convictions and your faith, but just know that not every potential buyer believes what you believe, or in exactly the same way that you believe it, so tone it down to keep your pool of buyers as broad as possible.
- Buyers like candy. Have a candy dish out so prospective buyers can have a treat. Chocolate is always good, although we enjoyed the Jolly Ranchers that our sellers had available!
- This may sound elementary, but please clean your carpets before you start showing your house. Paying someone $150 to clean all your carpets could keep you from losing $2000 in "carpet allowance" during negotiations, so don't be cheap and make sure the carpet is pristine.
- If your painted railing at the front of your house is peeling, please scrape and paint it. I don't care how cute your house is. If your railing looks neglected, I'm going to just assume that the rest of your house has been neglected, too.
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