If I had that number of showings, I'd cool my jets. Relax.

pudgeder - realtor says paint.

Thanks all. I'm 50/50 between "cool my jets" :) and do everything I can that is simple and easy to make it look it's best.

And don't get me started on these buyers that can't see past paint. I mean seriously...look at the bones of the house, the hard fixtures that would be expensive to replace, systems, etc. But paint? Cost you a couple hundred or couple thousand at most if hired out. Drives me crazy.

Get something like this:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Valspar-Signature-Flat-Latex-Interior-Paint-and-Primer-in-One-Actual-Net-Contents-124-fl-oz/999989896

Do it in a soft white. I would paint only the loft area. Then again, in 1978 we were selling our first house and our realtor told us that we HAD to add shutters to the front. Well, having no money, we didn't. Left on a Sunday and went to inlaws house, because of an open house. House sold while we we there, with NO shutters!. Nobody has added shutters to this day!

I'd take the realtor's advice. It's a relatively small investment to paint and you hired him or her for that expert advice. Benjamin Moore Aura smells less than most paints, IME.

Is the negative feedback coming from the same subset of people who are actually interested in the house, or from people who are looking for something else anyway?

It depends on how big of an expense painting would be, and hassle, I guess.

This is more involved, but when I first looked at my house it was a 1-1/2 bath house with the 1/2 in one of the bedrooms, not unheard of in my location for age and size of house. Apparently the negative feedback was that the 1/2 bath should at least have a shower. The house was taken off the market. It was accidentally put back on the market and two parties contacted their agents because they wanted to make offers and were told that the 1/2 bath was being converted to a 3/4. Both parties requested that the work stop, that they wanted to make offers. But It was too late.

That bath, done by the cheapest contractor the sellers could find, was horrendous. Then, when the sellers found out that the house would have sold without the bathroom, they told the realtor he was paying for it out of his commission since "it was his idea". He made zero on that sale and I heard him whispering to my realtor that they had been complete nightmares during the entire process. I think he took no commission just to get it over with.

Obviously there was a lot more going on there, but the point is that sometimes even sound advice isn't always applicable

Can you do it with low / no VOC paint that has very little smell?

I'd do it - with both the horizontal surface a but worn AND the vertical... it's too much old and people can't see past FURNITURE for heaven's sakes - so this will throw them into a tizzy

OP, If I were you I'd feel pretty disheartened if, after giving lots of thought to paint and other cosmetic decisions, I execute only to learn that new owner immediately changed to suit his/her needs. Do nothing, with 11 viewings, seems like your house is quite appealing and comments may have been made as a price negotiating ploy. I'd dothe same as a buyer looking for a lower price and yet dreaming as to how I'm going to decorate to MY liking.

Well, I'm painting. I took the day off of work to tackle it. I'm 5 hours in and have completed the loft area. Now just have to paint the hallway down to the bedrooms. I'll finish by the end of the day and the walls will be a nice clean light gray. Nothing dated anymore about these walls. $75 invested plus my time. Our realtor felt pretty strongly that it would help a bunch. Thanks all!

Great job! Keep us posted. Good luck :)

If you felt it needed it, it probably did. I have a feeling you'll sell it quickly.

I hope it helps. I would for sure get the carpets stretched. I think that will do more for the general feel as well. Wrinkled gives an impression of worn.

Lyfia - yep, we will also get the carpets stretched. Just couldn't find someone to do it before this weekend.

While painting, I gotta say our walls were pretty worn and dirty. This was a classic case of having lived with it for so long we had just gotten used to it. Went through additional rooms and gave the walls a thorough scrubbing. We had already done this,but apparently not good enough.

People are in our house now looking. Fingers crossed they think it looks great!

Wonderful! I'm sure your hard work is going to pay off soon.

gt, I sent you another message. :)

Well now I feel bad, the mister and I are closing next week on our new home which the seller had gotten new carpet and paint done right before putting on the market. Guess what the mister and I are planning on changing as soon as we take possession?

Carpet, paint, and for good measure the rest of the flooring. We never saw what was previously in there but neither of us liked the dark brown slightly scratchy feeling carpet. :P

The first thing I do on a purchase is rip out carpet and paint the walls. I don't care how "new" any of it is.

Ultimately it is no longer our responsibility as to what happens once the house closes. But one of the reasons I don't particularly care for the trend of "ultra-staging" that involves new finishes and carpet is that the new finishes and carpet often get changed and I think it's a waste of resources.

But being peripherally involved in the industry, I know stories of houses where an entirely new kitchen was removed once the house was sold. I know someone who did it. The house had a kitchen in it that had been redone to put the house on the market, and it was the only thing the buyers hated about the house. She was a kitchen designer and knew how much it had cost, which 20 years ago was about $50K. They at least carefully disassembled it and sold it as a complete kitchen.

And all around the same time several years ago, I was involved directly in two sales and indirectly in two others: the house I grew up in, my apartment, a house I had done a lot of the interior design consulting on, and a friend's father's house.

Each was a different scenario. My parents' was a well-preserved but aging time capsule, my apartment had made it part way through the editorial process of being published in a national magazine, the house where I did the interior design was two years old, and the friend's father's house was a gut job waiting to happen.

Believe it or not the people most tied to the house was the friend and her siblings. When the house was finally sold after a year on the market of being too high in price to a flipper, one of the siblings accused my friend, the executor, of "selling out their memories", because someone wasn't going to move in and keep it like it was (which was a wreck, they just couldn't see that).

My client who sold the two year old house decorated in a way that was consistent with the house--regional farmhouse-ish. The new owner promptly put in a mirrored and glass walled work out room, leopard wall paper, lampshades trimmed with feathers, a "sports-bar", and all sorts of other garish things. (and my client bought the old house next door and witnessed all this) but she laughs about every new embellishment.

My friend whose family was all bent out of shape asked me how I felt about selling my parents' house, and the memories and my apartment, where I did the design, I basically said that I didn't care. The memories aren't in the house they are in my head. I actually wouldn't care if they tore it down after the papers were signed. It's not mine anymore. When I walked out the doors the last time, I was done.

I don't care what the new owners do once they move in. They can repaint, redo kitchen/bathrooms, rip out carpet, etc. I think it's all about presenting the house to be the freshest it can be, within reason. Paint was cheap for me to do. It made a noticeable difference upstairs. I'm one of those buyers who can look past paint or other dirty/worn items. But apparently most can not, at least I'm finding that to be the case with our house now. It's our first time selling a house in a high price range, so I think our potential buyers are more selective? Who knows.

More showings have happened. All positive feedback. But the most recent showings were people who "Love it, but are just starting their search and will keep the house on their list". We've got about 5 couples who are falling into that boat, so who knows if that will net anything. The couple who came through a 3rd time are hiring a structural engineer to inspect what they feel might be a foundation issue. We don't believe there is an issue, but I respect their right to want to know more. Our realtor is getting the feeling that if they do make an offer, it will be a low one. While I want an offer, I'm not prepared to accept a low offer with the house only having been on the market 10 days. And with the other positive feedback.

I hate this house selling process.....

I think there are probably people at every price point who can't look past surface things like worn paint and carpet. But in my somewhat limited experience, I think this is more of an issue (in any group) with buyers who are buying at the top of their price range (which many people seem to do). They want new paint and carpet and maybe new appliances, because they aren't going to be able to afford to do something for some period of time after they move in. (Including, it seems to my observations: afford to cover the windows with anything more than a sheet or "temporary" paper blinds that stay up for years. )

But my experience at the higher price points is that unless the house is brand new the owners are going to do a lot of personalization anyway.

----

My own house is a rather wide house for the neighborhood (20 whole feet :) ) and there are only four of the plan and they rarely come up, so there is usually a lot of general interest (because 20 feet and outdoor space is a lot different than 16 feet). So I know of several random people who looked at my house when it was on the market including a patient of mine who was interested in buying it but did not really qualify to borrow that much. He dodged a bullet, because if he had just been able to afford it, he would have been in trouble. I was lucky: I was selling a property, I owned outright another property that could be used as collateral, I inherited a bit of money, and I was buying well within my price range. Within three years the house needed a new conventional roof, a new membrane roof on the flat part, an entirely new and reworked HVAC system, and 95% of the plumbing was replaced. The house is essentially being gutted. Possibly someone could have patched and made do. I know that's what one of my neighbors has done for years. The thing is that the house was completely staged with new paint throughout, new carpet, a newish full bath, and new appliances. But it was all an illusion. I know something about houses so I wasn't fooled by any off it.

When I walked out the doors the last time, I was done.

Exactly! And like you said, the memories are in my head.

I sold our condo last year. Seven years ago we gutted it and I had it completely redone. (There's a thread here somewhere showing the RE pictures for sale). It constantly got compliments on how it was redone.

As soon as we moved out, the new owner, painted the bamboo wall in the bedroom beige, painted all the cherry oak molding in the bedroom and the cherry oak vanities in the two bathrooms white, and changed the typhoon bordeaux granite to plain white quartz.

In the guest bedroom, I had painted the walls BM Fernwood Green and had matching drapes and comforter in a simple pattern that picked up the color. The new owner kept the drapes in the green/white pattern but painted all the walls beige so that now the drapes are the first thing you see when you walk in the room because they don't work with the wall color.

Heck, it's not mine anymore, the new owner wanted calm and very quiet and the new owner is very happy. I complimented the new owner on their rugs and artwork. :)

Our realtor is getting the feeling that if they do make an offer, it will be a low one. While I want an offer, I'm not prepared to accept a low offer with the house only having been on the market 10 days. And with the other positive feedback.

The buyer who eventually bought our condo first offered us about 16% below our asking price. It turned out that the buyer couldn't quite swing the price so was hoping to get it low. We of course countered but only taking off a few thousand to let the buyer know we felt we were fairly priced.

A few months later the buyer came back and offered closer to our asking and eventually we wound up selling for about 4% off our asking price. Turns out that the buyer's child did very well financially and told the buyer they would co-own the condo with the buyer. :)

My point being, even if it's a lowball offer, be ready to counter. You just never know.

I think depends also on..you know, how in need you are, and how much your market can be your answer or not

I check the listings..out of curiosity..and with some vague plan of maybe investment property in mind, but should be really making sense..and I see this 2 beds 1 bath condo. Attached. Community built in eighties-immediate mental note to self, no asbestos, lol. Carport. The community itself nothing special except for wonderful location. The condo is professionaly shot, not a short sale, nothing like that. It looks like ..I don't know..not only I would never show my place like that to other people, I won't show it like that to myself lol. The kitchen is visibly worn(like when you can see Formica lived its life, even on the listing pics)? No photo of bath. Makes one wonder. Accent walls but you know these bright ones. Ah, and you need to pay HOA of course..

Yet it will be pending within a week. Maybe less. Young families, even with a small kid or two-it will be one of the very very few properties around here that will give them an opportunity, a start to own something at all. In a beautiful city with great schools.

It's 350K by the way. Here, it's nothing. Houses like that are in huge demand. Everything under half a million is. Snatched within a first couple days..Often next day it's in "Pending" status.

And these buyers will real real fast look past how it's ..lets put it mildly not staged. and "outdated" and even really worn.

Or else they wouldn't be able to own anything, and will continue to pay a very high rent.

I never yet made mistakes(I bet with myself lol) in how long a home that's special in some way (either in view, architecture, location, or price) will go under escrow.

People who need something, suddenly have very sharp vision. LOL. Nothing inspires creativity more than lack of resources..

As for carpet and painting and chaging things..yes, I'm also about it looking clean and pleasant because well that's just a nice thing to do. I don't care whether buyers will change it later or not. Strangely I don't care in what way people love my places. They'll establish their own connection with it when I'm gone. It can't be the same connection. Loves are never the same.

But I do want them to love it.

It's like: will I be a friend to my kids, their partner, their grandparent? no lol. I'm their mom. other people are/will be something else to them. and of some, I'll never learn because I'll be long gone by then

I just want them to be loved. That's all

If you divide this feeling by thousand-you get my sentiment about a house. It's pretty much the same...just less important.

and yes..I don't miss our prevous house..and how devastated I was when I first realized we need to sell!

but I don't miss it as a house. I miss times..and I have my memories.

PS we never met new owners:) we just got an impression that they're nice..:)

but we left all sorts of numbers for them, so now we share our cleaning lady:)

and am curious as to what they changed..did they put glass in kitchen cabs? what colors they picked? I know they were head over heel with the floor and wanted to find the same to contuniie it allover but the floors were discontinued...so we left them a sample of the flooring that matches more or less closely, the one we had to find ourself for the new house. I know they loved the mirror (we had this HUGE mirror. very nicely made too.) were very grateful when we left it-it's several grand mirror..as were grateful we when previous sellers left it to us. They said "Mirror comes with the house"..and I said the same and it made me feel so so good. Especially as after this remodel of ours-I realized the logistical part of things..taking out that mirror would mean tearing out the drywall..:)

in short I've no idea what's going on except that they for sure left the wood and the mirror. And I'm curious, in a very theoretical way..but I feel bad asking..:) What I'd say, to our cleaning lady, "tell me how it looks like now?" lol

we knew our then-sellers personally, they did ask our permission to come and see the place..she did come and she approved:)

This seller, she asked me to, really asked me, and I promised ..only while the remodel was going on..she already was in a different state by the time we were in the house lol

But I feel bad asking..I don't know

Whether interior or exterior, I would not want to know of changes. Would die if new owners removed cabinetry that DH moved piece by piece from LR downstairs to his office upstairs. Would die if new owner took out the ginkgo biloba trees I've been growing for years.

it can be heartbreaking if you put a lot a lot into your place..planting the garden..building it..yes...

because then it's even more memories.

hell I was devastated even to see what the renters did to our place abroad..by the way also stole custom made curtains for a huge French window that I left for people to be cozy in their new place(first renters transfered to teach in the university there, kids and all..I know first hand what it means, how tired you are, how worried you are..I left the space as I would leave it to dearest relatives..then obviously renters changed..changed again..no idea who stole the curtains.)I can't understand it at all, how one can just take somebody else's and walk away with it..does he even say something to himself to justify it, or not even that. but thats a theft already, that's something else

but i left many houses behind thus I know-if I die inside a bit then I live again

some I could never see after

i'm not sure whether it's a good thing or bad..

I understand though what made me mad, besides the obvious facts that they broke unbelivable amount of things and stole the curtains and the house looked like a pigsty-I made an appointment with them a week in advance, you'd think even messier folks would clean a bit if the landlord's coming -they didn't love it..

so that moment(after I had a hysterics of sorts..not in the house..I didn't say a word to them..started crying when on the street..) was a moment I decided to sell...we sold as is, to some young eager DIY-ers..the condo(it was a duplex) itself was amazing, great layout, 3 huge balconies, view and all..I hope they love it, or rather I know they do..I don't care if they change it..

Back at the time my parents sold the house I grew up in and preparing for the move out of state, they went out to handle some details with the home they were buying about a month before the move, so I was charged with the task of watering plants for a week and a half. I had my own house but during that brief period I spent a great deal of time at theirs, much longer than needed for watering plants. Obviously none of my stuff was there or anything, but having the opportunity to 'say goodbye' to the home where I said my first words, took my first steps, brought home my first boyfriend to meet the folks, and so many other memories.

Over the past month or so I've been preparing with the mister for our big move. Having all of our furniture already in one of those storage/shipping containers along with everything else we could reasonably be without does help reduce the stress level for me, now that we've been appraised, inspected, and so on, my realtor gave the go ahead for us to get back to the not-ready-for-showing-the-place-to-possible-buyers state that comes with packing the remainder of our belongings. I'm still not quite over the discovery of ALL THE STUFF the stager decided to cram into our walk in closet. Cleaning supplies from the bathroom under sink cabinet, laundry, all the towels, in addition to clothing, boxes, and shoes, a ladder....The front hall closet was crammed full of things too, such as cans of paint, the extra box of flooring, the baby gate that we use to corral the dog, and I'm still missing the stand for the dog bowls....not sure where it went but it's disappeared. I would review the stager but given that the first sentence would be mentioning how demanding they were so luckily (for them) the results achieved the outcome we wanted in selling our place...I'm not sure it would be received well. :P They have a bunch of glowingly positive reviews without a single mention of pushiness or the other issues I had.

We did paint, carpet and floors in 2016, are leaving all the appliances including washer and dryer - the buyer happened to have been looking for a place to go on the market in our gated HOA for quite a while. Timing was perfect though!

Well, first offer came in $85k below asking price. We are politely declining as they aren't even close to comps. Bummer. Another offer might be coming in today or tomorrow another showing scheduled in 45 minutes.

One of the offers we got was a guy whose mother was his realtor; she sent the offer to my realtor which was in between what the guy across the way paid and the last one to sell before that one which was a short sale....then sent a second one saying on the first one she'd put the wrong amount by mistake. My realtor was taking backups at that point but for goodness sake the low-balling wasn't even going to get them on the backup list and I think the guy and his mom knew it.

It's interesting because many people seem to associate lots of memories with the house they grew up in, but the same general group of people can't seem to Wait to get rid of the Contents of those same houses.

I grew up in a house where we had china and sterling flatware and we had serving pieces that belonged to my great-grandparents and table linens as well. And the "new" tablecloths we used in the dining room were 30 years old when the house was sold. We sometimes used a tablecloth from around 1900. My parents' house was also full of really good "Brown Furniture" that "nobody wants anymore".

When the house was sold, we actually kept most of the stuff, got rid of thousands of books and some of the furniture but kept virtually everything else. And one of the prevailing opinions in the Home Decorating and Design forum, was "why hang onto all that stuff just because it belonged to your parents? Nobody entertains that way anymore, no one wants china, no one uses table linens like that, nobody wants traditional brown wood furniture. You are just prolonging getting rid of it and your kids are just going to get rid of it and be annoyed that they have to do it for you, that's why we are just getting rid of all that stuff now".

So I don't really understand why people get so sentimental about a building,get upset that people who Own it instead of them now want to change things, but portable objects and belongings that people use--that are still in Your possession..."just get rid of all of that old stuff".

I actually like that "traditional brown wood furniture", though where I live now has limited how much furniture I can reasonably have and still be able to move without tripping or running into things. I do have my mom's wedding china plus a set of my own, and have decided to let her set go with her blessing to do so. Funny thing is, my mom's the one who is always getting rid of stuff, she hates clutter and has a broad definition of what clutter is - her twin, my aunt, has sort of swung to the opposite end and seems to have trouble declining when other people offer things for her church rummage sales and random stuff on sale. My aunt's garage and one of my cousin's old bedrooms are designated stuff storage and overflow containment zones.

My mom will ask me from time to time if I want a particular item, usually furniture since she doesn't own much jewelry and knows I have household goods and kitchen ware of my own, but I got to a point where I didn't have any space even if I really wanted to take something she was offering. And the secretary's desk, the dining table? I would have loved to have them but no room! :P It's a little weird feeling when she offers me these things of hers, because my parents are getting older and someday they won't be around anymore. It's kind of like she's trying to prepare me and herself for that time?

it's a weird feeling to you but not to her..

that's what parents do..they want to stay connected..they want to give it all...and there was a time when we were totally dependent on them and they gave us all, very literally so

but we grow up and inevitably ..you know..we need less. we still need them, we just can't take all anymore since we had many years to take it

but they don't change that much, our parents:) not as much as us. not in their need to give. they learn to control it, with time..:)

yet they still have it. this huge need to give

things are what we make of them. they're symbols. thus, they can matter. they can be something that's given even when other things can be not..it's very hard to explain to people what they mean to us..yes they kinda know, right?

and still you try to squeeze yourself into something and whatever you have in you is just too big, too vast for words. so you divide yourself into hundreds of pieces, inside, and every object you try to give-it has something of that print of your soul, divided, the words that were left unspoken. and it doesn't really matter whether it's furniture or whether it's brown..:)

It was red and yellow and green and brown
And scarlet and black and ocher and peach
And ruby and olive and violet and fawn
And lilac and gold and chocolate and mauve
And cream and crimson and silver and rose
And azure and lemon and russet and grey
And purple and white and pink and orange
And red and yellow and green and brown
Scarlet and black and ocher and peach
And ruby and olive and violet and fawn
And lilac and gold and chocolate and mauve
And cream and crimson and silver and rose
And azure and lemon and russet and grey
And purple and white and pink and orange
And blue

"Would die if new owners removed cabinetry that DH moved piece by piece from LR downstairs to his office upstairs. Would die if new owner took out the ginkgo biloba trees I've been growing for years."

What? Surely you jest! It's no longer yours, so why in the world would you care, much less DIE?

gt, I messaged you again.

Pal, I think people are willing to get rid of the contents of those houses because if they don't, it has to come home with them. People are more than willing to let their parents or somebody else keep the childhood home but few are stepping up to take on the responsibility for that home. It is easy to get upset about someone's decisions when the burden of the stuff associated with the memories does not fall on them. Just my thought.

Well, first offer came in $85k below asking price. We are politely declining as they aren't even close to comps. Bummer.

I'm sorry it was such a low offer, but what I don't get is why just decline? Why not respond with a counter such as $1K off if you think your price is fair? I think it gives the buyer a view that ok they are willing to negotiate some, but are pretty firm on the price. Then that gives the buyer another chance to up their offer. When you just decline I'd say it is very unlikely the buyers will submit another offer that is higher or even closer to where you are at.

Seems this strategy worked for cpartist - "The buyer who eventually bought our condo first offered us about 16% below our asking price. It turned out that the buyer couldn't quite swing the price so was hoping to get it low. We of course countered but only taking off a few thousand to let the buyer know we felt we were fairly priced."

Well, we did verbally counter. Actually, our realtor told them anything less than $XXX wouldn't be considered. And we had another offer coming in so theirs should be a strong offer. They offered $40K below what our realtor had told them we would even consider. And they asked for a bunch of extra items also...we pay closing costs, new survey, a bunch of stuff to be removed from the property. I don't get that. Why would you come in with such a horrible offer that you know won't be considered? So I guess we did 'unofficially' counter back, but it doesn't look they will come up at all. They have until the end of the day to come back strong.

We did receive a 2nd offer, better than the first. Still below asking price but closer. I think if we can work this one to split the difference, we'll all be happy. And they didn't ask for removal of some large items.

Glad you're got another offer. Most likely on the offer you originally got is they don't feel sure about the property so you giving them another option to respond will likely make them see if they want it or not and if they want it bad enough they'll come up in light of your other offer. I think those lower offers and asking for this and that is because it is a house that will work for them, but they don't feel it is it.

^^Either that or someone is telling the buyer erroneous info. I run into this with buyers that go to family members who may have purchased 20 years ago in a different market (different everything) and the relative, meaning well, says offer "X% below list". Tough to work with a buyer that won't look at market trends or comps or any valid data, but goes with an offhand remark from a valued friend or relative that has zero knowledge of the market where the property is located.

PS, OP, I am glad you have another offer you are working with for your sale. Some buyers have to lose one or two homes before they understand the market.

I agree so much with that

First low ball offer, in our case, came from a lady from China. She was planning to move here. She was in China, and her realtor was looking at properies on her behalf. She wanted to buy sight unseen and with cash. We counter offered..very politely:) Then she flew from China to look at the house, and couple others. She loved it; was very interested; but she had all sorts of cultural considerations about the specific location..and all kinds of expectations, not very realistic as she didn't know the market. She also felt her offer being cash, should be considered very favorable, even if low(no it wasn't 80K under asking..was much better than that yet still)

then her realtor took her to tour other communities..they called again, and asked our realtor"whether we're more reasonable". because she saw other properties in her price range, and understood she won't see better community than ours. or else she'll need to wait for spring/other house coming on sale within our community, that she'll have less doubts about how it's oriented etc, and pay much more, cash or not

well we weren't "more reasonable" lol. I kinda felt we're being reasonable enough, and if she's not sure, for whatever reasons, it will make for a sale that'd have more chances to drive me crazy..

so we waited for another offer-the buyers lived here, knew the market, thought a lot about our house specifically, were sure enough they love it. So we worked out all the details with them to mutual satisfaction, and it was a very easy sail of a sale.

Denita - the low ball offer had both sets of parents come through with them. So I think there was "advice" being given that didn't align with reality or current market conditions.

Aprilneverends - there have been many indicators that this first offer couple would have driven me crazy during the entire sale. I feel like if they did come up to our price, they'd find everything wrong during inspection and ask for the world. I really don't want to deal with them.

gthigpen, listen to your gut:)

Culturally, negotiation with the Chinese is a long, arduous and almost "hostile" process. It's very much an ends justify the means and I suspect they are used to getting "more discount"- whether or not that just means inflated starting prices is the real question....

Often, then when it's done, it's like the acrimonious negotiations never happened!

That's interesting, jannicone. I've not much knowledge about Chinese culture, at all..except for school world history courses, and fairy tales (I loved fairy tales so I read whatever I stumbled upon, including fairy tales from around the world)..I did read couple of books by Amy Tan which i found fascinating..

obviously that's not enough..I did read a lot though about lucky numbers, feng shui, and whatnot, during our short negotiating time, (of course I don't know how reliable it was, but I googled a lot..I'm a naturally curious person too, so one site leads to another)..it was real interesting.

(I must add I have lucky numbers too. I'm so serious about them I somehow gave bitth to both my kids on my lucky numbers' days..which of course reinforced me in my unreasonable thinking..))

BTW the seller or our current house was white Anglo Saxon, and had lucky numbers too, and felt very strongly about them, and as she was the seller..and we kinda wanted her to feel good..we went with her lucky numbers not mine

but I was very gloomy. I could foresee all sorts of problems. Well we had them all, LOL.)

Isn't the difficulty of negotiations what we hire a realtor for? Well, at least part of what we hire them to do... :p

Yes^^.

My realtor has known my family and I since I was in elementary school. She lives with her husband 4 doors down from where my parent's old house is, sold that one for them, was my buyers agent for where I live now and the one who recently sold it for me! She's been an invaluable asset in these real estate transactions, so I'm going to send her flowers and some sort of foodie goodie basket along with her commission. :P

I had an amazing realtor, and I never met both buyers-neither first nor the second. But it's not like we didn't get any feedback. Some things -the realtor was very professional and I'm sure she went into details only when found it helpful..I admired her a lot, like a lot-well some things are felt very well, and give you enough indication on how a sale will probably be, and whether to continue or not

Of course depends on the market, one's circumstances, etc

We could afford to wait some more. I have poor nerves, like Mrs Bennett..:) I must take care of these not add to my suffering LOL