Promote your business or product on 700level.com. For
more information about advertising with us CLICK HERE!

If your wife has a few hot friends, contact your next door neighbor and ask to grant you permission to allow the hot friends to clad bikinis and sunbath in their backyard while your house is being shown.

Sooner or later some dumb shmuck thinking with his pecker will make an offer.

Wow...that's extreme.

I'm certainly worried, but I'm just holding out hope that I'll be lucky as long as things don't go crazy and I don't get unrealistic with the asking price.

I think that things are slowing down and grinding, but I'm still in an area that should give me the opportunity to move the place within a reasonable time frame (hoping).

As a famous wise man once said, "A Cold Bottle of Rumple in the Fridge Never hurt anybody or anything".

The "extreme" comment was directed at Johnson.

Dean-o's suggestion makes perfect sense.

sounds extreme on the surface, but in actuality, the few grand you may spend to take down wall paper and paint some rooms white are a drop in the bucket considering the overall price you may get on the house...

HE'S TALKING ABOUT THE CAR, DAMN IT!!!!!!!!!!

sounds extreme on the surface, but in actuality, the few grand you may spend to take down wall paper and paint some rooms white are a drop in the bucket considering the overall price you may get on the house...

No...I get that. We've repainted every wall, removed all wallpaper, and replaced a lot of flooring. We've also remodeled the kitchen, both bathrooms, the Deck (still in rpogress), etc. We only used 1 darker color and I could paint over it in a weekend it it will help.

I was referring to the offering of a new car with the purchase of the home Johnson mentioned.

Yeah...KB got it.

thanks for posting in all caps there, KB... would have missed your post otherwise...

The greater risk was missing the point. This was the fail-safe method.

Dean-o's suggestion makes perfect sense.

Tell me about it f-d. It ALMOST worked on me! Many years ago, and I stress many, the future Mrs. Dean-o and I were in the market to buy our first home. We decided to look into some newly constructed condos that were going up near my workplace. Anyway, about halfway through the tour of the home the realtor walks us to the back of the home to look at the deck / patio landscaping, etc. Not 20 feet away from what would have been the neighbor’s adjoining patio was this stunning, blond, wearing a silver metallic type bikini sunning herself. At this point we stroll back into the home and I’m thinking aloud, “hehehe, I really like this place”. Future Mrs. Dean says, “Not on your life buddy.”

So, as you can see, the plan also has some drawbacks.

Just tell your wife you're gay

F-D, how long you been in this house? Capital gains are eliminated if you've been in it 2 years (I sold my last house at almost exactly the 2 year mark).

If you do your purchase contract Contingent on Financing, it really is contingent on the sale of your house, but it just doesn't say so. That is, you can't get financing if you don't sell your house, but the contract doesn't state so in exact terms.

Johnson, I've seen those ads lately, with the cars. Especially for investment properties, like the beach (which is the same thing as "the shore," for youse guys up that way).

F-D, how long you been in this house? Capital gains are eliminated if you've been in it 2 years (I sold my last house at almost exactly the 2 year mark).

If you do your purchase contract Contingent on Financing, it really is contingent on the sale of your house, but it just doesn't say so. That is, you can't get financing if you don't sell your house, but the contract doesn't state so in exact terms.

My two year mark is actually this month and we won't be selling for a few months, so I guess I'm in the clear there (which is nice).

The "Bubble" also depends on the price point, in my opinion. My Uncle-In-Law just sold his townhouse this summer (around $300k) in 3 days. But I've seen the same ads for the same $800+ houses for months.

As always, location is key, too. Great neighborhoods will still sell, regardless of this Bubble action.

So, as you can see, the plan also has some drawbacks.

Sounds like the obvious fix here is a gaggle of "smokin' hot" shemales. If I get into a bind with a young wife/girlfriend worried about the eye candy, I'll direct them to brandish their junk and close the deal.

KB- I might put you in charge of recruitment on this one.

The "Bubble" also depends on the price point, in my opinion. My Uncle-In-Law just sold his townhouse this summer (around $300k) in 3 days. But I've seen the same ads for the same $800+ houses for months.

I'm hoping (hoping) some of these things will be in my favor, too. It's a 3 BR, 2 Bath house in a Lehigh Valley suburb...I'm hoping that it's going to be right in the sweet spot of homes that still have a failry strong market in the area.

"KB- I might put you in charge of recruitment on this one."

I can have them there yesterday

You can DEFINITELY negotiate the Realtor's commission, especially if you're planning on having the same agent sell your house and help you with the new one.

Make him earn his bucks, too. You should get a totally comprehensive list of all homes sold in your area in the last 6-12 months (I like to see a year, since it is seasonal around here).

If you decide to bail on the Agent route, you can find all kinds of ways to sell yourself, without a Realtor. We bought our current house that way. Hired a Real Esate Attorney to do all the contracts for, like $300 or so. The seller of this house was trying to save some bucks due to nasty divorce (side note: the ex-wife brought her divorce attorney to settlement. That wasn't too uncomfortable...)

I'm moving across a couple counties, so I'll almost certainly need seperate realtors, but what's the deal with hiring an agent just for the contracts and stuff? Do they handle the final negotiations/contingencies as well?

I know that buying our house was a bit of a pain in the balls during the closing because we had to deal with tiny credits for different stuff (some trash removal, shingle repair, garage door opener, and crap liek that).

It really depends on how you feel about teh sale of the house. That is, if you think it will just sell itself, then bypass the agent. Ask your neighbors and people in your local area for recommendation. Home INspection is still gonna happen whether you use an agent or not.

For my last sale, we used the agent because of convenience. Our hosue was in a hot market and sold for way over list price in just 5 days, but it was worth the commission to us, with 2 kids and all the hassle of daily life.

I'm just saying, you have 9 months to think about it, you should investigate that option.

I'm going to do some research, but I think we'll ultimately go with an agent. The one we used to buy our current house was fantastic and she's well-rspected in the area, so it might be worth the piece of mind.

There was also an "assist to sell" house across from my office for about 10 months without being sold. One day I noticed the sing had changed to a local agent and it was sold within 6 weeks or so. I'm just nervous enough to pay the piper on this one, I think.

f-d,

It will depend on the agent, but you might want to slim down the length of time you're obligated to use them. When we went house hunting, the "standard contract" for our buyer's agent was 6 months. I asked why and was told that it was standard. Well, apologies to you, I told her, but I don't know you and while I'm sure you're great, I would feel better if we only locked in for one month and go from there. Out came the pen, adjustment made.

Good luck with the buying and selling. I'm in our first house, and I'm not looking forward to trying to juggle a purchase and a sale at the same time.

I just wanted to bring this back to life as my selling date is fast approaching.

We're looking to put the house on the market within the next 4 months and are targeting a move sometime between june and August, based on how quickly the house sells.

I've spoken with our agent (the one we bought the house from) and she will be selling our house for us. we didn't get into specifics, but touched base via phone and email.

She told me that the market is strong in our area and homes priced appropriately are still selling very quickly (she even said prices are still going up slightly, but have pretty much leveled off...no drops, though), which I was really glad to hear.

We didn't get into the details yet, but the main thing I'm curious about is info on potential costs from people who have sold a house.

Basically, I'm wondering what I can expect to pay in fees to the realtor. I've heard 6% is a ballpark, with about half going to the buying agent and half to the selling agent, but is that consistent with what you guys have paid?

Also, are there any other signifcant fees I can expect to pay?

I've been watching the market like a hawk (from where I'm selling and where I'm likely moving), but the one variable in my potential budget is how much equity I'm going to lose between the final sale price and the time it get into my bank account.

Generally 6% is about right, never more though. The seller is typically expected to pay the 3% fee for his own realtor, as well as the 3% fee to the buyer's agent as a courtesy for "taking the house off your hands". But buyers generally ask for more and it boils down to your willingness to part with cash to complete the sale. Buyers will sometimes, especially in slow markets, lowball the offer on your home, or ask for cashback at closing (as much as 2%) to cover thier moving expenses, etc. You can take it or leave it. In addition, you may be asked to pay for a home warranty or home inspection in a slow market (optional on your part) to give the buyers piece of mind. You can decline to pay for any of these, but they are tools that the buyer will use to get your price down or thier costs down and the desparate seller will usually agree.

Follow Bird Boy's advice earlier, though, even the strike-through part...get the house in pristine condition and de-cluttered immediately. Put things in storage that aren't used to make the house look roomier.

I've done this twice before and will likely do so again this year.

1 2  3 4 5 6 7