We sold the house!
The building and pest inspection didn't turn up any nasties and we had a bit of a stressful end to last week getting the contracts all signed off.
We exchanged contracts Saturday morning a week ago, about an hour before the house was due to be "Open for Inspection". I pulled out the "SOLD" sticker that the "For Sale By Owner" mob had sent me and advised them up update the website ad to say "Sold".
We've agreed to a shorter settlement period - 30 days, although they want to settle far quicker than that if they can... and they've agreed to rent the house back to us until we find somewhere to live.
The house that I had my eye on last week is on a busy main road - and unfortunately that rules it out... even though in every other respect it would have been perfect. That's OK. We'll find the right place - and we'll know it when we find it.
While it's been a stressful 3 months we've saved ourselves the best part of $20K - and it was worth the effort. I think I'd probably do it again (famous last words) - even though I don't plan on selling another house for oh... 30 years!
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Sunday, August 12, 2012
OFFER!!! The high after the low....
Well what a weekend!
It didn't begin so well - my usual helper, Ilana called to say her son was very sick and she'd been up all night with him so wouldn't be able to help me....
Our "For Sale" sign blew down on Friday in the windy conditions so we needed to have 2 people so that people would know the house was indeed open for inspection. My backup plan was also in bed sick... What to do?
Mum to the rescue! My lovely mother called to say that we could drop the kids in with her and Mark could come back to help. This is a big deal given the past 3 Saturdays she's evicted them due to overwhelming noise...
We had 7 groups through which was slightly lower than expected - but with the cold wintry conditions it was probably to be expected. What wasn't expected though was the first group through who made us an offer to start with at $850K. I told them that we weren't prepared to sell at that price and by the time they left they had upped their offer to $880K. A bit of to and fro through the evening and by dinner time we'd agreed to accept an offer of $900K. This was the lowest that I'd initially been prepared to accept but well up on the first offer of $834K we'd had just a couple of weeks ago.
The buyer is a young woman who was here with her parents - she came back today with her sister and brother and parents and offered us a holding deposit to take the house off the market. I told her that I'd updated the website to say the house was "under offer" and that I hoped we'd be able to exchange contracts before the next scheduled open on Saturday - but that I was reluctant to forgo the open until we'd exchanged contracts. I did flag the option of her asking for the conveyancer to waive the "cooling off period" which we would agree to do as well.
In the meantime I've found a house that I really like that might work for our extended family - so hoping that this all works out we've got a real shot at getting all of our housing sorted out in the next few months... I just hope this isn't too good to be true and that the building and pest inspection doesn't turn up any nasties!
Stay tuned as we move into the next phase of this journey!
It didn't begin so well - my usual helper, Ilana called to say her son was very sick and she'd been up all night with him so wouldn't be able to help me....
Our "For Sale" sign blew down on Friday in the windy conditions so we needed to have 2 people so that people would know the house was indeed open for inspection. My backup plan was also in bed sick... What to do?
Mum to the rescue! My lovely mother called to say that we could drop the kids in with her and Mark could come back to help. This is a big deal given the past 3 Saturdays she's evicted them due to overwhelming noise...
We had 7 groups through which was slightly lower than expected - but with the cold wintry conditions it was probably to be expected. What wasn't expected though was the first group through who made us an offer to start with at $850K. I told them that we weren't prepared to sell at that price and by the time they left they had upped their offer to $880K. A bit of to and fro through the evening and by dinner time we'd agreed to accept an offer of $900K. This was the lowest that I'd initially been prepared to accept but well up on the first offer of $834K we'd had just a couple of weeks ago.
The buyer is a young woman who was here with her parents - she came back today with her sister and brother and parents and offered us a holding deposit to take the house off the market. I told her that I'd updated the website to say the house was "under offer" and that I hoped we'd be able to exchange contracts before the next scheduled open on Saturday - but that I was reluctant to forgo the open until we'd exchanged contracts. I did flag the option of her asking for the conveyancer to waive the "cooling off period" which we would agree to do as well.
In the meantime I've found a house that I really like that might work for our extended family - so hoping that this all works out we've got a real shot at getting all of our housing sorted out in the next few months... I just hope this isn't too good to be true and that the building and pest inspection doesn't turn up any nasties!
Stay tuned as we move into the next phase of this journey!
Friday, August 10, 2012
Ok, so this isn't much fun anymore...
Although I'm not sure that "fun" was ever the right word to describe selling a house, it's certainly past that point.
Last week we had 7 groups through, right on our expectations.
I thought that there might be a little bit of interest and one couple was certainly making the right sort of noises about coming back for a 2nd visit. Unfortunately when I did the follow up calls this week those people weren't answering the phone, nor did they return my call.... The not returning a call isn't a surprise really - I often don't return agents calls if I'm not interested in the property.
But I'll guess only time will tell.
It's been a windy old day today and our "For Sale" sign broke off - our neighbour rescued it and put it in the garage but we'll have to re-stake it tomorrow afternoon.
The hit count for the website has been good this week and we sit at 2363 (420 more than last week). Which should bring us 8 or 9 through tomorrow - a number I'd be more than happy with. But the forecast is for the wind to continue with a bit of rain that might keep people away. I'll make sure the house is nice and warm for the inspection and hope we get some return visitors.
Stay tuned....
Last week we had 7 groups through, right on our expectations.
I thought that there might be a little bit of interest and one couple was certainly making the right sort of noises about coming back for a 2nd visit. Unfortunately when I did the follow up calls this week those people weren't answering the phone, nor did they return my call.... The not returning a call isn't a surprise really - I often don't return agents calls if I'm not interested in the property.
But I'll guess only time will tell.
It's been a windy old day today and our "For Sale" sign broke off - our neighbour rescued it and put it in the garage but we'll have to re-stake it tomorrow afternoon.
The hit count for the website has been good this week and we sit at 2363 (420 more than last week). Which should bring us 8 or 9 through tomorrow - a number I'd be more than happy with. But the forecast is for the wind to continue with a bit of rain that might keep people away. I'll make sure the house is nice and warm for the inspection and hope we get some return visitors.
Stay tuned....
Thursday, August 2, 2012
It's been a busy couple of weeks...
So I haven't posted for a while. Things have been both a little slower but we've also had our first serious offer so it's kind of all happening.
On the 21st July we only had 7 groups through so the theory isn't holding up as the weeks go on...
One of the couples was here by appointment and sounded very interested... too good to be true in fact. They were talking about agreeing on a price, getting conveyancing arranged and moving quickly to a building and pest inspection...
Well - you know what they about things being too good to be true.... yes well that didn't happen - which was a little disappointing.
Last week we had an additional 445 hits (campaign count 1667) before the inspection and had beautiful weather but we had a disappointing inspection with only 3 groups through. One was a single woman and her daughter who were interested but not at the price we're wanting. I encouraged her to get in touch when she had her finance sorted and at that point we might be willing to sell at the price she was looking at... $50K below our expectations but that was something I suppose.
Then came the excitement. Saturday late afternoon we got our first offer. It was literally $100K short of our expectations - but the first serious offer - in writing and everything.
In some respects it was sad to have to reject the offer, but on the other hand it was a bit of an insult to be offered an amount so much lower than what we thought was a reasonable price for the house. I called the couple to advise we weren't prepared to sell at that price. Having said that - there's nothing on the market at the moment that I really want to buy either - so we're not really in a hurry.
I spoke to one of the agents who I know through a friend and she advised that we play with the pictures and my sister suggested we change the price to see if that brings us any more interest. Mark and I sat down and agreed to put up an asking price - that way we're less likely to get people offering so much lower than our expectations. We agreed on a price of $929 000 which is probably less than I thought we'd put when we first put it on the market in June - but really a reasonable price by all accounts - I guess we'll wait for the market to tell us if we're in the right range or not...
I got a call then early this week from the couple who made the original offer and we had an honest conversation about ability to pay, the market and our expectations. There was a 4 bedroom house that sold at auction recently not far from us for $895 000. I didn't look at it so I don't know what condition it was in, but said we had an expectation of over $900 000 - given the cheapest house on the street in the last 12 months sold for $930 000. We are a long way apart - he said he wasn't prepared to pay that much - but I said that what he was offering didn't even come close.
He was going to think about it - we're preparing for another open house... a few email enquiries this week. Hoping putting a price rather than "offers over $890 000 brings people out of the woodwork. But it's a waiting game.... We've had 75 people through.... so there's clearly interest. We just need someone to fall in love with it like we did. In the meantime - I'm making the most out of enjoying the house - because I really do like it here!
We're at 1943 page hits so at this stage (276 more than last week) so we should hope for 6+ more couples/groups on Saturday.
We'll see!
On the 21st July we only had 7 groups through so the theory isn't holding up as the weeks go on...
One of the couples was here by appointment and sounded very interested... too good to be true in fact. They were talking about agreeing on a price, getting conveyancing arranged and moving quickly to a building and pest inspection...
Well - you know what they about things being too good to be true.... yes well that didn't happen - which was a little disappointing.
Last week we had an additional 445 hits (campaign count 1667) before the inspection and had beautiful weather but we had a disappointing inspection with only 3 groups through. One was a single woman and her daughter who were interested but not at the price we're wanting. I encouraged her to get in touch when she had her finance sorted and at that point we might be willing to sell at the price she was looking at... $50K below our expectations but that was something I suppose.
Then came the excitement. Saturday late afternoon we got our first offer. It was literally $100K short of our expectations - but the first serious offer - in writing and everything.
In some respects it was sad to have to reject the offer, but on the other hand it was a bit of an insult to be offered an amount so much lower than what we thought was a reasonable price for the house. I called the couple to advise we weren't prepared to sell at that price. Having said that - there's nothing on the market at the moment that I really want to buy either - so we're not really in a hurry.
I spoke to one of the agents who I know through a friend and she advised that we play with the pictures and my sister suggested we change the price to see if that brings us any more interest. Mark and I sat down and agreed to put up an asking price - that way we're less likely to get people offering so much lower than our expectations. We agreed on a price of $929 000 which is probably less than I thought we'd put when we first put it on the market in June - but really a reasonable price by all accounts - I guess we'll wait for the market to tell us if we're in the right range or not...
I got a call then early this week from the couple who made the original offer and we had an honest conversation about ability to pay, the market and our expectations. There was a 4 bedroom house that sold at auction recently not far from us for $895 000. I didn't look at it so I don't know what condition it was in, but said we had an expectation of over $900 000 - given the cheapest house on the street in the last 12 months sold for $930 000. We are a long way apart - he said he wasn't prepared to pay that much - but I said that what he was offering didn't even come close.
He was going to think about it - we're preparing for another open house... a few email enquiries this week. Hoping putting a price rather than "offers over $890 000 brings people out of the woodwork. But it's a waiting game.... We've had 75 people through.... so there's clearly interest. We just need someone to fall in love with it like we did. In the meantime - I'm making the most out of enjoying the house - because I really do like it here!
We're at 1943 page hits so at this stage (276 more than last week) so we should hope for 6+ more couples/groups on Saturday.
We'll see!
Friday, July 20, 2012
Another Friday night...
It's the night before inspection day - 1222 hits on the website, so I'm hoping for about 8-9 groups through tomorrow. No progress with our prospective buyers - so it's back to open house and hoping for some serious buyers tomorrow. We had a private appointment at 10am so hoping that might be fruitful.
Let's see how we go!
Let's see how we go!
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Stressful days... and more to come I suspect
Today was a difficult day.
I think that stress is making my memory less effective - in fact, I'm sure it is...
I had rearranged some meetings today to allow me time to get home to show a family through the house this afternoon. I thought everything was under control.
Turns out I was wrong.
The first inkling I had that something was amiss was when one of my team showed up looking all "business like" while the rest of us were in jeans and more casual clothes - when I asked what she had on she reminded me about a meeting I'd completely forgotten that I had committed to attend. In fact - I had organised the damn thing!
Oops.
Fortunately I was only expected to dial in and I managed to get home early enough to dial in - and only had to excuse myself a few minutes early....
But because I had to get home in time to dial in, I had to bring everything else forwards by an hour - which meant I lost my buffer zone... Add to that some unexpected complications from a big campaign I'm working on and my day went to shit.
I had someone call to make an appointment to see the house - whose number I took down, deleted the message and then walked out leaving his number on my desk...
A certificate I had to fix got done in a flurry of stress and my grateful thanks to the amazing women in my team who helped arrange postage for me while I bolted out of the office to get a train home...
But, I made it.
The family who came back (for the 3rd visit) had a friend with them who's in the building trade and asked for a copy of the contract.
It's wishful thinking to think that we could cancel this week's inspection - but I've started looking for a "sold" sticker....
Getting ahead of myself?
Only time will tell.
(oh and up to 1155 hits on the website)
I think that stress is making my memory less effective - in fact, I'm sure it is...
I had rearranged some meetings today to allow me time to get home to show a family through the house this afternoon. I thought everything was under control.
Turns out I was wrong.
The first inkling I had that something was amiss was when one of my team showed up looking all "business like" while the rest of us were in jeans and more casual clothes - when I asked what she had on she reminded me about a meeting I'd completely forgotten that I had committed to attend. In fact - I had organised the damn thing!
Oops.
Fortunately I was only expected to dial in and I managed to get home early enough to dial in - and only had to excuse myself a few minutes early....
But because I had to get home in time to dial in, I had to bring everything else forwards by an hour - which meant I lost my buffer zone... Add to that some unexpected complications from a big campaign I'm working on and my day went to shit.
I had someone call to make an appointment to see the house - whose number I took down, deleted the message and then walked out leaving his number on my desk...
A certificate I had to fix got done in a flurry of stress and my grateful thanks to the amazing women in my team who helped arrange postage for me while I bolted out of the office to get a train home...
But, I made it.
The family who came back (for the 3rd visit) had a friend with them who's in the building trade and asked for a copy of the contract.
It's wishful thinking to think that we could cancel this week's inspection - but I've started looking for a "sold" sticker....
Getting ahead of myself?
Only time will tell.
(oh and up to 1155 hits on the website)
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
3rd Inspection....
So, it seems this week that things are getting interesting... just as I'm about to disappear out of town for a week's holiday with my Dad, sister, oldest son and nephew....
The couple who have inspected the property over the past 2 weekends - the ones who were telling me that they thought the price was $100K too much... just got in touch to say that they want to come back and have another look. That's great news!
I might have to move some things around at work to make it happen but I'm sure we'll figure something out. It's good to finally have some "nibbles" - I just hope that if they are interested we can get it all sorted out quickly before I go away - or they decide to take another week to think about it so I can sort it out when I get back.
I don't really want to leave Mark in charge. Though I may not have a choice. If that's the case I'll be leaving some *very clear* instructions. I think though if these people want to buy it will be at a much lower price than we've considered so far - so it will be food for thought for us.
In other news we've hit 1000 hits on the website and it's only Tuesday - so we'd be hoping for another great Saturday of inspections!
Do I dare hope that we don't have to do any more Saturday inspections?
The couple who have inspected the property over the past 2 weekends - the ones who were telling me that they thought the price was $100K too much... just got in touch to say that they want to come back and have another look. That's great news!
I might have to move some things around at work to make it happen but I'm sure we'll figure something out. It's good to finally have some "nibbles" - I just hope that if they are interested we can get it all sorted out quickly before I go away - or they decide to take another week to think about it so I can sort it out when I get back.
I don't really want to leave Mark in charge. Though I may not have a choice. If that's the case I'll be leaving some *very clear* instructions. I think though if these people want to buy it will be at a much lower price than we've considered so far - so it will be food for thought for us.
In other news we've hit 1000 hits on the website and it's only Tuesday - so we'd be hoping for another great Saturday of inspections!
Do I dare hope that we don't have to do any more Saturday inspections?
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Some excitement...
Today was a little bit exciting.
That woman who called yesterday came over with her husband to inspect the house - Mark showed her through. She must have liked the house because she asked him to get the contract emailed to her ASAP and said that she was going to come back at 4pm with a friend. She also said that if they decided to buy they wanted to do a quick sale... Only thing was when they asked about price Mark under quoted. I had something to say about that but he did his best... and she did plan on coming back.
I was at a conference today so Mark contacted me and with my fan-dangle (technical term) smart phone I managed to email the contract through and got a leave pass to head home early to be here for the 2nd inspection.
Mark said she didn't seem as keen 2nd time through (though she might just be keeping her cards close to her chest). They were doing lots of talking in Mandarin, which I don't speak so I'm not sure what they were saying... When they left I asked if there was any interest and they said that they'd be in touch.
Once again we need to sit on our hands and just wait it out. Would be great to get a couple of offers...
At least we've now had 2 repeat inspections...
That woman who called yesterday came over with her husband to inspect the house - Mark showed her through. She must have liked the house because she asked him to get the contract emailed to her ASAP and said that she was going to come back at 4pm with a friend. She also said that if they decided to buy they wanted to do a quick sale... Only thing was when they asked about price Mark under quoted. I had something to say about that but he did his best... and she did plan on coming back.
I was at a conference today so Mark contacted me and with my fan-dangle (technical term) smart phone I managed to email the contract through and got a leave pass to head home early to be here for the 2nd inspection.
Mark said she didn't seem as keen 2nd time through (though she might just be keeping her cards close to her chest). They were doing lots of talking in Mandarin, which I don't speak so I'm not sure what they were saying... When they left I asked if there was any interest and they said that they'd be in touch.
Once again we need to sit on our hands and just wait it out. Would be great to get a couple of offers...
At least we've now had 2 repeat inspections...
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Open House: finally someone comes back, and my theory proves to be true...
So, today's inspection was good for 2 reasons. The most important reason was that a couple who came to look at the house last week and who seemed interested came back - and they came back with a set of parents (not sure if they are his or hers). They are the couple who when I called during the week were positive, but also positive that the price should be $100K lower than what we're asking.
You know, I thought "maybe we're being greedy "- so after that conversation I did some research and the only houses I could find in this area in the price range that they are looking at have 2 things in common:
1. On a main road - with NO chance of street parking
and
2. Have a steep block like our land.
Oh and they're not in Roseville either, they're in neighbouring Chatswood (not sure what difference that makes though, to be honest).
I left out a list of sold properties in our street for the past 12 months to give an indication that I know what the market is doing and I know someone picked one up (I'm just not sure who). I think I'm going to give my uncle (who used to be a real estate agent) to pick his brains as to what to do if they make an offer that is so low we don't want to consider it... Everyone else we've asked about price has said they think we're in the ball park (I wonder if there is an Australian equivalent of this slang word - in the cricket ground or rugby field just doesn't sound right... but I digress).
The 2nd good thing that happened today was that 9 people showed up - exactly what I had predicted after the page hits this week. I haven't been logged on to the Internet at all today so I'm not sure when the 50 hits that happened between 10pm last night and 6pm tonight when I checked arrived. But I had a phone call today from a woman who wants to come to inspect by appointment tomorrow so that will be the extra 50 accounted for!
So after today's inspection we're at 800 page hits... I guess we'll see if the theory continues to hold as we move onwards...
The sun was shining and we had a good day. Perhaps we'll get a (reasonable) offer soon? Who knows!
You know, I thought "maybe we're being greedy "- so after that conversation I did some research and the only houses I could find in this area in the price range that they are looking at have 2 things in common:
1. On a main road - with NO chance of street parking
and
2. Have a steep block like our land.
Oh and they're not in Roseville either, they're in neighbouring Chatswood (not sure what difference that makes though, to be honest).
I left out a list of sold properties in our street for the past 12 months to give an indication that I know what the market is doing and I know someone picked one up (I'm just not sure who). I think I'm going to give my uncle (who used to be a real estate agent) to pick his brains as to what to do if they make an offer that is so low we don't want to consider it... Everyone else we've asked about price has said they think we're in the ball park (I wonder if there is an Australian equivalent of this slang word - in the cricket ground or rugby field just doesn't sound right... but I digress).
The 2nd good thing that happened today was that 9 people showed up - exactly what I had predicted after the page hits this week. I haven't been logged on to the Internet at all today so I'm not sure when the 50 hits that happened between 10pm last night and 6pm tonight when I checked arrived. But I had a phone call today from a woman who wants to come to inspect by appointment tomorrow so that will be the extra 50 accounted for!
So after today's inspection we're at 800 page hits... I guess we'll see if the theory continues to hold as we move onwards...
The sun was shining and we had a good day. Perhaps we'll get a (reasonable) offer soon? Who knows!
Friday, July 13, 2012
Saturday inspection number 6: Theory testing week 2..
Tomorrow will be our 6th Saturday on the market. Tonight's tidy up has been particularly difficult - I think it's because it's been raining a bit this week as well as school holidays and so we've had both Mark and Liam at home for a lot of the week...
It just seems to have taken FOREVER to get my part of the house tidied up tonight.
Testing again my theory of 1 "group" through to inspect for every 50 hits on "realestate.com.au" I'm checking in with the hits before packing up my computer. We're at 751 at 10pm. Last week after the inspection the hits were at 300, to using my theory the extra 451 hits we've had this week should bring in 9 "groups" tomorrow. I'd be pretty pleased with 9 groups through, that would be one of our most successful inspection days.
But really just one "group" with a realistic offer would suit me just fine.
I do wonder if we'll get any "repeats" tomorrow - 54 people through so far... I know it's just a matter of getting people through so we'll persevere... Certainly much better than the house I popped in to look at. I was the only person who'd arrived half way through the inspection and there was no one else there when I left. I'd rather be in our position than theirs!
Here's waiting to see what tomorrow brings.
It just seems to have taken FOREVER to get my part of the house tidied up tonight.
Testing again my theory of 1 "group" through to inspect for every 50 hits on "realestate.com.au" I'm checking in with the hits before packing up my computer. We're at 751 at 10pm. Last week after the inspection the hits were at 300, to using my theory the extra 451 hits we've had this week should bring in 9 "groups" tomorrow. I'd be pretty pleased with 9 groups through, that would be one of our most successful inspection days.
But really just one "group" with a realistic offer would suit me just fine.
I do wonder if we'll get any "repeats" tomorrow - 54 people through so far... I know it's just a matter of getting people through so we'll persevere... Certainly much better than the house I popped in to look at. I was the only person who'd arrived half way through the inspection and there was no one else there when I left. I'd rather be in our position than theirs!
Here's waiting to see what tomorrow brings.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
We're now in month 2....
So today was the beginning of the 2nd month of selling our home. The statistics say that it takes on average 90 days to sell in this area, although it seems as though nothing much is "moving" at the moment.
Onwards and upwards...
It was a beautiful sunny day today and we had 8 (maybe 9) groups show up to inspect the house. I say maybe 9 because a car pulled up after we'd started to shut up the house but she (or he) pulled away before Ilana got down the street to invite her (him) inside.
Technically it was only 7 though, because the 8th couple got out of the car and a short way along the path, and then decided "we don't want to do this every day" so they left.
I think there were a few people worth following up today - one couple asked me to email a copy of the contract (done) and our next door neighbour (renting) was raving about it...
The theory seemed to work with the number of people who showed up. When I check the "hits" this afternoon after the inspection it was just over 300 so that's the number we'll work from and continue this test next week.
We're getting a bit tired of tidying up each week but at least it's only once a week now. The up side is that our laundry is up to date and the house is never *too messy*. But it's still a pain - no matter though the pain would still be here if we were selling with an agent cause we'd still have to tidy up - so I'm not yet convinced that an agent is the way to go.... but then again we don't have a "sold" sign up either.
I went to look at a house today and was the only person there and from the look of the agent's list the only one who'd shown up with 15 mins left to go - at least people are still showing up to look at our place. When that stops I think I'm going to worry some... Otherwise it's just a matter of time.
Let's see what this week brings!
Onwards and upwards...
It was a beautiful sunny day today and we had 8 (maybe 9) groups show up to inspect the house. I say maybe 9 because a car pulled up after we'd started to shut up the house but she (or he) pulled away before Ilana got down the street to invite her (him) inside.
Technically it was only 7 though, because the 8th couple got out of the car and a short way along the path, and then decided "we don't want to do this every day" so they left.
I think there were a few people worth following up today - one couple asked me to email a copy of the contract (done) and our next door neighbour (renting) was raving about it...
The theory seemed to work with the number of people who showed up. When I check the "hits" this afternoon after the inspection it was just over 300 so that's the number we'll work from and continue this test next week.
We're getting a bit tired of tidying up each week but at least it's only once a week now. The up side is that our laundry is up to date and the house is never *too messy*. But it's still a pain - no matter though the pain would still be here if we were selling with an agent cause we'd still have to tidy up - so I'm not yet convinced that an agent is the way to go.... but then again we don't have a "sold" sign up either.
I went to look at a house today and was the only person there and from the look of the agent's list the only one who'd shown up with 15 mins left to go - at least people are still showing up to look at our place. When that stops I think I'm going to worry some... Otherwise it's just a matter of time.
Let's see what this week brings!
Friday, July 6, 2012
So, it's 22.47pm on Friday night and there have been 272 hits on the (new) ad. I reckon there were about 115 on the old ad before the stuff up. Based on those calculations and the theory we should have 6 - 8 "groups" through tomorrow.
Let's see what happens, huh?
By the way, new ads can be found here:
http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-roseville-110955843
and
http://www.domain.com.au/Property/For-Sale/House/NSW/Roseville/?adid=2009792908
I'll be sure to check in and see how accurate our theory was after the inspection...
Here's hoping for a buyer tomorrow!
Let's see what happens, huh?
By the way, new ads can be found here:
http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-roseville-110955843
and
http://www.domain.com.au/Property/For-Sale/House/NSW/Roseville/?adid=2009792908
I'll be sure to check in and see how accurate our theory was after the inspection...
Here's hoping for a buyer tomorrow!
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Testing theories and more stuff ups....
One of the theories I'm testing this week is if the number of "hits" on the "realestate.com.au" website has any correlation to the number of people through on the weekend. As at last weekend we'd had 46 "groups" through, and just over 2200 hits... so about 1 "group" for every 50 hits.
Unfortunately we've had another "hiccup" with the "forsalebyowner" advertising... This time it's because they have re-branded on both "domain" and "realestate.com.au" as "forsalebyowner" not the other branding "for sale, for rent" which it was under before. The downsides to this upgrade (that I've noticed so far"
- The advertisement reverted to an older edit - one that didn't have the "inspect as advertised or by appointment" with my direct phone.
- The inspection times had disappeared (again!)
- The floor plan had disappeared
I only noticed the inspection times had disappeared because I got an enquiry - so I sent an email advising as such, then I noticed the older ad, and send another email, by the time I realised the floor plan had disappeared I decided I couldn't be bothered. I uploaded again and hope it will refresh soon. That's not as important as the other bits though.
The only good thing? The ad has a "new" sign on it, so might improve our numbers for Saturday. Before the refresh we were up to about 2315 hits, so I was expecting on those numbers 3 groups through. After the refresh we're up to 115, so hopefully that will be 5 or 6 people total. I guess we'll see on Saturday!
I also wonder whether the "forsalebyowner" branding will now mean I get stacks of agents calling?
We'll wait and see!
.....
Saturday, June 30, 2012
4 weeks in....
It's been a couple of weeks since my last confession.... Ooops, I mean post and lots has happened...
We've now had a total of 46 groups of people through the house - all for the first time.... we haven't had any return visits which is somewhat disappointing because a few people said that they'd be back and I (naively??) got a little excited...
Nevertheless... we've powered on.
The most difficult thing has been getting the house ready on inspection day - 2 small boys and full time work makes it somewhat challenging.
So far we've had the house open for inspection twice a week, on both Saturday and Wednesday. Of the 46 "groups" we've had a total of 6 through on the 4 Wednesdays we've opened the house. 2 on each of the first 2 Wednesdays and 1 each on the last 2 Wednesdays.... It shouldn't come as a big surprise to learn that we've decided that we're not doing that any more... Too much effort for too little reward. Instead the compromise position is that I've added my (prepaid) mobile number to the ad with an invitation to "inspect as advertised or by appointment". That should weed out anyone who's not really interested and save us some stress!
This week is probably the best I've felt about the house actually. Of the 5 groups through (1 on Wed and 4 today) 4 actually seemed quite interested. Mind you, the woman on Wednesday said she's bring her hubby today and didn't show - so it shows what I know...
One thing my sister pointed out that I think is a great idea is that we're keeping track of how long people stay in the house when they are here... This is a pretty small house and if you're not interested 5 mins will suffice (and has, for the great majority of visitors)... today 3 of the 4 groups were here over 15 mins... and the couple who were here for 15 mins asked the right type of questions and were taking pics both inside and out....
2200 views so far on the web - on average 1 group come to inspect for every 50 views.... I'll see if that changes....
The most interesting story from today - apart from having my good friend Kylie helping instead of my sister (she had other commitments), was about the last group through.
Young couple come up and pepper me with questions before they've even been inside - mostly concerned with mould and damp... They stay about 20 mins (they arrived 5 mins before the inspection was due to finish) and then leave. I mark them down for a follow up call... I go into my bedroom and whip off my suit and put on a pair of jeans... Kylie and I were about to debrief and compare notes when she says "they're coming back up"...
So they come back up with her mother and their son... to show them around. I didn't think they were ready to buy - she said that they have to sell their place, and some investment properties and that they are keen on a house in Wahroonga (further north) that goes to auction in a few weeks... But they are doing all the interested type things... She says the house is "unique" and has lots of "interesting" things and that she really loves the "feel" of it... He says something about taking a chainsaw to it (then clarifies he means the garden)... She talks about needing to spend about $100K on it... I've learnt to be quiet and not defend the house - that's my emotional connection but it strikes me that maybe I've found that someone with the emotional connection!
Time will tell.
Stay tuned!
We've now had a total of 46 groups of people through the house - all for the first time.... we haven't had any return visits which is somewhat disappointing because a few people said that they'd be back and I (naively??) got a little excited...
Nevertheless... we've powered on.
The most difficult thing has been getting the house ready on inspection day - 2 small boys and full time work makes it somewhat challenging.
So far we've had the house open for inspection twice a week, on both Saturday and Wednesday. Of the 46 "groups" we've had a total of 6 through on the 4 Wednesdays we've opened the house. 2 on each of the first 2 Wednesdays and 1 each on the last 2 Wednesdays.... It shouldn't come as a big surprise to learn that we've decided that we're not doing that any more... Too much effort for too little reward. Instead the compromise position is that I've added my (prepaid) mobile number to the ad with an invitation to "inspect as advertised or by appointment". That should weed out anyone who's not really interested and save us some stress!
This week is probably the best I've felt about the house actually. Of the 5 groups through (1 on Wed and 4 today) 4 actually seemed quite interested. Mind you, the woman on Wednesday said she's bring her hubby today and didn't show - so it shows what I know...
One thing my sister pointed out that I think is a great idea is that we're keeping track of how long people stay in the house when they are here... This is a pretty small house and if you're not interested 5 mins will suffice (and has, for the great majority of visitors)... today 3 of the 4 groups were here over 15 mins... and the couple who were here for 15 mins asked the right type of questions and were taking pics both inside and out....
2200 views so far on the web - on average 1 group come to inspect for every 50 views.... I'll see if that changes....
The most interesting story from today - apart from having my good friend Kylie helping instead of my sister (she had other commitments), was about the last group through.
Young couple come up and pepper me with questions before they've even been inside - mostly concerned with mould and damp... They stay about 20 mins (they arrived 5 mins before the inspection was due to finish) and then leave. I mark them down for a follow up call... I go into my bedroom and whip off my suit and put on a pair of jeans... Kylie and I were about to debrief and compare notes when she says "they're coming back up"...
So they come back up with her mother and their son... to show them around. I didn't think they were ready to buy - she said that they have to sell their place, and some investment properties and that they are keen on a house in Wahroonga (further north) that goes to auction in a few weeks... But they are doing all the interested type things... She says the house is "unique" and has lots of "interesting" things and that she really loves the "feel" of it... He says something about taking a chainsaw to it (then clarifies he means the garden)... She talks about needing to spend about $100K on it... I've learnt to be quiet and not defend the house - that's my emotional connection but it strikes me that maybe I've found that someone with the emotional connection!
Time will tell.
Stay tuned!
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
More hiccups... there's no one you can rely on but yourself...
I'm gradually learning that there's no magic was of doing things better than you'd do them yourself and relying on any other way is hazardous.
Take for example, this company "forsalebyowner" that I'm using to help with the listing of my property. Their website has this fan dangle portal for vendors that allows you to do all sorts of things - or at least that's the promise...
After our first inspection I log on and duly enter in all the details of those who attended. It's a bit clunky - there's no spot for comments and you have to include an email address in order to save the person's details. I wasn't collecting email addresses, just mobile numbers so I just thought I'd give people the default email of either interested@nonegiven.com or none@given.com so that I could follow up those I marked as interested after the open house.
Yesterday I logged in to try and sort through the interested vs not interested only to discover that although I've put in the data I can't actually access it! The website refers to a "contacts tab" that isn't there but just to make sure I'm not going blind, I email the owner to ask him how to get that information. You can imagine how impressed I was when he confirms that no, I'm not blind, and no, there's no way for me to access the information. He can of course, so if i want a particular person's phone number just let him know and he'll retrieve it for me..... So I take a deep breath....
Guess I'll go back to the trusty excel spreadsheet and do it myself! Seriously there should be a warning brochure when you sign up:
Take for example, this company "forsalebyowner" that I'm using to help with the listing of my property. Their website has this fan dangle portal for vendors that allows you to do all sorts of things - or at least that's the promise...
After our first inspection I log on and duly enter in all the details of those who attended. It's a bit clunky - there's no spot for comments and you have to include an email address in order to save the person's details. I wasn't collecting email addresses, just mobile numbers so I just thought I'd give people the default email of either interested@nonegiven.com or none@given.com so that I could follow up those I marked as interested after the open house.
Yesterday I logged in to try and sort through the interested vs not interested only to discover that although I've put in the data I can't actually access it! The website refers to a "contacts tab" that isn't there but just to make sure I'm not going blind, I email the owner to ask him how to get that information. You can imagine how impressed I was when he confirms that no, I'm not blind, and no, there's no way for me to access the information. He can of course, so if i want a particular person's phone number just let him know and he'll retrieve it for me..... So I take a deep breath....
Guess I'll go back to the trusty excel spreadsheet and do it myself! Seriously there should be a warning brochure when you sign up:
- Your inspection times might drop off at any time, please check regularly
- Don't input any data you ever want to have access to in the future....
- Oh, I'm sure I'll be adding to this list as I go on....
Maybe I should charge him a fee for finding and reporting all the faults with the damn website! Or maybe I should just shut up until I've sold my house and then refer him to my blog for constructive feedback... What do you think?
In the meantime that bloke came over on Sunday to inspect the house - Nathan (2 yrs) was here and did some talking. He told me everything he didn't like about the house (apparently a good sign?), told me the house down the road that sold earlier this year was a better house (why didn't he buy it??) and then asked if the price was negotiable... He was a bit older than the other prospects, probably late 40s, early 50s, said he might bring his wife back but had to think about it...
Today I had a call from another bloke asking about the measurement of the street frontage (maybe interested in knock down rebuild?). I sent him the contract because I wasn't sure what I was reading... told him about the "right of way" and the shared driveway, then he asked how many "old" trees were on the land... I told him I wasn't an aborist and he'd have to get a professional and speak to council for that sort of info... invited him to the open house tomorrow - we'll see if he shows up.
It's going to be a wet old Wednesday so I'm not sure we'll get a bit turnout tomorrow... but we're still tidying up just in case....
By the way - I know there are a few of you who check in regularly - if you've got anything to say leave me a comment, convince me I'm not talking to myself (thought it won't be the first, or the last time that happens!).
Back with more news soon!
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Hiccups with advertising, sunshine and here goes week 2!
The sun was out today for our 2nd Saturday open - I started with all the blinds up in the family room but then the beautiful sun highlighted what a bad job I had done cleaning the inside of the windows.... so I put them back down and settled with having them open. It was a cool brisk day today but for the first time the sun was out - perfect for highlighting what a sun drenched house this is.... and for reminding me why we bought it in the first place.
It's interesting I was thinking as I stood out front on our deck enjoying the sun, how much I actually love this house - and it takes selling it to get me to appreciate the things I love about it. At least we've got some time to enjoy the things we love before packing up and letting another family make some memories here.
The day started with a little bit of confusion, stress and crankiness if I'm to be frank about it all.
I logged onto the Internet to check my email and found an email from a potential buyer asking about inspection times... At first I thought it must be someone who's stupid because I had inspection times for the first 4 weeks listed in the advertising - this was after I got a feedback mid week that there wasn't a floor plan up on domain.com.au (there was). But just in case I wasn't dealing with stupidity I responded to the email with inspection times and jumped online to check out the ads and make sure I wasn't mistaken.
And boy was I in for a shock.
Neither Domain.com.au nor Realestate.com.au had the inspection times listed at all.
I logged onto my portal on forsalebyowner.com.au only to discover that they had disappeared.
I quickly recreated the listing times, hoping that they would be uploaded quickly (they update every 2 hours, and this was just before 8am), and then sent a cranky email to the bloke who runs "forsalebyowner" just in case they weren't aware of the problem.
Now - can you imagine how cross I was when I got an email back from the bloke who runs the shop telling me that they knew about it! And while I appreciated the apology what sort of business does he run where it's OK to know about something like that on a Saturday inspection day and not immediately notify their vendors with a suggestion that they check their listing and update if necessary.
The smoke was coming out my nose and my ears when I read that one.
Fortunately for me, someone actually contacted me and asked for the times so I got it fixed quickly. Not knowing how long it was down for means I've no idea if it affected the numbers today or not. I'm hoping it was the lack of inspection times combined with a long weekend that kept the numbers down to a respectful (?) 7.
Unfortunately again, there were no return inspectors... although, and I'm interested in your thoughts on this - there was one interesting couple.
They pulled up in an expensive car and were older than most of the people who have been looking (the others have mostly been younger with young families or obviously pregnant). My trusty sidekick who was manning the bottom of the stairs reckons that they had a brochure in their hands when they showed up. They picked up a copy of the "recent sales" and asked about price and, surprisingly, traffic... Ilana (the helpful, trusty and clever sidekick) suggested that they might be parents of someone who visited earlier... If so that's a good sign - what do you think?
Of the 7, there were a few potentials - one couple, the woman was obviously pregnant, asked about childcare centres, and a few asked how long it takes to walk to the station...
Late today I spoke to a guy who couldn't get to the inspection who wants to come by tomorrow morning... never say no to a buyer... so it's all on again tomorrow!
Stay tuned for the next chapter!
It's interesting I was thinking as I stood out front on our deck enjoying the sun, how much I actually love this house - and it takes selling it to get me to appreciate the things I love about it. At least we've got some time to enjoy the things we love before packing up and letting another family make some memories here.
The day started with a little bit of confusion, stress and crankiness if I'm to be frank about it all.
I logged onto the Internet to check my email and found an email from a potential buyer asking about inspection times... At first I thought it must be someone who's stupid because I had inspection times for the first 4 weeks listed in the advertising - this was after I got a feedback mid week that there wasn't a floor plan up on domain.com.au (there was). But just in case I wasn't dealing with stupidity I responded to the email with inspection times and jumped online to check out the ads and make sure I wasn't mistaken.
And boy was I in for a shock.
Neither Domain.com.au nor Realestate.com.au had the inspection times listed at all.
I logged onto my portal on forsalebyowner.com.au only to discover that they had disappeared.
I quickly recreated the listing times, hoping that they would be uploaded quickly (they update every 2 hours, and this was just before 8am), and then sent a cranky email to the bloke who runs "forsalebyowner" just in case they weren't aware of the problem.
Now - can you imagine how cross I was when I got an email back from the bloke who runs the shop telling me that they knew about it! And while I appreciated the apology what sort of business does he run where it's OK to know about something like that on a Saturday inspection day and not immediately notify their vendors with a suggestion that they check their listing and update if necessary.
The smoke was coming out my nose and my ears when I read that one.
Fortunately for me, someone actually contacted me and asked for the times so I got it fixed quickly. Not knowing how long it was down for means I've no idea if it affected the numbers today or not. I'm hoping it was the lack of inspection times combined with a long weekend that kept the numbers down to a respectful (?) 7.
Unfortunately again, there were no return inspectors... although, and I'm interested in your thoughts on this - there was one interesting couple.
They pulled up in an expensive car and were older than most of the people who have been looking (the others have mostly been younger with young families or obviously pregnant). My trusty sidekick who was manning the bottom of the stairs reckons that they had a brochure in their hands when they showed up. They picked up a copy of the "recent sales" and asked about price and, surprisingly, traffic... Ilana (the helpful, trusty and clever sidekick) suggested that they might be parents of someone who visited earlier... If so that's a good sign - what do you think?
Of the 7, there were a few potentials - one couple, the woman was obviously pregnant, asked about childcare centres, and a few asked how long it takes to walk to the station...
Late today I spoke to a guy who couldn't get to the inspection who wants to come by tomorrow morning... never say no to a buyer... so it's all on again tomorrow!
Stay tuned for the next chapter!
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
First mid week open - with a bit of wind, rain and cold thrown in!
A mid-week open house is not for the feint of heart..... A mid-week open house for a couple with 2 kids under 5, and who both work full time is.... well you know the word...
Challenging.
But you know, we're up for a bit of a challenge, after all we're selling our house privately.
So, last night we tidied everything up, read the riot act to the kids about not making a mess in the morning, and hoped for the best. "To Do" lists written for the morning we went to bed hoping that the wild weather that had set in would spare us the worst.
And you know what - that's just as well because after a night of wild weather we woke up to this:
Fortunately Luck was on our side and the only "must fix" before work was re-mounting our "For Sale" sign.
The rain and wind had set in for the day so I wasn't hopeful anyone would show up...
My awesome sister, Ilana, came over to (wo)man the Open House while Mark and I went to work. She arrived armed with fruit for our empty fruit bowls and a heap of patience at what I anticipated would be a long 45 minutes...
Quite surprisingly 2 people showed up for the open house - one stayed for 20 minutes which I think is quite promising... The other asked the price but didn't stick around very long.
I suppose we'll see if anyone comes back on Saturday for a 2nd look... now that would be promising.
Meantime we've got just shy of 700 hits on the ad on realestate.com.au - and from what I've heard that's not bad for the first week on the market - a sale would be better.
In good news, interest rates have been cut today by 25 basis points and the house across the road sold prior to auction for a massive $1 437 000 (or thereabouts). It's much larger than our home, but at $500 000 less, you're getting a bargain!
If you're in Sydney, feel free to pop by for a sticky beak - the more people here during the open houses the better!
Sunday, June 3, 2012
First inspection day comes... and goes...
Yesterday was our first inspection day...
I've been watching a reality show on TV in Australia called "The Block" (www.nine.com.au/Theblock) where contestants renovate a rundown house and then sell them at auction. The couple who gets the highest price above reserve wins $100K. Now our house ISN'T a run down house, but it's interesting watching how the couples "dress" their rooms for the judges. I tell you all this because we've gone to a lot of trouble to remove "clutter" from our house and to try and make it appealing for a buyer - but still livable for us...
So yesterday the first couple through commented:
"It's so refreshing to see a house that hasn't been "styled" and actually looks like people live in it"
So I ask you - compliment or insult... because we think the house looks much less lived in than it has since we bought it... yet we're trying to make it appealing... I think I'll go with compliment for now...
Another gentlemen commented:
"I like the house, I'm just not sure about the stairs" to which I replied:
"That's why it's in this price range. You've got to compromise on something"
"That's why it's in this price range. You've got to compromise on something"
I wonder if he'll decide the stairs are good for his heart?
Yet another comment:
"If you cut down all those trees you'd have a great view".
Yes you would. But this is Kuringai and council permission might be a little difficult - that and, the small problem that all those trees you'd like to remove aren't actually on this land. I didn't share those thoughts - bit my tongue.
One gentleman seemed genuinely interested - he came alone and was telling me he has a 4 month old son and was asking how we managed with small kids. I pointed out the car port at the top of the stairs and the garage at the bottom. I hope he comes back with his wife.... might be a real chance.
We had 14 separate "groups" through yesterday - quite a few with small kids or obviously pregnant... the last couple arrived after "closing time" and we'd turned the coffee machine on. In retrospect it was probably a little weird for them to walk in then... you know we'd turned off our professional seller hats and were winding down - with some strangers.
Last comment I want to share:
"You're doing a good job posing as agents"
Compliment or.... ?
Stay tuned!
Go!
Our house is officially on the market! The ad went up and after a couple of small issues with the copy (like the ad saying we had a heap of features that we didn't actually have) it's all systems go.
The ads are here if you're curious:
http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-roseville-110650641
and
http://www.domain.com.au/Property/For-Sale/House/NSW/Roseville/?adid=2009729876
The difficulty with sleeping has began as well - it's all nervous excitement I suppose.
My sister is going to help with the open house tomorrow and between the 2 of us I'm sure we'll be fine. I'm not sure what's "normal" for page views but we've had 400 hits on www.realestate.com.au which I hope will translate to lots of people coming through tomorrow. Having said that I don't know what "lots of people" really means and what is a "good" number... I suppose just one person who wants to buy would be good.
The weather report isn't great but I'm hoping the rain holds off.
Don't think I'll get much sleep tonight but we'll just wait and see!
The ads are here if you're curious:
http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-roseville-110650641
and
http://www.domain.com.au/Property/For-Sale/House/NSW/Roseville/?adid=2009729876
The difficulty with sleeping has began as well - it's all nervous excitement I suppose.
My sister is going to help with the open house tomorrow and between the 2 of us I'm sure we'll be fine. I'm not sure what's "normal" for page views but we've had 400 hits on www.realestate.com.au which I hope will translate to lots of people coming through tomorrow. Having said that I don't know what "lots of people" really means and what is a "good" number... I suppose just one person who wants to buy would be good.
The weather report isn't great but I'm hoping the rain holds off.
Don't think I'll get much sleep tonight but we'll just wait and see!
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Ready.... set....
The house is just about ready and I think we're just about ready as well. Not sure how much this is going to turn my life upside down but I'll let you all know as the weeks go on...
In the meantime we've had the photographer come over and take pictures and the house looked amazing... The pictures should arrive tonight so I'll be getting all excited about that then! Yesterday was an RDO for me - we spent the morning getting the house ready for the photographer and then I spent the afternoon pressure cleaning the driveway so it looks spic and span for open house on Saturday. It took me 4 hours. But it looks great.
We put up our for sale sign last night. It has my new prepaid mobile number on it. I tried to forward the calls from my prepaid SIM to my regular phone. It doesn't work. I guess I'll be carrying around a few phones until we get this all sorted out.
I really hope that someone comes to look at the house on the weekend and makes us a reasonable offer for it. I really hope I'm not still writing about this process in a blog 18 months from now.
By the way - I used a leaf blower for the first time yesterday - what an amazing contraption. I think I'll be using it every Saturday morning for the foreseeable future! I do understand why people risk pissing their neighbours off to use them... worth every filthy look I reckon!
In the meantime we've had the photographer come over and take pictures and the house looked amazing... The pictures should arrive tonight so I'll be getting all excited about that then! Yesterday was an RDO for me - we spent the morning getting the house ready for the photographer and then I spent the afternoon pressure cleaning the driveway so it looks spic and span for open house on Saturday. It took me 4 hours. But it looks great.
We put up our for sale sign last night. It has my new prepaid mobile number on it. I tried to forward the calls from my prepaid SIM to my regular phone. It doesn't work. I guess I'll be carrying around a few phones until we get this all sorted out.
I really hope that someone comes to look at the house on the weekend and makes us a reasonable offer for it. I really hope I'm not still writing about this process in a blog 18 months from now.
By the way - I used a leaf blower for the first time yesterday - what an amazing contraption. I think I'll be using it every Saturday morning for the foreseeable future! I do understand why people risk pissing their neighbours off to use them... worth every filthy look I reckon!
Selling my house - myself!
It's been a very long time since I last blogged but I've decided that I want to keep a record of my latest crazy idea...
Mark and I have decided to sell our house and upgrade to one substantially larger. Larger because we've decided to invite my sister and her son to live with us. There's a lot to be said for living in large family groups. How much of it is good I suppose you'll find out if you follow this blog over the next few months.
We live in an upmarket suburb with lots of very big houses. By very big I mean that 4-5 bedrooms is usual and swimming pools and tennis courts are not unusual. Some even boast "media rooms" and indoor swimming pools - I kid you not!
Our house is an entry level into this market. It is generously described as 3 bedrooms, though the 3rd bedroom is really a glorified sun room. It's a cottage in a street with mansions... We also have some topographical challenges in the form of a house built at the top of a very steep block - it has some advantages... it's bright and has a lovely flat -ish backyard. But you've got to climb 42 steps from the street to enjoy the advantages. And therein lies the entry level of our home in this market.
Given we're at the bottom of an upmarket suburb my father who's usually very astute suggested that we sell our house privately without engaging a real estate agent. When he suggested we, he probably meant me. I'm the extrovert in this household. But with a market value of over $900K and 2% agent commission, saving $20K sounds like something that's probably worth giving a go...
So here we are.
We're not completely in the deep end. I have an uncle who very generously has donated some advice and we've spent the past month getting the house ready. Which involved a whole lot of time and money. In order to bring the house into a state that someone will walk in and offer us the best part of $1 million bucks we've been really busy.
We've:
Painted - or rather paid a handsome some to some lovely blokes to do it for us
Gardened - or rather paid a hardworking gardener to work some wonders! It does look great!
De-cluttered - Over 500 books have gone, bookcases, buffets, dinner sets, all of our family pictures.... the place looks huge - and it is - all of our stuff is GONE!
Cleaned - carpets,windows, fireplace (the first time ever!)
Replaced curtains
just to name a few of the jobs that we've been keeping ourselves busy with...
Next week we've got a photographer booked to come and take some pics for us and to update the floor plan.
It's expensive to advertise property you know... so I did a bit of research googling "selling your house privately" and found a couple of companies set up to help people like us... to put an ad on one of the leading real estate sites online privately costs $500 for 28 days! Another one doesn't accept private ads at all... A board for the front yard was going to cost upwards of $120.... But these companies for about $600 give you access to all of that....
So I've bought a new pre paid SIM card so I don't have to give my phone number out to people and we're good to go.
My sister can sell ice to Eskimos and given she'll be benefiting from our purchase of new digs has kindly offered to step in where my introvert husband can't and is going to help me do the "open house" on a Saturday. My Dad has offered to help mid week and I may yet take him up on his offer.... Managing a full time job and 2 kids under 5 while we go through this process might just make me crazy!
Here's hoping that this will be a quick (I hope) and not too painful process.
Wish me luck!
Mark and I have decided to sell our house and upgrade to one substantially larger. Larger because we've decided to invite my sister and her son to live with us. There's a lot to be said for living in large family groups. How much of it is good I suppose you'll find out if you follow this blog over the next few months.
We live in an upmarket suburb with lots of very big houses. By very big I mean that 4-5 bedrooms is usual and swimming pools and tennis courts are not unusual. Some even boast "media rooms" and indoor swimming pools - I kid you not!
Our house is an entry level into this market. It is generously described as 3 bedrooms, though the 3rd bedroom is really a glorified sun room. It's a cottage in a street with mansions... We also have some topographical challenges in the form of a house built at the top of a very steep block - it has some advantages... it's bright and has a lovely flat -ish backyard. But you've got to climb 42 steps from the street to enjoy the advantages. And therein lies the entry level of our home in this market.
Given we're at the bottom of an upmarket suburb my father who's usually very astute suggested that we sell our house privately without engaging a real estate agent. When he suggested we, he probably meant me. I'm the extrovert in this household. But with a market value of over $900K and 2% agent commission, saving $20K sounds like something that's probably worth giving a go...
So here we are.
We're not completely in the deep end. I have an uncle who very generously has donated some advice and we've spent the past month getting the house ready. Which involved a whole lot of time and money. In order to bring the house into a state that someone will walk in and offer us the best part of $1 million bucks we've been really busy.
We've:
Painted - or rather paid a handsome some to some lovely blokes to do it for us
Gardened - or rather paid a hardworking gardener to work some wonders! It does look great!
De-cluttered - Over 500 books have gone, bookcases, buffets, dinner sets, all of our family pictures.... the place looks huge - and it is - all of our stuff is GONE!
Cleaned - carpets,windows, fireplace (the first time ever!)
Replaced curtains
just to name a few of the jobs that we've been keeping ourselves busy with...
Next week we've got a photographer booked to come and take some pics for us and to update the floor plan.
It's expensive to advertise property you know... so I did a bit of research googling "selling your house privately" and found a couple of companies set up to help people like us... to put an ad on one of the leading real estate sites online privately costs $500 for 28 days! Another one doesn't accept private ads at all... A board for the front yard was going to cost upwards of $120.... But these companies for about $600 give you access to all of that....
So I've bought a new pre paid SIM card so I don't have to give my phone number out to people and we're good to go.
My sister can sell ice to Eskimos and given she'll be benefiting from our purchase of new digs has kindly offered to step in where my introvert husband can't and is going to help me do the "open house" on a Saturday. My Dad has offered to help mid week and I may yet take him up on his offer.... Managing a full time job and 2 kids under 5 while we go through this process might just make me crazy!
Here's hoping that this will be a quick (I hope) and not too painful process.
Wish me luck!
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