House Talk

The house has been on the market for about 4 weeks. It's a really good house. It's 3 bedrooms, 8 rooms, hardwoods, character (arts and crafts bungalow, people, the architecture of the early 1900s!! (and late 1800s). This house should sell like that. Oh wait, I forgot. There are 32 stairs up to the front door and no driveway. God forbid you don't have a driveway. It's on a dead-end street and I park in front of the house every goddamn day of the year. It's not a problem. But no... lazy people don't want to even walk up the freaking stairs to see the inside.

Anyway, in the first month there hasn't been much activity:

2 individual showings
2 calls for drive-bys, but no follow-up calls
5 people came to the open house, 2 went up the stairs and 3 kept going after telling the realtor that there were too many stairs.

Other factors that have impacted the progress:

Father's Day
Summer
Independence Day
School getting out

The realtor said it would be a good idea to lower the price to below a certain amount, to attract another group of buyers. SO... I did. And now I'm not sure if I should be regretting it. My brother said that realtors just want you to lower the price so it will sell faster, and that they don't care what it sells for, they get their commission either way. It's too late; I've lowered the price. What the hell am I supposed to do? I know that listings get stale, I know that people don't like to look at a house that's been on the market for a long time because they automatically assume something is wrong with it. I do it - I don't want to look at that house that's been listed for a year because clearly there's something that is turning people away. I assume I'm paying a realtor because that person is an expert, and they are getting paid not only to advertise and manage the showings and closing and all that, but also because they know what will sell a house. I know it's a little like a used car salesman, but I also know that I'm pricing the house at a price that is comfortable for me, and that if someone offers something lower than the acceptable price, I'm going to turn it down. Plain and simple. It's just frustrating to get advice from people who've never sold a house before and then to second-guess my decisions, especially when it's sort of too late to go back on it.

Today's the second open house. I have to do a little cat-hair-cleaning and sweeping up of some catnip that I gave the kitties to relax them. Among all this house process, one cat was accidentally left out of the house all night, then spent the next whole day hiding under the bed. The other one has been pulling her fur out and has a bald belly and back of the hind legs. The vet says she's stressed. Or that it's an allergy. She gave her an allergy shot and if her fur grows back, it was probably that. But I'm banking on stress, mainly because the house is really clean, all her toys are put away, I'm never home because I'm either working, going to the gym, or looking for condos (I'm on a break from that last one until the house sells). Also, the neighbor's cat keeps peeing on the back door so I'm constantly cleaning it up. And the other neighbor's cat is spending lots of time in the front garden. (Garden. Ha! Weed bed, more like it.)

So anyway, I have to shower, tidy up, and get out of the house and find something to do while this open house goes on. The plan is to shop for a new swim suit. Fun.