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sixtyohno

We had our first showing

11 years ago

The house looks great. It went on MLS on Thursday and will be on our realtor's site shortly. We had our first showing on Saturday. On Sunday we got a message that the people liked it very much and wanted to know what our expenses were- oil, electric, plowing etc. We sent the info right over to our realtor. We haven't heard anything since.

Do buyers wait a long time to make an offer? 19 years ago we made an offer on this house the day we saw it and it was accepted on the spot. What's a normal time frame? Do we count them out or might they still be interested? Or as my son would say, are we overthinking?

I hate the process. (photo is before the new roof)

Comments (29)

  • 11 years ago

    Don't think about it too much or you will drive yourself a little crazy. Just remember that buyers are humans with all their differences. There is no one way buyers make offers. Some, like you, will make offers immediately. Others will weigh the pros and cons of each house they see--sometimes for weeks.

  • 11 years ago

    it's a different world. just be patient. the right buyer for the right house will come along. lovely setting! remember, most buyers search the internet first. 19 years ago we had to rely on a realtor to find houses to look at. now buyers look any time. but also be prepared for some negotiations.

  • 11 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago

    I am always amazed at how quickly people make a decision when buying a house. We saw this one at least four times over the course of a few months before making an offer. When we were buying from out of town I saw that house twice on our quick weekend trip, then asked for additional pictures of specific areas and rooms from our realtor, as well as a detailed scale floor plan. It's a huge decision yet many people seem to more effort into researching car models than their prospective homes. Not anyone here, of course....we are all house addicts! :-)

    sixtyohno thanked User
  • 11 years ago

    I think it depends on the person and on how much they have done their research. I research EVERYTHING, so when I see a good deal, I jump. It also helps that the recent purchases were for investment purposes, so no emotional investment but just numbers. DH on the other hand, makes quick decisions. For our current home, I had looked at a gazillion houses, he looked at the two final contenders, we made an offer the same day, with DH saying that we would make an offer on house no. 2 if seller didn't accept our offer. They accepted, deal done.

    sixtyohno thanked nosoccermom
  • 11 years ago

    In some markets people don't have the luxury of hitting the pause button, thinking about whether to make an offer or continuing to look at other options before deciding. And in other markets they have all the time in the world and can mull it over at their leisure.

    My advice to you is to take a deep breath and basically let it go. If you've readied the house for sale and make it available with your reasonable (IMO) early morning exclusion then that's really all you can do. You can't make an interested buyer appear or force an offer. This may be an ongoing process for you so don't get twisted over every showing or you'll make yourself nuts in no time. Breathe in breathe out.

    sixtyohno thanked DLM2000-GW
  • 11 years ago

    thank you DML2000. I'm no the earlier morning exclusion person. Buyers can come anytime with a 1 hour notice so I can scoot around and pick up anything lying around.

  • 11 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago

    oops! sorry! duh!

  • 11 years ago

    They may still be quite interested. Sometimes life interferes and has to take precedence over anything else.

    sixtyohno thanked cpartist
  • 11 years ago

    If they saw your house early in the viewing process, they may simply not be comfortable making an offer before they see what else is there, especially in a slow market. Don't think too much about this. The important part is that there is some interest.

    sixtyohno thanked Lys
  • 11 years ago

    If someone hasn't been looking that long, it's possible that they want to get to a better sense of their options before making a final decision.


    sixtyohno thanked emma1420
  • 11 years ago

    I took around 5-6 months to buy the house I currently live in. I have to admit, the first three months I wanted to pay less than the cost I eventually went with.

    For me, I wanted privacy. This was not something readily tracked at least back when I was house-hunting then. (I came from the Anxiety Condo From Hell, with the upstairs guy being a putative coke dealer, and certainly with the nasty personality to match. We had to see a lot of devil homes before I could narrow things down.)

    sixtyohno thanked artemis_ma
  • 11 years ago

    I'm surprised your REA didn't have handouts with the expenses, etc. for the potential buyers.

  • 11 years ago

    I have only had one buyer ask me for the annual utility payments on a home. So I do not put that out in the flyers.

  • 11 years ago

    I have never asked for nor received utility costs. That said, it has now become the practice in this area to provide those numbers.

  • 11 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago

    We explained that our utilities are high because we have 2 home offices going 12-14 hours a day. All kinds of office stuff is plugged in and we rarely turn the heat down during the day. We are home most of the time. I hope that's understood.

    For the fuel bill, we told them how many gallons we use, because the price fluctuates so much. It's $1.00 less now than it was a year ago.

  • 11 years ago

    Before I put an offer in on my house, I called the utility companies to get the average bill for the house. So even if you don't provide the utilities there are ways that people can get the numbers. If you aren't already providing those prices you might provide that information and then indicate that you have two home offices that are being used 12+ hours a day.

  • 11 years ago

    I'm surprised the utility companies would give out that info to a non-customer. Glad it worked for you.

  • 11 years ago

    If I remember correctly, yours is a somewhat remote location, with a limited market. Other than putting the property 'out there' on the MLS, is your realtor doing anything to market your home to likely buyers? Is there a 'season' for your kind of property?


  • 11 years ago

    Salti, I am surprised that anyone can get someone else's utility usage too. That does not seem right.

  • 11 years ago

    When I called the utility company (and this was about 12 years ago), they gave me the average monthly bill. it was very easy. I would never buy a home I didn't know the average monthly utility bills.

  • 11 years ago

    According to REALTOR MAG, a seller should "create a property summary sheet listing dimensions for each room,..... summaries of utility costs and property taxesand a list of when capital items such as roofs and furnaces were added." Right from the horse's mouth...lol

  • 11 years ago

    We just went through this... And waited to make an offer until our house was under contract (we already had an offer, we just needed everything signed!). It seemed like an eternity. We also wanted the oil totals from last year.

    The offer on our house was made the morning after the showing. They asked for our utility totals, too.

  • 11 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago

    Our first showing apparently loved everything about the house except that she is afraid of the transmission wires 1/3 of a mile down the road. The electric company has a right of way and there is a line of towers that march from Canada down the state. We can't see them from anywhere on our property, or on the properties between us and the wires, except for the property that butts up on the right of way. The land is hilly and the trees are enormous.

    We had a second showing yesterday, but we have not heard feedback. The open house is Wednesday.

    Here's the listing on zillow. If you follow the road going left there are 2 driveways. The right of way is on the left. It actually 1/3 of mile away from us.

    I guess if this woman loved the house, some else will come along who loves it too and for whom the wires are a non issue.

    http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/129-Schultzville-Rd-Clinton-Corners-NY-12514/30092564_zpid/

  • 11 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago

    If I weren't a city girl, I'd want your house! But if I may ask a related question, were your kitchen cabinet doors custom, or where did you get them? I am looking for that kind of truly flat door. Good luck with the sale--looks like a fantastic house. I also have a huge grand piano---hard to even find a place to accommodate them.

    sixtyohno thanked palomalou
  • 11 years ago

    Thanks, The kitchen cabinets are from Lowes, by Schuler. They are maple. We took down the living wall to accommodate the piano.

  • 11 years ago

    In my area if you call the electric or gas company and tell them you are interested in buying a house they give you the average billing amount over the past 12 months, no questions asked.

    sixtyohno thanked mydreamhomeideas
  • 11 years ago

    Love your house and your style.

    sixtyohno thanked mydreamhomeideas
  • 11 years ago

    I love the built in bookshelves, and the fact that you have room for a piano like that. It looks light and bright and the kitchen looks clean and updated. It should sell in no time.


    sixtyohno thanked handmethathammer