The realtor just left.
I was actually sweating while she was here...I guess I was nervous about what she would have to say. Silly, I know, but I've never bought or sold a house and this whole process is way above my head. The good news is that there isn't anything we need to update or change (that's a relief because we probably wouldn't do it anyway). The bad news is the fact that we only have one bathroom. (I already know this...having only one bathroom is one of the reasons why we'd like to buy another house)!! Anyhow, she said that may slow the sale down.
She said our home had lovely curb appeal (our mad scramble to get some flowers planted paid off...yes!) and that it really had a "comfortable feel" to it. I hope that is a good thing and doesn't secretly mean "you're house is a bit old and musty, but better than I'd expect for it's age"...
She did suggest that we pay for a full home inspection before we list the house. That way, we can fix anything minor that may need fixing and hopefully not scare off a potential buyer. We're not sure how we feel about this. We understand her point, but at the same time, we'd like to slap a for sale in the yard that says "FOR SALE: AS IS" and not mess with any "fixing". We'd rather just take the selling price down...those of you more experienced in the home improvement department may be shuddering at my last statement, but if you know us very well at all, you know that we are not handy in the home improvement area and that the shelves we hang on the walls have a tendency to fall off the walls (only to discover that we missed all 4 anchors). If hanging a shelf is that difficult for us, can you imagine anything major?? We did paint the home's exterior last summer which was almost comical. It's difficult to imagine how our relationship survived that experience. Home improvements make us uncomfortable and cause us stress.
This is only the second time I've met with the realtor and I'm already feeling stressed. I can't wait to see what it will be like with the house up for sale and people touring it at all hours of the day....
I predict future posts about this whole experience. Any advice???
3 comments:
Usually the buyer pays for an inspection and then asks you to fix certain items or reduce your price accordingly. Even if you have your own inspection, a buyer will have one anyway (because, perhaps it was your uncle Joe that did the inspection and didn't do a good job). You can certainly list "as-is" if that is what you want.
Don't let the agent make you do stuff you don't want. They are working for you afterall.
I agree with Tim. An inspector will find lots of silly little things. Some will matter to the buyer and some won't. Seems silly to try to guess what will matter to the buyer before you see a buyer. Of course, if the inspector finds something major ... then the buyer's inspector will also find it and you'd have to fix it anyway. I don't know how the market works in Oregon, but based on our experience, I wouldn't hire an inspector first.
Emily,
I just sold my house. I didn't have an inspection first. The buyer paid for an inspection and came back with a list of things that they wanted fixed. My real estate agent recommended a handy man, he came and fixed EVERYTHING for 600 bucks.
Don't stress. Don't do anything. Just let someone make an offer and take it from there.
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