truckstop

yum. brussels sprouts are the best.

Doug28450

Now just wait a minute here. What is your point of reference for the temperature being half of 20?

LAJ

I have no point of reference, as it matters not.

RollCNY

It makes sense if it enables the house to sell faster and for more. There are three houses for sale within eyesight of mine at this very moment. I need to differentiate if I seek a desirable outcome.

rpenmanparker 

Right, except in Kelvin degrees, a temperature of 10 is not half of 20.

WhyFi

Is it a buyer's market in your area right now? Have you talked to an RE agent yet?

RollCNY

Oh, we are way past that. Talked to an agent that we have a long, positive history with, looked at 9 houses, found house we both really like. Agent made some great pointers on things to do to our place to sell, and actually thinks we can get more for our place than I think. Wife was ready to jump, but I am nervous due to 1) 3 houses for sale near me not moving 2) New house is move in able, but we would probably want at least one bathroom remodeled and strong likelihood of kitchen work 3) Youngest has three years of HS left, and then wife constantly debates moving south. So I (Mr. Practical) have reservations on the sensibility of going from my 1400 sq ft almost paid off house to a 2100 sq ft not paid off house that I am going to sink money into and then sell in 3-4 years.

As to buyers/sellers market, it is very weird and neighborhood dependent. Heavy supply and low activity would suggest buyer's market, however this specific house has been on the market for 6 months, started unrealistically high, and though it has come down, the seller's may not entertain offer's less than current list. The price is reasonable though, so if I was trying to push price, it would be a small number.

Mainly, I don't want to get stuck carrying two houses.

Doug28450

Now see, when LAJ posted that I immediately thought of the Kelvin scale.

Doug28450

Lowe's and Home Depot like you. So do their shareholders.

BillyD

No you do not.

rjones28 

It's usually just stuff that makes the house more attractive to strangers.Items that will either bolster the asking price or induce a quicker sale and don't cost big bucks.

rjones28 

Roasted.

Velo Vol 

Obviously, each case is different. My reasoning is:

--if a house is so clearly lacking, why didn't the owner "fix" it earlier, so he could enjoy the fruits of labour

--owner isn't going to know what a potential buyer wants, your proprieties may be different than his

rjones28 

I had two households for a year and a half. No fun.

truckstop

correct.

truckstop

i've been a non-homeowner officially for a month now. woohoo!

2manybikes

I rode my bike over that bridge. Did not ride off the bridge. No window winding occured.

rpenmanparker 

I think the trend for fixing up a house to sell it has been greatly influenced by the television shows that depict buying and selling houses. They tend to preach the need for fixing up a house prior to listing it as an absolute necessity even to the point of emptying out all the owner's belongings and redecorating the house with rented furniture.

Personally, I would rather see the money the owner would spend used to reduce the purchase price so that I could use it after the purchase to fix up the house the way I want it. That approach seems to have become very unfashionable. We have on more than one occasion bought wrecks of houses for very reasonable prices and used the savings to bring them up to our standards and preferences. Why would I want to pay for the seller to fix up a house for me according to his taste? Makes no sense. And, of course, spending the money twice, first for him to redo the house and then again for me to repeat the process is totally ridiculous.

But almost no one out to buy a house has the necessary vision to see what a house can become. They recoil from the true fixer-upper. Too bad.

truckstop

i have three hours of sitting at the airport ahead of me.

i think long beach is officially my favorite airport ever. you can sit outside after you get past security in a nice little courtyard area. the sun is out, no clouds in the sky. much different than what i'm going home to.

rpenmanparker 

Years ago essentially all the smaller California airports were like that. The gate podiums were actually outdoors, and you waited outside to walk to the stairs up to the plane. Little by little those disappeared, first Orange County, then Ontario and San Jose, and so on. It was fun.

truckstop

this. too many people want move-in ready.

LesterOfPuppets

I only vaguely remember walking up and down stairs to get on a plane.

Weirdest setup was at Dulles, where you got on these lift buses that took you out to the planes.

LAJ

We're in America, and we use real money. None of this 0 Kelvin, or 0C. F it is.

LAJ

They use the monster trucks to haul you from the outlying gates to the main terminal and baggage claim. They have openings at both ends now, and the driver just switches ends.

rpenmanparker 

I'm with you, but that's why the temperature at 10 degrees F isn't one-half of 20 degrees F. If you want that relationship to be true, you have got to go Kelvin. You win some, you lose some. Half of 20 degrees F is -220 degrees F. Not much we can do about that.