real estate - Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts Message Board

Ramjet · 06-01-2008, 04:45 PM

Hi . This is completely off topic . Has anyone out there ever used the St. Joseph Real Estate Kit to sell their house ? I saw it on TV . Cheers, Roger

Woodbutcher68 · 06-01-2008, 08:50 PM

They claim it works. My boss tried it on her house, but didn't put up a sign or list it with a realtor. She did get a couple of people interested in it. The house needs alot of work and has been empty for a few years. She's finally realizing that she should just take the best offer. The statue is still in the yard.

Big_red_S · 06-02-2008, 10:14 PM

Wouldn't your money be better spent buying paint?

When I put my townhouse on the market last year I got my friend & brother-in-law to come over Saturday & Sunday to paint the whole interior, fix the walls, help with landscaping and exterior touchups.

My wife and sister cleaned the whole house (especially the kitchen and bathrooms), bought some yellow flowers and some minor touchups only women would notice (because women make the decision).

My wife baked a cake whenever someone came by.

I showed the house myself to prospective buyers because as much as the real-estate agents want you to believe they can do the job - they can't, especially if it's the first time they stepped into your house.

Overall, a difficult weekend and maybe $250 spent in Home Depot got me an offer in two (2) days.

We also prices our townhouse correctly - an important step you will need to work on with your real-estate agent.

The one thing we learned: NO-ONE IS YOUR ADVOCATE.
Not your agent, lawyer, broker - no one - all of them want a paycheck.
So be careful.

Ramjet · 06-03-2008, 04:03 AM

Thanks . Trying to sell it ourselves . Decided we need all the help we can get .It is a 4 year house which should'nt need repairs or cosmetics . But, that is another story . Perhaps I pointed the statue in the wrong direction . I'll have to dig it up and check . Might work might not . After I buried it , my wife fell ill , the 2 month old plasma tv had problems and today when we returned it I locked my keys in the truck at the ferry terminal .First time ever . Maybe the wrong statue . There are 2 different ones. I chose the little carpenter guy . Interesting concept .
roger

JohnB · 06-03-2008, 05:56 AM

G'day Roger,
I really don't know what to say............................................... ..
So I'll say nothing ??????????????????????????????????????????

Big_red_S · 06-03-2008, 08:45 PM

Unlike John I'm not speechless, however my jaw did hit the ground.

Sorry to hear about your bad luck Roger.
Good luck in the future and I hope your house sells quickly.

workin for wood · 06-03-2008, 10:42 PM

Fresh paint is very good sound advice, regardless of how new or old the house is. Far as how to sell it, I can't say that I know the answer. Here, where I live, you can't give your house away. Almost 3 yrs now, and the neighbor has only had one looker on my one side, and on the other side it's been 6 months and he's had only a couple peeks at it. My thoughts on how to sell is that it doesn't matter that much if you sell it yourself or through a realtor, as long as there are alot of buyers in your market and you advertise. A realtor will take 3% on average, two realtor's is a total of 6%. The buyer realtor is the one that makes the most, as the seller realtor invests money from their own pocket for advertising. If you sell on your own, you may still have to deal with a buyer realtor and lose at least the 3-4 %

Here, housing just dropped another 26% last quarter. My 200,000 house over the last 2 yrs has dropped to a value of 130000. That's some investment. I am still paying taxes for the bigger price of course. Taxes had to go up all over the board as we had a huge deficit last year. 30,000 people per year leaving the state. This year the budget forcast is expected to be far worse than last years deficit. People are not even bothering to sell the houses any more. They just leave and let the bank foreclose on it. That works into another chain reaction, and it just escalates. Physical numbers say we are not in an economic recession, but for the everyday people we are. In this state though, physical numbers and everything else prove we are in a major depression with no end in site.

minowevie · 06-03-2008, 11:54 PM

Ha, I would put my place up for sale. but dang I am afraid someone would wont to buy it. then where would I go. couldn't replace what I have hear. except privatcy. that would be a pluss. but then next year, maybe I will down grade to a better, prettyer place. some water, and forrest, no neibors, that are always lookie looing. wonting to barrow this and that. fix this or that. and give me give me, sorry, I am just trying to do what I like to do. when I like to do it. How I like to do it. isn't it about time. lots of folks wont to buy my place. and I am about redy to sell it to them. mostly they just wont to look. and see what they can still. drats it anyway. ok off my soap box. hope you get your price. and move on to a better wonderfull place. your friend Evie

Mike Crosa · 06-04-2008, 12:33 AM

But Evie where would you put your shop, garage, haven, home away from home?

Ramjet · 06-04-2008, 03:14 PM

Jeff . What a sad scenerio . Here in B.C. it hasn't happened yet . The mills are shutting down so the ripple affect can't be far behind . The fuel prices are taking their toll on the tourism industry . The real estate market is showing hints of peaking and cooling . Who knows where this slippery slope will take us ? How many times is a person supposed to start over ? My wife has been glued to the tv watching the primaries . She said she thought she was watching history in the making . Here's hoping it is a positive future . Thanks to all for their input .
Roger