It's all done!
I am not much of a housekeeper, and that became obvious this week as we cleaned and organized to present our house to the realtors. After a few hours of dusting and vacuuming, we began a sneezeathon. Dave bought a brand new vacuum cleaner (#6 in his collection) and that really worked well, even dragging stuff from the air down into the suction hose. Now I can see the corners are no longer fuzzy and it is amazing.
The realtors showed up precisely at 3 and I had just finished taking pictures of every room and put them all on a cd. So many online house sellers take terrible pictures, dark and out of focus. Call me controlling, but I want my house to be seen, clearly, by online viewers. None the less they will be sending over a photographer to do one of thes 360 Virtual Tours. OK. I don't know how to do those, so I guess I will go along.
Dave and I were trying to guess what price they would decide to list our house for. I wanted at least $250K and feared that they would quote us $230. The market has been dismal around here, so leaving could take a long time if we priced too high. Our neighbor has had her house up since last June, but then she hadn't any updating to her late 70's decor, while we have made over every nook and cranny. We could see the dollar signs in the realtor's eyes as we gave them the grand tour. I was thrilled that they quoted us at $260.
The sign goes out on the lawn on Monday and Tuesday all the local realtors have a visit. I must keep everything clean, which is going to be a trick. If you have nothing at all to do, then you can see the total operating room cleanliness here. Take the slideshow, and reduce the time to one second, so you don't fall asleep.
Reply to comments: We don't know yet where we will end up moving, but will try to find a place (South) mid April whether the house is sold or not. Dave doesn't intend to eat any fish he catches anyway, so it doesn't even matter what the pcb levels are. Hey, we live near the Fox River in IL. Top that for icky water!
My friends are never home and neither am I, so I will still see them on the road. And I intend to have a 'destination' spot for them to visit me. And I'll always have the blog!
Mel, there IS hope. Don't listen to all the nay-sayers or pay attention to the house down the block. Your house is definately not the same, like comparing apples to oranges.
ReplyDeleteWe listed on Feb. 28. Had 60 people through by Friday, had our open house that first weekend of March, 100 went thru. Had 6 offers on Wednesday, including a blank contract. It was NUTS.
Hardest part is keeping it clean!
We chose Tucson for semi-retirement, care to join us? We move there in 3 weeks!
Wow mel, good luck with the house selling. it is not fun. i hate trying to keep it clean during the anxiety of selling, but then again i have always had to do it with two kids. So are you going to start the southern school of fusing? it must be hard to think about leaving behind your dates at Panerra with Frieda and Laura. I still miss my friday mornings with my art quilt friends in Austin. I think that is the hardest part about moving.
ReplyDeleteThere's a program on HGTV where they compare home prices across the country (can't remember the name of the program). They show Asheville a lot and it looks absolutely charmimg. Hope you blog about your new adventures. This is going to be fun.
ReplyDeleteIf you need extra ranting space for home selling issues, or want to read other's stories, I've always liked:
ReplyDeletehttp://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/realestate/
Good luck for a quick sale!
Melody! Your house looks GREAT! I wonder if you'll have a buyer who will want to include some of your art in the sale! Or maybe you'll bet some art buyers for people that don't want to buy the house!
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Beautiful photos and it is obvious there is an artist in residence! Good luck with selling. One question- what kind of vacuum did Dave buy? He sounds like me- on an eternal mission to find one that sucks up everything but the furnishings!
ReplyDeleteWell... if I was moving to your area I'd buy your house in a heartbeat. Truly stunning! Do you remember what color you painted the turquoise bedroom? I love it!
ReplyDeleteI think your house is gonna sell so fast your head will spin!
Wow! What a lovely home. I'll be shocked if it's not sold quick!
ReplyDeleteNow if you could move that house to California you could easily get twice what your asking. You can't get anything around here for that amount. And I don't believe you aren't a good housekeeper just because you had a few dust mice in the corners.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the sale; I just moved in December so I know what you're going through.
ReplyDeleteHow's come yer spoons er upsidedown?
ReplyDeleteYour house looks stunning!! Keeping stuff clean when selling was a pain for me, but it did just become habit after a while, plus I had realtors that walked in when I was in the shower, nice huh. Good luck to you!! I'm sure it will sell quick!
ReplyDeleteWhen we sold our house last year the realtors worried that we had too much color. The folks who bought it loved it because it wasn't beige. I know there is someone out there who will love your colorful home. I just wish you were coming west. If I had to live in the east, I would choose Ashville - I love it there.
ReplyDeleteYour house looks great-- so bright and clear of stuff. (Wanna come clear out my stuff?) I hope you get a great reaction from the house-hunters. How could they not love it? Maybe you'll have a quilter who'll fall in love with it. Good luck with the house hunting!
ReplyDeleteAsheville is great, but very expensive--as are North Carolina taxes. Move to Chattanooga, Tennessee! We want more artists--and I would love to have an art quilter in the neighborhood! And Tennessee doesn't have state income tax--what could be better? Chattanooga is really up and coming in the arts--it's something to think about!!!
ReplyDeletePeggy,
ReplyDeleteJust like that, I am convinced! I will change my mind and move to Chattanooga. I love being wanted.
But really, we are not planning to live in Asheville and are looking all around the area, including TN and SC.
Melody
Peggy, didn't know there was another chatting Chattanoogan here!! Mel, she's right about it being inexpensive and artsy--they've started one of those "districts" where artists can relocate if they want to buy a fixer-upper...Aside from that, the Sequatchie Valley just north of here has some gorgeous unspoiled areas.
ReplyDeleteOK Peggy and Beth, please email me privately, we must talk. I just found some homes online that are real killers!
ReplyDeleteWOW!!! You have a beautiful home, so colorful and a perfect showcase for your quilts. I'm in awe. I'm sure it will sell quickly and for more than what it's listed at. Good luck with finding your new abode in North Carolina. :-)
ReplyDelete