And so it begins, just listed a house

[wvugurl26]

I think it could save a lot of stress. I would use a lawyer though for the paperwork.

[Sharon]

Oct 14, 2021 9:19:28 GMT -5 Knee Deep in Water Chloe said:

So, we live in a small town, and my husband is in a very visible job position. He announced last week that he is resigning from his position.

Yesterday, an employee texted him asking him if their parents could look at our house before we put it up for sale and potentially buy it from us now even though we wouldn’t be listing it until February-ish.


It’s the same concept as the original post, yet I don’t want to “steal” this thread from tractor. let me know if you want me to start my own.

How does the YM collective
Feel about this concept of a private sale?

I'm in the middle of selling my home and purchasing a new one.  I let the neighbors know that I would be moving and if they knew of anyone who would be interested.  In the end I went with a real estate agent because yes there were interested people and they all felt that because I wouldn't be going through a realtor, and therefore no realtor commission, that they could low ball me on the price. 

They would say to my face well you don't have to pay the realtors commission so therefore we can go lower on the price.  I went with a realtor my home was sold in 4 days for $35,000 more than what I was talking with the neighbors about. 

Less Headaches, Less Stress and more money.

[raeoflyte]

I have a rental that we are selling. Photography today, but I'm not sure we'll list till next weekend. The agent wanted to wait for better lighting for pictures (next week), but this is an absolute starter home. Practically the cheapest house available in the entire metro area and I just don't see the photos making that big of a difference in this market.

[Tiny]

Oct 14, 2021 7:54:50 GMT -5 tractor said:

Yesterday she call and asks if I can get it turned on within the next couple of hours so the inspector can test it out. I replied "nope", you were told it doesn't work and the house is listed "as is".  

Do you have a newbie realtor? Or a realtor who has never dealt with "un-inhabitable" houses? I do NOT mean "uninhabitable" in a bad way. It's a "legal designation" here and just means the house probably has some issue with the water (pipes burst during a freeze and it hasn't been fixed at the time of sale)  or doesn't have a furnace or Water heater OR doesn't have a working bathroom (no toilet, no tub)  at the time of sale.

Doesn't the mortgage lender need the appraisal to make the loan? Or is your buying paying cash? If your buyer is paying cash - the inspector can just note the water isn't 'turned on' and they cannot review this... (not sure that's legal though...)


A house without working water in my area is "uninhabitable" and lenders don't want to take on an uninhabitable house - with a conventional loan.

Selling a house "as is" just means the seller isn't going to fix/repair/replace anything and probably will not make allowances for the things that do no work. (so no allowance for the 35 yo asphalt shingle roof which will need to be replaced by the buyer probably ASAP). It has little to do with inhabitable or uninhabitable.

[Tiny]

How does the YM collective Feel about this concept of a private sale?

I don't think it's a bad idea - you don't need to include the 3 to 6% realtor fee in your estimate of how much you will walk away from the sale with (which may effect what price you are willing to accept for your house.)

I think you need to determine what services the realtor will provide - sometimes they are the go between with your lender and title company and local government (if your local government has any part of the buying/selling of the house).

Sometimes their job is done once they have a signed contract for the sale of the house.

If your realtors are in the latter - you can do a private sale and work with a Real Estate Lawyer - and the Title Company.


Where I live - buyers want "gray houses" - they want Updated kitchens and bathrooms and all the rooms painted gray. They want the exterior of the home painted dark gray with black trim. The grayer the house - the more it can be offered for...    A real estate agent MIGHT pressure you to repair/replace/clean/repaint and what not so the house will command a higher price. 

Say you can sell the house privately for $250K  without paying the realtor fees and without repainting, updating or doing a deep clean and without having to move some of your possessions to storage to declutter and not have to "carry" the house for a few extra months while you spend on all those things  (so save a couple of months of utilities, property taxes, insurances, lawnservice, etc...)  
Or you can go with a realtor and sell the house for 300K -  but only after spending 20K to get the house ready to sell, say 10K to carry the house for 3 or 4 extra months and the the realtor fees of say 10K...  you might get 10K  more for the house with a lot more work and stress.   

don't take my numbers as "truth" - it's an example.  And meant to make you think about the difference between what the Sale Price might mean and how much you actually walk away with at closing and after you pay for all the stuff you did to sell your house at that price. 

(my brother was adamant that he get $330K for his house -  the house was on the market for 8 months - he started out just cleaning and freshly painting the interior and moving much of their belongings to storage.  He then replaced vanities in 2 bathrooms (they were 15 years old and out of style)  He then replaced all the carpeting in the house and put down new laminate or tile floors in the kitchen and bathrooms.  He then replaced the kitchen sink and counter tops and bought all new (cheap stainless steel) appliances for the kitchen.  He also wound up repainting some of the rooms to gray (eggshell wasn't the right nuetral color).   The long time before listing and selling meant he had to take a bridge loan on the house they were moving to...     He did sell his house for $330K -- but I strongly suspect he would have done better if he would have settled for one of the bids he got in the $290 - 300K range early in the sale process...    Just something to keep in mind.   Is it the Sale Price more important to what you have left from the Sale Price once the dust settles on the sale.)  

[raeoflyte]

Listing goes live today. I'm so ready to be done. Hoping we have a good weekend.

[raeoflyte]

Oct 21, 2021 11:22:45 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

Listing goes live today. I'm so ready to be done. Hoping we have a good weekend.

First showing scheduled within 1 hour of going live. I'm not going to count my chickens, but fingers toes and everything in between will be crossed.

[raeoflyte]

Agent said she has 2 people asking about offer timeline. She is going to set it up that we have 48 hours to review so we can hopefully get in a few over the weekend.

[tractor]

Good luck. There was a flurry early on for mine as well, many realtors have buyers waiting in the wings to look at houses as soon as they come on the market. Our realtor told many that they either love it or they don't. The sellers have to make a quick decision as there always seems to be someone waiting in the wings if they hesitate.

[tractor]

I finally got the water turned on and working at my house, now I need to spend the weekend cleaning things up and making the water service look more "professional" Fortunately, I know how to do wiring and plumbing up to code, still a big time suck, but it saves on labor costs.

Appraiser and final inspections are scheduled for next week, and I have been in constant contact with the buyer. It may not close fast (I'm going on vacation in two weeks), but hopefully it will be all done before the end of November. My wife is starting to pick out new winter boots already so hopefully I'll be able to pay for them 😊

[raeoflyte]

We have 3 offers so far. 1 cash to close in less than 3 weeks just under listing and 1 conv financing 20k higher, 4 week close. Cash buyer wants to know asap, but going to think on it at least this afternoon. Agent suggested countering on the cash deal to come up 10k.

When we started this I really wanted to sell to someone who would owner occupy. Now I really want it done. And still a little part of me that worries I'll regret selling.

[stillmovingforward]

Raeo- why are you selling? I seem to have missed that part

[raeoflyte]

Oct 22, 2021 21:04:45 GMT -5 stillmovingforward said:

Raeo- why are you selling? I seem to have missed that part

Market seemed too good to pass up. The kids college accounts are underfunded and this will fix that and pay off days student loans.

[tractor]

Still waiting....final inspection is Thursday. Fortunately the appraisal came back fine for the buyer, just need to have the well tested. The buyers realtor forgot to schedule it last week, so here we are.

At this point I just hope we can close before end end of the month (I'm going on vacation starting Friday).

[raeoflyte]

Nov 2, 2021 18:15:53 GMT -5 tractor said:

Still waiting....final inspection is Thursday. Fortunately the appraisal came back fine for the buyer, just need to have the well tested. The buyers realtor forgot to schedule it last week, so here we are.

At this point I just hope we can close before end end of the month (I'm going on vacation starting Friday).

Good luck!

[tractor]

Oct 22, 2021 13:51:52 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

We have 3 offers so far. 1 cash to close in less than 3 weeks just under listing and 1 conv financing 20k higher, 4 week close. Cash buyer wants to know asap, but going to think on it at least this afternoon. Agent suggested countering on the cash deal to come up 10k.

When we started this I really wanted to sell to someone who would owner occupy. Now I really want it done. And still a little part of me that worries I'll regret selling.

What did you decide?

[raeoflyte]

Nov 3, 2021 9:16:24 GMT -5 tractor said:

Oct 22, 2021 13:51:52 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

We have 3 offers so far. 1 cash to close in less than 3 weeks just under listing and 1 conv financing 20k higher, 4 week close. Cash buyer wants to know asap, but going to think on it at least this afternoon. Agent suggested countering on the cash deal to come up 10k.

When we started this I really wanted to sell to someone who would owner occupy. Now I really want it done. And still a little part of me that worries I'll regret selling.

What did you decide?

We got 7 offers the first weekend - took one, and it fell through at inspection. 3 offers 2nd weekend and the buyers inspection is today so holding my breath.

The first inspection said it was age of systems, roof (less than 10 years old!) And something with the sewer. What I really think it is though, is that we provided a notice from the city that they will be replacing all sewer lines in the area due to possible lead, but it will take a few years, and an older structural engineers report that said the house is sound, but do these items to keep water out (which we did).

My kids formative years were in that house and we didn't filter the water. Based on personality and test scores I can't believe there is lead. Plus it's a huge area that's affected. I have to wonder if other sellers just don't disclose.

If this one falls through I'm thinking of renting it out again till the spring. Doing out own sewer scope and seeing what if any work we need to do. Dh wants it gone, but he doesn't really get the diminishing returns of relisting. So we'll see.

[Value Buy]

Nov 3, 2021 9:50:46 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

Nov 3, 2021 9:16:24 GMT -5 tractor said:

What did you decide?

We got 7 offers the first weekend - took one, and it fell through at inspection. 3 offers 2nd weekend and the buyers inspection is today so holding my breath.

The first inspection said it was age of systems, roof (less than 10 years old!) And something with the sewer. What I really think it is though, is that we provided a notice from the city that they will be replacing all sewer lines in the area due to possible lead, but it will take a few years, and an older structural engineers report that said the house is sound, but do these items to keep water out (which we did).

My kids formative years were in that house and we didn't filter the water. Based on personality and test scores I can't believe there is lead. Plus it's a huge area that's affected. I have to wonder if other sellers just don't disclose.

If this one falls through I'm thinking of renting it out again till the spring. Doing out own sewer scope and seeing what if any work we need to do. Dh wants it gone, but he doesn't really get the diminishing returns of relisting. So we'll see. [img src="https://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff155/JiminiChristmas/ymamsmiles/smile.gif" alt="" src="//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png" class="smile"]

Do you mean water line replacement? Not sure why lead in sewer line would be a deal killer
Even if it was a water line, it would kill most deals in the area if the lead pipe was an issue.

[raeoflyte]

Nov 4, 2021 7:08:52 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Nov 3, 2021 9:50:46 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

We got 7 offers the first weekend - took one, and it fell through at inspection. 3 offers 2nd weekend and the buyers inspection is today so holding my breath.

The first inspection said it was age of systems, roof (less than 10 years old!) And something with the sewer. What I really think it is though, is that we provided a notice from the city that they will be replacing all sewer lines in the area due to possible lead, but it will take a few years, and an older structural engineers report that said the house is sound, but do these items to keep water out (which we did).

My kids formative years were in that house and we didn't filter the water. Based on personality and test scores I can't believe there is lead. Plus it's a huge area that's affected. I have to wonder if other sellers just don't disclose.

If this one falls through I'm thinking of renting it out again till the spring. Doing out own sewer scope and seeing what if any work we need to do. Dh wants it gone, but he doesn't really get the diminishing returns of relisting. So we'll see. [img src="https://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff155/JiminiChristmas/ymamsmiles/smile.gif" alt="" src="//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png" class="smile"]

Do you mean water line replacement? Not sure why lead in sewer line would be a deal killer
Even if it was a water line, it would kill most deals in the area if the lead pipe was an issue.

Sorry, the city is replacing the lead lines, and our property is in an area that might have one. I'm not sure if its the entire city, but it's a huge area. It doesn't mean there is lead in the water, but they'll be replaced eventually just in case.

So houses are selling in the area, but I'm curious how many people are disclosing it when selling.

[tractor]

Most people probably don't know, or are choosing to be silent on it. Lead pipes for water supply lines used to be the standard. They only became a big problem in areas with increased acidity in the water supply (Flint, Mi). Flint knew they had lead lines, but used an additive to keep the water neutral enough for it not to leach from the pipes, up until the point they switched water sources, but did not adjust their water chemistry.

After Flint, everyone is terrified, and replacing them will be a long-term national problem.

[raeoflyte]

Nov 4, 2021 11:08:08 GMT -5 tractor said:

Most people probably don't know, or are choosing to be silent on it. Lead pipes for water supply lines used to be the standard. They only became a big problem in areas with increased acidity in the water supply (Flint, Mi). Flint knew they had lead lines, but used an additive to keep the water neutral enough for it not to leach from the pipes, up until the point they switched water sources, but did not adjust their water chemistry.

After Flint, everyone is terrified, and replacing them will be a long-term national problem.

Thank you! That's a much clearer explanation.

[Lizard Queen]

The state of Michigan is requiring all lead service lines to be replaced, regardless of whether there is any detectable lead in water or not. My employer is working on this gradually (not getting any lead detected in the water), as there are still some lead elbows being used from the street to individual homes. Big $$$.

My youngest tested for slightly higher lead levels. (He's the one that we considered skipping forward a grade.) I'm not sure where the lead came from. We do have some lead paint in the house.

[raeoflyte]

We've gotten past inspection so I think we can relax a bit. It's not done till it's done though.

We came down in price and are paying some closing costs but are netting still $16k over list price (down 10k from offer). Our agent didn't want us to pay that much but I always planned on giving concessions if it was an owner occupied buyer which this is. We had a lot of good years there and really want the neighborhood to thrive so I'm glad it's not an investor.

[tractor]

We are now inching closer to a closing. It turns out the septic field needs to be replaced, something neither myself or the buyer could have ever known. Since the house sat vacant for so long, roots have grown into the drain field and plugged up every pipe, even extending down into the tank.

This can happen when there's no water moving through the system, nature reclaims it. Oh well, we decided to offer the buyer some cash back at closing to put a new drain field in. Apparently, everyone is happy and we should close soon. Supposed to be done by the end of the month. We will walk away with less than we dreamed, but still more than we imagined before we listed the place.

All things considered, I still think we made much more than we would have if we tried to sell last year.

[tractor]

I believe the saying is "Never count your chickens before they hatch".... the buyer decided to walk today, even with our offer of additional cash at closing, they just changed their mind.

So we start over......

[laterbloomer]

Damn!

[finnime]

Nov 13, 2021 18:58:47 GMT -5 tractor said:

I believe the saying is "Never count your chickens before they hatch".... the buyer decided to walk today, even with our offer of additional cash at closing, they just changed their mind.

So we start over......

Ouch. Sorry about that.

[raeoflyte]

Nov 13, 2021 18:58:47 GMT -5 tractor said:

I believe the saying is "Never count your chickens before they hatch".... the buyer decided to walk today, even with our offer of additional cash at closing, they just changed their mind.

So we start over......

I'm sorry! Starting over is miserable. Will you relist right away or wait a bit?

[tractor]

We will relist right away. I doubt it will sell any time soon as we are headed into winter. The contract with the realtor goes until the end of March. I doubt we will list with the same realtor again.

Since we have no need to sell, we can wait it out if needed. There's still a housing shortage in our area, so I know it will sell eventually. Who knows, I might run into a contractor looking for a project and have it redone then sell it.

[raeoflyte]

I don't want to jinx us, but we're getting close.

My agent pushed to move up closing without talking to me, and now closing is set for a day that I have meetings and I'm being asked to rearrange my schedule to make it work. Which I'm sure I will, but it's frustrating because it's so unnecessary. I'm a loan officer for freaking sake. We always have agents pushing to move things up. If it's to really help a buyer or seller, sure. But just to get someone's check 5 days earlier, it's ridiculous. And now I'm part of that pita transaction.