Finally For Sale

I wish I had a picture to post with the for sale sign in the front yard, but I don't. Actually, there is no sign in the front yard, but there will be tomorrow. The wife and I sat down and finally signed the contract with the realtor. I question the price we set in some respects. The realtor actually was pushing the price up, whereas I felt that maybe we should not be so presumptuous. OK, I want the house to move, but with all that talk about "leaving money on the table" I was persuaded to agree. The agent suggested there was a very limited selection of houses in this price range right now and that affordable houses have not really slowed down in this area. Apparently the houses at $175,000 and up are the ones that are standing still. I was shocked to find out that homes in our area were beating the national average of 'days on the market' by 36 days at a 84 vs. 120 clip. Of course, we got the presentation about comps in the area and priced our home accordingly, but I was really surprised to see how quickly the homes were selling according to the spec sheet. Sale price- $147,900 which figures out to be around $85 a square foot. I think the house will sale for 137, 900, but I hope I'm wrong. It just seems with a depressed market I wouldn't have been able to undervalue it. Isn't the homeowner the one that usually thinks there house is worth significantly more than what it really is? It seemed as a bit of a role reversal honestly and I'm still unsure.

OK, here is the strategy that developed for selling the house. Clearly, this plan unfolded and was not locked in from the get go. I have been somewhat hesitant to put the house on the market for a couple of reasons. First, I wanted the kids to attend the same elementary school this year because the teachers they were placed with are exceptional. Maybe throwing that fit last year helped some, or maybe its because my wife is now involved with PTO, and honestly I don't really care why, just glad that they got the teachers they did. Of course, moving into a different elementary school district before school started would have caused some challenges, so now they are locked in for the year. I might add after the shooting at/near the school on the evening of the first day of school I wasn't sure if my plan was nearly as strong. Now, let me state something that may seem to be somewhat in conflict with my wishes for the kids to remain in their current school. The elementary school they attend was just awarded with being the first school in the entire school system to qualify for Title 1. Do you know what that is? Well, its not good. Basically this means that there is a large enough percentage of students that require free lunch and textbooks to allow the school to receive extra funds to offset this expense. Yes, you know where I'm going with this. My desire to keep the kids in this school is beginning to wane. I just don't see a positive future for the school. But, remember, I (it should be noted that every time that I say 'I' that I mean my wife thinks as she has done the teacher research and spent countless hours volunteering at school) was thrilled with the teacher selection. Secondly, I really felt like entering the market at the close of the selling season was a smart move. You don't think, well just wait a second and hear me out. I don't have to move, I want to move, so if the house doesn't sell at all its not like I'm gonna burn it down. Getting in on the back end of the selling season provides me the most leverage to negotiate with the new house that is purchased. Yes, this is dependent on selling the house, but I feel like it is a risk that is well worth it (do I need to mention again that I don't have to leave the house). Remember, the houses at $175,000 and above are the ones that are stuck and not moving. I plan to jump into the market, probably just a bit higher in the 220,00-250,00 range (yes, my thoughts on this have changed over the last couple of months as well). I figure that if I catch a buyer for my house just outside of the prime selling season, especially considering that the market/range my house is in is still moving, according to everything I've read and heard from reputable sources, that I now have a real opportunity to slide in to a $300,000 house for $250,000 or less. The wife and I have already been looking at some homes in the $230's that were originally listed at $290+. I figure that it is pretty much all upside for me considering I have a house I can live in if nothing materializes. Of course, I'm not the first to think of this, but I was kind of happy with myself when I shared my plan with the realtor and I got the nod of approval.

There was only one restriction that I put in the contract as non-negotiable for the house. Absolutely, under no circumstances will I include my flat screen in the living room. Yep, you can negotiate for the office furniture, the flat screen in my bedroom the JBL in-wall surrounds, BOSE outdoor speakers, and so on, but not my lover in the living room.

My to do list is longer than I thought it would be, but nothing unmanageable. I have to paint the front door, paint a door on the yard barn, decide whether or not to kill all the grass or just go after the crab grass and reseed, seal the drive way, wood putty and paint some trim, fix some tiles on the front porch, install the built in cabinets/shelves on each side of the fire place, and of course declutter. The wife has a meeting with the realtor on Monday morning to thoroughly go through the house and depersonalize as well as declutter and I am kind of excited about it. You see, I have no say really in what goes in the home from a design or decorative perspective and fairly regularly I am suggesting there are too many nick knacks or pictures or decorative items or just stuff in general. I must say that my wife has given up some things, but we haven't come close to getting to a good compromise. I'm hoping the realtor might be on my side.

Well, this is pretty much all I have for now. Any substantial updates and I'll pass them along. Does anybody know where I can get one of those banners that clip onto your vehicle window? I was thinking that it might look nice to roll into St. Louis with a nice Cardinals banner flapping in the breeze.

Peace and stay cool.