Archive for the ‘Showing’ Category

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Why Do We Do This To Ourselves?


2010
01.22

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Day 26 – Not much new to report. Just waiting for the showing on Sunday. We have also rescheduled our Open House. It will no longer be Valentine’s Day. We are shooting for January 31st instead.

 

Why do our houses look their best when they are for sale? Sell anything else you’ve used for a while and that ’s just not the case. If I were to sell our ride-a-mower for example, it is not in the same or better condition than when we bought it, plus it’s covered with caked on grass. A car… same or better condition… don’t think so, sure you vacuum it out, but the leather is never the same. A dining room set, used scratches and gouges to prove it. But my house… o-ho-ho-ho ho, MY house, it’s looking better than I’ve ever seen it! Hell, it looks even better than when my Mother comes to visit. I’ve got orchids in my bathrooms for crying out loud! And there are actually hand towels in there! I am currently living in a place that is comparable to a 5-star hotel! The problem I have with that is… Why now? Why hasn’t it been like this the entire time I’ve been living here? Who am I trying to impress… oh right.

 

When we sold our last house we went to the extremes to sell it. We refinished the original wood floors, repaired and painted the wood ceiling in the sunroom. Cleaned every square inch of molding. We even went as far as to take all the glass knobs off of the interior doors, strip the paint off of them, polish the brass and reattach. This processs took a whole 2 weeks, and lots of counter space… just for door knobs! Once we moved out and the house was still for sale we went even further. In the master bedroom we put a fresh coat of white paint on the walls, repaired a window that had looked like crap for 12 years and installed new wall-to-wall carpeting. Just to entice a buyer. Did I ever get to enjoy that… NO!

 

Don’t worry… I get it! Yes, I understand why… Because our homes increase in value and we are selling them for more than we bought them for. Real Estate is an investment… Well, not this time sister! I’m not selling my home for more than I bought it for. I’m selling it for 10% less than I bought it for! And that’s not including the costs for all the updates! Yet, my home has been polished head-to-toe. New paint, random holes patched, updated heat pump, brand-new instant hot, a couple new windows, new exterior door to the pool (I knocked a hole in the exterior of the house for this one), and I totally re-did the pantry with a beautiful and expensive glass tile backsplash. Bitter? Yes, a bit… It’s in far better condition than when we bought it. It is… almost perfect.

 

The other day we had a new window pane installed in our multi-light window at the front of the house. The center pane was dreadfully foggy. You couldn’t see the trees in the front yard through it. I now have an unobstructed view, and it is beautiful! The guys did a great job on the sill too. Which I’m going to have to paint this weekend! I can now enjoy it. But for how long? Hopefully only for a few months more. But come on! Why didn’t we change it out when we moved in and enjoy it for the last few years? Why do we do this to ourselves?… It’s disturbing.

 

I’m sure whichever house we buy we will spend many blissful years polishing once again… Getting it just right. Let’s just hope once it’s finally done we don’t move out the next day and if we do… at least with profit in our pocket!

 

Amen!

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I’m Exhausted.


2010
01.21

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Day 25 – And all is quiet… finally.

 

Yesterday was a busy day. Two showings, work on the house, work in general. Kids afterschool activities. I’m quite tired today. Anyway, the first couple who showed up immediately went to see the bedrooms then… immediately left. What’s with that? Guess our rooms were “too small” for them.

 

The second showing of the day was a woman who came the day before with the “Bowtie” Agent, only this time he was wearing a regular tie (great orange color), I’m starting to dig his style. This time the client brought her husband. They were here for about 40 min. Looked at every nook and cranny. They are interested! But no offer yet… they would like the weekend to think it over. Good sign… I think. Hopefully nothing sways them differently over the weekend. So, cross your fingers!

 

But don’t forget… we also have a “second” showing this Sunday at 6:00 pm. Cross your toes! I’m going to have to clean again, you should see my kitchen already. What a mess!

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What a Week So Far


2010
01.20

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Posted in Showing | 1 Comment »

Day 24 – Well, lots of developments. See Below.

 

The showing yesterday went well. With the kids at school, I took the dog and ducked out to the bank. I did see the potential buyers agent as I pulled out… cute bowtie! Anyway, from what I gather she liked the place and took a look around twice, which according to our agent, Roxie, is a good thing. We have another showing scheduled today at noon with someone totally new. Keep em coming!

 

The people who came last Sunday when it was raining want to come again this Sunday at 6:00 pm. I figured they wanted to come back when it was “not raining” so they could check out the exterior and the yard. 6:00 pm? Hmmm, I’m not quite sure what they are going to see in the dark. They also would like to come back on a weekday during rush hour… interesting.

 

I can understand rush hour being a concern to a buyer… You see, I live on a busy street. And people including myself drive very fast. Personally, I don’t even like to go and get the mail during rush hour. I sometimes fear for my life. But, let me just say this: Triple Pane Glass Windows! These, my friends, are fantastic! You can barely hear the traffic. Hell, I can’t even hear people pulling into my own driveway. Another benefit, they are very well insulated. We pay less utilities here than in our last house and this one is twice as big! Great invention… stick it on the shelf right there above sliced bread. Actually, I wish I had a Triple Pane Glass Booth I could shove my kids into when they are bickering.

 

However, to be sure about the noise, I had to sit down during rush hour and take a listen. Shhh. Shhh! It’s hard to listen when “man I just slammed that guy” is being shouted at the Wii. I’m not saying my windows are sound proof. Yes, you can hear the cars going by, but for where the road is located to my front door, barely. It’s just when a big noisy truck rolls by that you can really hear a muffled varoom-didie-bum-bum-bum. Ok, windows, check… I feel confident.

 

Let’s now examine the fact that they actually want to come back a second and third time. This is good, yes? But again, why Sunday at 6:00 pm and a weekday at rush hour. Couldn’t they just knock it all out at rush hour? So, what do you think? Should I be getting excited? What does that mean? They really liked it and are getting ready to make a final decision? That would be fantastic! But I don’t think I’m that lucky. They’re probably just shopping around for new windows.

 

Hold the phone!… This just in… Bowtie is bringing back his client today, the one that looked at the house yesterday. Right after the showing at noon. Whoa! Two people wanting to come back twice! Rock on!

 

As I type there are some guys here working on replacing some glass that has fogged up on one of the front windows, and touching up the overly caulked window sill. They might still be working when the two potential buyers walk through. I think this is a good thing. Kinda shows we care. Oooo, kinda hope they overlap, that’s the stuff bidding wars are made of! Again, dreamin big.

 

All in all, we are looking at approximately 8 showings so far. Which to me means we are priced right and people are interested. Although it might just be a result of the excellent photography skills of our agent… Hey, we got a postcard in the mail today. It was of my house! Way to go Roxie!

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Potential Buyers Arriving at 10:00am


2010
01.18

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Posted in Headaches of Selling Your Home, Showing | 1 Comment »

Day 22 – Sunday showing went well, the people like the house but want to come back when it is not raining.

 

We had a showing yesterday at 10 am. It was a Sunday so my plan was to sleep-in til 8, clean til 9:45 then take my daughter and my dog to the park. I woke up to pouring rain. Guess the park’s out. What am I going to do while my real estate agent is showing my home to potential buyers on a rainy day with a 7yr. old and a dog?

 

Cleaning went much faster than I had thought. Having done it so much lately, it was basically a touch-up. It was 9:15 and I was done. I had time to take a shower. But did I want my bathroom to be all steamy and wet for the potential buyers? I smelled, so yes. As I was turning the shower off, I reached for my towel. I didn’t want to step out onto the dry floor and have to mop that up too. I started to dry off and I then realized I was standing in an inch of water. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” I said aloud. Since when does my shower not drain? I’ve lived here how long and I’ve never had this problem. And today of all days, no one’s going to buy the house with a shower full of water. I bent down and begged the water to drain. “Please, please, please.” I whimpered. I began stomping on the drain with my foot, like that would help. “Oh, come on… not now.” I bellowed. Slowly and eventually, it drained. Delighted, I stood up accidentally hitting the shower valve with my shoulder, turning the shower back on full blast soaking myself and my towel. For a split second I lost all mental capacity and for the life of me could not remember how to turn it off. Somehow I managed. I stood there drenched, realizing that I was going to have to walk across the bathroom, dripping along the way to get a new towel. Yep, cleaning that floor again.

 

At least I now know what my daughter and I can do for an hour… Hit the store for some Draino.