All Forum Posts by: Mary R.

How long have you been there? How many months?
My own opinion on this is that old buildings, including farm houses ARE drafty, are cold. I would bet that your rent is actually really pretty low. I would also bet that it's low at least in part because it's drafty.
Most old buildings, prior to certain years, including houses in towns and cities, didn't have much, if any, insulation in them.
My sister married and bought a not real old house in 1960, and raised 4 kids into their 20's when the last graduated from college. Then the two sons gave their parents insulation and help in putting it in/on. They lived much like you are living. In coats and boots all winter. The kitchen was somewhat warm. NONE of their exterior walls had any insulation.
My best friend lived in such a farmhouse--large, and cold in the winter. When I stayed overnight, the girls-4 of us, snuggled both on top of, and under, thick down quilts. We were toasty warm until time to get up. Then we hustled!
I would say, move. I would bet that if new doors were installed and other items were done, that the rent will go up. Doors are not inexpensive. If the house is uninhabitable, the landlord or the city may have you move. I don't know the law regarding that in my own state let alone yours. This is not legal advice, do not take it as such.

Thanks. Why would they put that trust information on a deed anyway? What happens if I change the beneficiaries? Do I have to re-record the warranty deed?
Can I ask that it be left off?
If I had known that, I would not have had it recorded to the trust.

I received the recorders paper showing the recording of a SPECIAL WARRANTY DEED. One inaccuracy is a name AKA another name (ie, Mary Smith, AKA Mary Green, When it should have read (I think) Mary Green Smith, Smith being the married name. The other inaccuracy is the mis-spelling of the name. ie, Grene, rather than Green.

These are listed as beneficiaries to a trust. How important is it to correct these? I don't want a trust held up because of a typist's error.

Do I contact the grantor--the agent of the seller of the property and the county recorder? That is the person who sent the info to the county recorders office. Or what/who?

Thanks.
Read

Thanks. I will do that today. And, I will let it's life run out.

Really dumb question now: How would someone know when a gas furnace breaks, or quits working? Since it is gas, is there fire danger? or danger of explosion or gas leak? It seems to be working now: when I go in in the mornings, the house is warmer than outside, the temp is set about 55' I think.

Thanks. I bought it for a rental, but I like it as a residence. I may move in. I will get it checked.

The gas furnace in a house I'm buying is 30 years old. From what i've been told by neighbors, and from what I see of the building--haven't had it inspected yet--the owner had it 26 of those years and took good care of the house.
Should I expect to replace it soon? Will a new model make a difference in the gas bill? Since this has been (probably) well taken care of, might I expect low maintenance/parts replacement and gas bills if I keep this one for a few more years?
Would you just go ahead and replace it, or pay for an inspection first and go from there?

Originally posted by Joel Owens:

Do you WANT to sell or do you HAVE to sell?

Originally posted by Joel Owens:

Both. I'm moving. I do not want to rent this one. So, yes, I have to sell.

Originally posted by Joel Owens:

You need to determine what your mortgage payoff is and what you need to net after expenses to reach your goals.

Still working on that. Right now it appears that I need to net about 125K. If I list w/agent, I have to go above that, and do not think it would sell at a higher price.
It seems that agents here work to get the listing, and do nothing after that. Previously I've read some listing contracts and refused to sign any.

Originally posted by Joel Owens:

A broker/agent will be happy to meet and give you this value and it costs nothing for the initial meeting.

How do I approach agents, knowing I do not plan to use them? Do I speak as if I AM interviewing agents to hire?

Thanks, Charles,
figure out how to market it. If the right people don't know your home is for sale it won't sell.

You need a good idea of what the home could sell for. Knowing your competition certainly helps, but you want to bring people in that know what makes your house different or better than the competition.

Charles, I hesitate to bring in realtors to get comps and see other houses, as I am not going to use them to sell or to buy another house. I don't feel that's right.

You also need more recent sales comps. The comps you provided are to old.
Yes, they are old. There haven't been a lot of
sales here in THIS subdivision as you see. I haven't looked at others nearby.

You also want them to be similar in style, size, age, bedrooms, baths and other features. All were built 1994, frame stucco, 4 floor plans: basic tract house.
These are. The main difference is a couple of the fixer-uppers are 200sq ft larger. One sold is 100sq' smaller.

Are you going to put the house on the MLS? If so, have you considered if you would pay the buyer's RE agent a buyer's commission?
Yes. I would list it with a flat fee lister, and offer the agent who sells it 3% plus a bonus.
I plan to either mail postcards to a half mile radius or have hangers hung on doors. Which is better, do you think?
I will ask that the buyers be pre-approved for the amount.
Are you planning on open houses?
Hadn't thought of that, but is a possibility. Since I'm not building a buyer's list, and so few houses are sold via open houses, it was never a serious consideration. Are you recommending that?

Will you be available to show the house and discuss the house with any potential buyers?
Yes. I have a lockbox for the door. As agents call for the code, I would ask for their license # and check it via state website, and ask to be sure the client is pre-approved.
If people without agents call for appointment, I would ask them to have their lender send me a cpoy of their loan status report.
This, for safery. There have been news of craigslist type crimes (other than murder) and having an LSR will work to prevent that.

There's a lot that goes into selling a house. So you will want to plan on being prepared so as to increase your chances of selling the house timely and successfully.

Thanks, Charles. Should I ask a couple of agents that I have no intention of using for buying or selling, for comps? Would any do that, do you think?

Sales here don't appear great. I'm hoping to get some hopeful, positive feedback and suggestions from you folks who do this repeatedly:
My house is move-in ready, no repairs need made.
Is my competition with others that are similar, with the fixer-uppers, or both?
What should I price this house at, and how do I market it?
I plan to sell FSBO, and would list it at the low end of the appropriate range to sell quickly.
The $145 house with the mountain view is across the street, the $91,800 HUD fixer is around the corner...

This is the local competition (in the same subdivision hoa) . All 3 bed/2 bath, similar size, all Jan 7, 2011. several foreclosures have had prices reduced, and there are a few houses that were taken off market because they didn't sell after months, some up to a year.

$91,800 foreclosure
Days on realtor.com 52 days zillow 46 days

$89,900 Price Reduced FIX-UP!
Days on realtor.com 74 days Zillow 74

$118,000 Price Reduced ready to move in. plantation shutters & laminate wood flooring in bedrooms. Potential short sale - subject to lender's approval.
January 7, Days on Realtor.com 90 days

$90,000 Price Reduced fix up. starter home or investment Cooling system needs replacing. Sold as is no repairs
Days on realtor.com 262 days (8.73 months)

and these two:
$145,000
Lovely 3/2 home freshly painted magnificent unobstructed mountain views. premium lot
realtor.com 67 days Zillow 66 days

$124,000 Price reduced
Range price $124,000-129,000. Bright, beautiful CLEAN! NOT short sale or REO, this immaculate home is ready to go! New wood laminate flooring w/transferrable warranty, new water heater; newer wood blinds and custom interior paint; fascia just painted, & new solar screens just installed

2 "recently" solds
06/04/2010 Sold: $128,856
04/19/2010 Sold: $120,000

Thanks for reaading this. Any thoughts or suggestions?