What the realtor said

Most good contractors are booked up weeks and months in advance....especially while this Pandemic rages on. At this time of year, if/when you find a buyer, you will soon be having to hassle with bad weather, on top of everything else. If you are really serious about getting rid of your old place, take the first genuine offer you receive, and rent a big Dumpster to get rid of the piles of stuff that will never sell.
 

debodun said:
I just received an email from the man that looked at my house. He apologized for the delay, but said he is waiting to hear from his contractor. Could this be a delaying tactic to make me more desperate as we get further intro autumn?
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For heaven's sake Deb! Try not to be so suspicious of people and their motives. It's far more likely that he is really waiting to hear from his contractor than trying to make you desperate.

If you're worried about the man having a plan to put the screws to you, let him subtly know that you can afford to support utilities and taxes while you wait for a buyer, even if you can't/don't want to. That should make you feel better, and he'll "know" you're not desperate.

If he wants his contractor to take a gander at the house, no need to be suspicious of that, either. Hard for a contractor to bid on a job without having seen for himself what's needed.
 
debodun said:
If his contractor is taking this long, he can't be very efficient.
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My son-in-law owns a contracting business and he told me that the nature of the building business is that they are working on several houses at a time. If they aren't then they aren't very good.

It's a stop and go type of work. While waiting on the architect, the engineer, supplies to become available, etc for one project...they work on another project that is ready to go until they have to wait for something on that and come back to the other project.

Weather, labor shortages, supply & demand of materials, etc...all play into it. Everyone quarantined during the pandemic caused many to do home renovations. It's happening everywhere.
 

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Deb, don't over think it. I've done this when looking at mobiles in parks and have passed on some places I shouldn't have. I could have bought a number of them and would have hopefully been settled by now.

Sell! Sell! Sell! And don't look back.
 
🤯😲 Wow! Even with all the problems (repairs, maintenance, preventive maintenance) that you've mentioned over the years, that's a low-ball surprise to me.

I know you don't like to spend money, but my suggestion is to hire a certified real estate appraiser to find out the true value of the place. A certified appraiser has to complete many hours of education, training and experience before they can be licensed so they know what they're doing, can be trusted to give you a fair and reasonable appraisal and won't gouge you on the fee.

Once you have it on paper, you can refer to it when your house is on the market.
 
Jules said:
If you do decide to list, have a clause that says if the original man decides to purchase there is no fee paid to the realtor.

I saw this afterwards.

Contractors are in high demand at this time of the year. I don’t think it’s a stalling tactic.
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The contractor probably has 4 or 5 houses in the hopper right now. They don't work on one at a time.
 
debodun said:
The man that looked at my house last week came back today. His offer - $60K.
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Negotiate.

You’ll never get what zillow or the assessment roll has guessed. Just because your realtor has suggested a listing amount that doesn’t mean you’ll get any offers. It doesn’t sound like an ideal location so there aren’t going to be many people even wanting to speculate. Factor in taxes, basic maintenance, heating, insurance, etc.
 
@debodun I agree, it's low. But as several have mentioned, it's money and perhaps there is a little room for negotiation.

I worked with someone who inherited a house with his sister. They got an offer, they didn't take it. They took another and the young couple bailed after the inspection. My co-worker wasn't made, he said he realized they were young and just got scared. Then the first offer person came back and they negotiated a price and he bought it. I don't remember all the price details.
 
GeorgiaXplant said:
🤯😲 Wow! Even with all the problems (repairs, maintenance, preventive maintenance) that you've mentioned over the years, that's a low-ball surprise to me.

I know you don't like to spend money, but my suggestion is to hire a certified real estate appraiser to find out the true value of the place. A certified appraiser has to complete many hours of education, training and experience before they can be licensed so they know what they're doing, can be trusted to give you a fair and reasonable appraisal and won't gouge you on the fee.

Once you have it on paper, you can refer to it when your house is on the market.
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Very good advice!
 
debodun said:
The man that looked at my house last week came back today. His offer - $60K.
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I suspect that this offer reflects the likelihood that it would cost more to bring the house up to standards, than it is worth. The 60K probably reflects the Value of the land....and allows for the cost of demolition.

Unless you want to be saddled with these hassles for months/years, your best move is to take what you can get for it, and put all this behind you.
 
The realtor noted just a few things....mold and asbestos.

Many homes in the United States built before 1980 had a lot of asbestos, and today it may be necessary to remove it from a home before selling it. If left intact, it may force the seller to take a deep discount on the asking price and sell the house “as is.” In some instances, the asbestos removal is mandatory, and it takes a particular set of steps and procedures to do so safely. It's costly!

Mold is another expense to try and get rid of. Then, you also have the old cast iron pipes which need replaced, bathroom and kitchen renovations, all windows need replaced, etc., etc. etc.

Take the $60,000 offer since I doubt you'll dump any money into this money pit, then go live happily in the new home you just purchased.
 
If mold and asbestos is involved I would be scared to live there due to my health. It is going to take a ton of money to get rid of both. Either you will have to pay for it or some one else will have to. Take the money and run. I am surprised it has not been condemned.
 
@debodun, I think you should hire a professional appraiser to learn what your house is likely to fetch. Be armed with good information before making a decision.

Flippers make rock bottom offers. When selling my mom's house a flipper came by and made an offer. I declined, went through a realtor and the house sold in 7 days for 63% more than he'd offered! What a mistake it would've been to have accepted that offer.

BTW, her house was an almost complete teardown, too. The purchaser tore down 90% or more and sold it for nearly double what he paid for it, so he made plenty on the deal but not a fortune.

Deb, you research eBay for price comparisons when wanting to sell stuff, and haggle over pennies at a yard sale. Apply even greater standards to this huge item as you do to rusty plant stands, chipped cookie jars and the like. You're talking serious money.
 
Offer of 60K & realtor estimate of 150k would have any home owner wanting to sell but hesitant wanting the most.

No doubt the 60k offer is someone wanting to buy, renovate & make a decent profit.

The 150k seems a little unrealistic given the condition described over the last year. But who knows maybe luck will be on Deb's side.

At the beginning of this tale of disaster of a home & the approximately 300k spent when all the expenses are paid to own another home. The term "penny wise & pound foolish" comes to mind. I'll explain.

Over a year ago my self & others offered the opinion that spending 100k or a little more to renovate would be a good option. On the high end lets put 130k. That would leave 170k in Debs account. When Deb was looking at that 288k plus roof repair & misc. expenses home, if she had renovated she would already be living in an upgraded completely renovated home.

In todays hot sellers market if her home was estimated by the realtor to have 150k value needing renovation, she more than likely would have her 170k nest egg plus a home closer to a 600k value. And storage for her massive amount of "yard sale stuff"
 
Knight said:
Offer of 60K & realtor estimate of 150k would have any home owner wanting to sell but hesitant wanting the most.

No doubt the 60k offer is someone wanting to buy, renovate & make a decent profit.

The 150k seems a little unrealistic given the condition described over the last year. But who knows maybe luck will be on Deb's side.

At the beginning of this tale of disaster of a home & the approximately 300k spent when all the expenses are paid to own another home. The term "penny wise & pound foolish" comes to mind. I'll explain.

Over a year ago my self & others offered the opinion that spending 100k or a little more to renovate would be a good option. On the high end lets put 130k. That would leave 170k in Debs account. When Deb was looking at that 288k plus roof repair & misc. expenses home, if she had renovated she would already be living in an upgraded completely renovated home.

In todays hot sellers market if her home was estimated by the realtor to have 150k value needing renovation, she more than likely would have her 170k nest egg plus a home closer to a 600k value. And storage for her massive amount of "yard sale stuff"
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Not everyone has the temperament to deal with all that comes with massive renovations. Deb is pretty clear that she has little tolerance for workers on her property, never mind inside her home for months on end.

I've lived through four large interior remodeling projects and can attest that they're not for the faint of heart. .

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1073-County-Route-70-Stillwater-NY-12170/32452811_zpid/
This updated house in her town sold for $300K. Like Deb's it's over 100 years old, but it's been upgraded here and there and is in quite good overall condition. By my (unprofessional) reckoning, it would take a lot more than $150K to bring hers to this condition.

IMHO, Deb made a wise choice to move to an far newer one story home, leaving the upgrading of her previous home to the next owner.

Perhaps she can get $100K or so for her house. The rock-bottom of $60K can be a useful bit of info.
 
debodun said:
I had an appraisal done after my mom passed, but that estimate is likley no longer valid due to continuing deterioration and the changing housing market.
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You've not been getting a good selection of buyers and offers to choose from, so I wouldn't put all your hopes on that one agent you've been dealing with as the results to date have not been very good.

If your house is unlisted, you need to look up all the agents in your area online, look at their histories, contact the best ones and discuss your house with them. Then pick the best 2 or 3 that give you good feedback, have them come to look at your house, and pick the best of them to sell your house for you. I just now browsed for a couple of minutes from California and already found a couple of top agents in your area. You should be able to do likewise since you live there.
 

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