The next step

Hopefully you can get a sale soon. I would imagine that the upcoming winter would not make your home more saleable or am I wrong on that point?

I can understand your eagerness to start looking for your new condo, however it does make sense to wait until you have sold yours.
 
Our home is magnificent in any weather but few in our area search for a home in the winter with the holidays and all. Frankly, if I were shopping I would want to look for a house in the worst weather as that is when you can see how it handles natural light in adverse conditions, and you can see if the site is boggy.

If we aren't under contract by Halloween we will take it off the market until spring.

For those who are curious, send me a PM and I will provide a link. I don't really want to distort the hit data captured by the realtor. The photo to the left was taken from our study. Every room, but the bathrooms, have this view.
 
Our realtor's convinced us to keep the house on the market. The most likely purchaser, IMHO, are empty nesters like ourselves. Realtors told us that this is the time of year that grandparents visit. Sure enough we have been getting at least one showing each week while other houses, reportadly, have few if any.

One thing for shure, our house keeping habits have improved...
 
Brat, I was curious as to how things were going. Thanks for the update.

Yep, that "show ready" housekeeping thing can be a real PITA, but at least you are getting a little traffic. We have friends down the street who put their house on the market about the same time you did. Last week he told me they hadn't had anyone look at it for the past two months...
 
I am not looking forward to putting our houses on the market. Real estate just seems to get slower and slower, here. I have lived like that (ready to show on a moment's notice) with a five-year-old back in 1984, with a "Mrs. Clean Lives Here" ad by my realtor who didn't check with me first. :rolleyes: What a drag! That was just for two months and I don't think I can do it again. This time it will probably take much, much longer to sell. I might have to rent. :eek:

Brat, there are definitely people who would just die to have your house. Bainbridge Island is a very desirable area (or, at least I have heard it is wonderful and I have never even been to Washington State). It sounds like the housing market out there is not good either, but with that many showings you have reason for optimism.
 
BunsGettingFirm said:
I'm surprised that NW-Bound didn't put a bid in right here in the thread. :)
Click to expand...

I just discovered this thread. I was busy staining my boonies home exterior in September when this thread was hot. I guess everybody knows I am desirous of a house in the Puget Sound since I have been so vocal about it.

Anyway, I am sure Brat's house is lovely and worth whatever the asking price. But where do I find money for it? By selling my own in this market? I am settling for an RV that I can drive up to the PNW then play squatter somewhere, but have not gotten that RV even.
 
The folks who probably will buy this house are retired professionals who have sold their home in another community. The state has no income tax and the City/County property taxes are very reasonable yet services are excellent.

On my side of the street: #1 is a retired CFO of a well known company who does temporary CFO gigs to keep busy, #2 is an attorney well known in his area of expertise, #3 works for a firm known for actuarial work, #4 retired financial advisers who moved from another city, #6 retired Fed criminal investigator, #7 dentist, #8 engineer, #9 attorney.

Between professionals and executives (let alone blue collar and non-exempt white collar workers) who lost employment and a raft of folks who bought homes for too much with stinky mortgages the normal sell/buy market is all gummed up. There are more empty homes across the country than there are families who can afford to buy them. Frankly when they report that new construction is in the dumps I cheer. With rare exception we are over-built. It will take time to work through this mess.
 
Brat, check out the website portlandmaps.com You can see what people paid for their property the last few times it sold. Based on that, I still think the housing market in Portland has a way to drop.
 
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I hear that single family residences in Portland metro priced in the mid $250 sell quickly. That segment of the market seems to have stabilized. The condo market is impacted by over building and Yupie job losses, they will continue to soften.

I was on PortlandMaps last night checking on a listing: condo in NW, purchased for nearly $632 10/06, asking $499, sitting empty but not bank owned. That is still more than I want to pay.

On my look-at list are a couple units in buildings constructed in the mid-70s where PortlandMaps show a low basis, the unit is vacant, and have been on the market for a long time. The seller should be in a position to consider an offer much lower than asking. We will be looking not only at initial cost but life-cycle costs for whatever we purchase. Knowing the ‘neighborhood’ and the reputation of developers is important.

Right after Thanksgiving our home was shown three times with “high interest” feedback. The Realtor’s comment about visitors during the Holidays appears to be on target.
 
If I was lucky enough/shrewd enough, whatever enough/ to get a home on Bainbridge Island they would only be able to remove me in a box.
 
Our home is truly magical... If only one of the kids had settled in the metro area they would have had to bury us in the yard or at sea....

I was at my dentist in near Bremerton today, one of the other patents turned out to live near us. The next thing I knew everyone wanted to look at our listing on the Internet. We are such old salts out here.. dentist's daughter is at the Naval Academy. I love these folks. Between their professional skills and the community culture I will miss them so much. I will commute from Portland for their care and camaraderie.
 
It has suddenly gotten crazy. I appears that we have an offer coming our way and today there are showings, essentially, back to back. Each time a Realtor shows the house they leave a card. There are about 45 in the stack. My RE team says that many houses have had little to no traffic. The only issue with our house is that it is custom, not designed to appeal to the multitude.

Maybe, maybe, we will get lucky this week. I am so glad we have the Realtor is seasoned.

I will be SOOO to have this over with.
 
There seems to be a spurt in the real estate market here in western PA. My friend put her house on the market the beginning of this month and told me yesterday that she had sold it to a young single lady(her mother was buying it for her for cash). They had low-balled an offer earlier but came back with a stronger bid provided she can move in a month. Hope your place sells soon, too!
 
Brat, what wonderful developments! I will be hoping that soon your house will sell, so that you can move on with your plans. :)
 
There were several who fell in love with it but their own homes hadn't sold. I think the reason why it has been on the market so long is liquidity - and the fact that in most markets across the US we are expensive. Our house is particularly attractive to older couples because the entire first floor (w master, study, garage, et. all) is accessible and the yard is small but there is lots of room on the 2nd floor for guests.

Younger couples are too busy to enjoy the view and have children who they want to play in the yard.
 
We went on our first serious home hunting trip to Portland. There is so much on the market but not that many with floor plans, and in neighborhoods, that suit our taste.

We saw one today that could work BUT it had been remodeled to suit a special taste... the guest bath was all in black, very abstract, and the master bath had been eeeh, extensively remodeled. There is a huge custom two-head shower with a huge picture-window that opens to the bedroom. :blush: Our realtor blushed when she saw that. My husband said it reminded him of a certain street in Amsterdam in the 60s. :ROFLMAO: Any offer would take into consideration the cost 'restoration'.
 
From what you describe, it looks like another sign that the economy is recovering. I'll drink to that.
 
Good luck with your house hunting.

Is said homeowner selling those bathrooms as being an upgraded feature of the home?
 
I suspect the owner bought it for a rental (this building does not limit rentals), it is near a University and it will likely be vacant in June. The current tenants are obviously guys.
 
Portland State University. American Plaza, Lincoln Tower. MLS# 9090141 for those who are curious.

For those following the core area condo market Sunday's auction results at the John Ross (entry level units in the South Waterfront neighborhood) are posted on OregonLive Front Porch.
 
I think we have addressed all concerns of our buyer, waiting for a sign off on all but the funding contingency.

We have started to pack stuff we wouldn't need even if the offer fails. All that would be required is to stow the boxes away and mop the floors to resume showing. I really want them to fish or cut bait as prime selling season is approaching.
 
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