Thread Drift

[OakLeaf]

ETA: I actually spent two weeks polishing the fittings in the bathroom every time I'd been in there, in case someone wanted to drop by and see the house. Shiny fittings actually make a shabby bathroom look quite nice. But it was still an insane thing to do.

Hint: keep a microfiber kitchen cloth by every faucet, all the time. All it takes is a 10-second swipe after every use. It's like the easiest cleaning ritual I have, and it takes hours off "real" cleaning.

[Crankin]

House is being listed Friday night. Open houses on Saturday and Sunday. It's supposed to be iffy weather on Sunday, so wondering what the hell I will do. DH is leaving for Europe late Saturday, so if it's raining, I may have to go shopping, if I can't ride!
On a positive note, we spent 5 hours at Lowes yesterday. I tried to be enthused, and I endured picking out appliances, tile and vanities for 2 bathrooms, tile for the entry way, granite counters, and a backsplash. DH decided this is the way to go, as it's less money than working with a kitchen/bath store. I pray they follow through, although I've heard horror stories. We met with the managers of the departments, who clearly knew their stuff, it's just the contractors they use. DH already has appointments set up for them to measure and do templates at the condo and hopefully it will all be done before we move. Haven't heard from our painter, which pisses me off, as my older son worked for him for 2 years. It's just the painting (small areas) and window stuff left.

[Crankin]

Heard from our painter yesterday, so he is coming to see what needs to be done, a few hours after we close.
Feeling like a guest in my own home, right now. Hoping we get an offer after the open houses.

[emily_in_nc]

Heard from our painter yesterday, so he is coming to see what needs to be done, a few hours after we close.
Feeling like a guest in my own home, right now. Hoping we get an offer after the open houses.

Good luck! I know you will be glad to have it sold and all the staging bs behind you! I think the new house choices and fix-up would be lots of fun, though. Not something you're really into, I know, but I love that kind of thing. We haven't been homeowners for several years now, and even though I love the freedom we have not being tied down to a place, I do miss having my own place where I can paint, put stuff up on the walls, and otherwise make it my own.

[Crankin]

Ack, no one came to the open house! Our agent said it was like this everywhere. However, we have someone coming for a regular showing tomorrow morning, before the open house. That is a good sign.
Once the pain of picking out stuff is over, I enjoy setting up the house, etc. We are looking at window treatments and and lighting stuff on line, but that will be done after we move in. We also decided to get new furniture for the sunroom, and we will need some additional chairs/pieces for the great room. DH just left for 10 days in Europe, so t will be interesting if we get an offer while he is gone. He'll be home for 10 days and then will be going to Japan for a week, at the beginning of October. Thankfully, both of these trips are a bit shorter than they usually are, this year. I just want this to be over with. I have no reason to worry, we can easily pay for 2 mortgages, but the thought of having to de-list the house for the winter and then start again is not appealing!

[ny biker]

I actually like the part where you pick stuff out and make the decisions. I do admit that it can be very time-consuming, but it's also a chance to get creative and learn some interesting things. I planned the tile design for my bathroom myself, using photos from some home-renovation forums, the sample bathroom setups they have at The Tile Shop and a careful study of the tile in the restrooms and locker room at my gym and my office. I drew everything out on graph paper for the contractors, specifying tile sizes and which corner to start in and how to line up the niche with the wall tile. Overall it came out nice and was worth the effort. But yes it was an effort.

The part where the contractors come and do the work is the part that gets to me. Too much disruption and messes to clean up.

In a way it's good to feel like a guest in your own home at this point -- I think you stand a better chance of selling it quickly when you are able to think of it as something you want to sell rather than "home." Some of the stuff the stagers did does seem over the top, but many people really don't have the imagination to envision themselves in a house where the current owner's personality is very visible or there's any sign that a place is really lived in.

[shootingstar]

I learned some things I never expected when I sold my Toronto condo and some unexpected surprises about buyers:

*There are very judgemental buyers who are racist/judgemental on your last name. My real estate agent (who was white) told me that people would scan the names of owners/occupiers on a condo directory and comment it the names were not Anglo-sounding or European-sounding. Meaning any Asian, East Indian last name was suspect to them as undesirable neighbours.

*There are people who will avoid buying in an area with a lot of local neighbours who have Asian faces. What is the problem?: I'm willing to bet a huge hunk of those "foreign"looking faces know how to speak English.

*My real estate agent had an interesting experience of finding a home for a blind client. She walked with the client around in potential neighbourhoods.

*My condo was sold...interestingly to a woman who was the executive-director for a national non-profit organization for Canadian women prisoners. Her son, a real estate agent brokered the deal for his mother.