The photographer came last night to take photos of the house. It didn't take too long but she did take many. We had to remove some things out of the way that didn't look bad but the realtor wanted a clean shot of the rooms. The photographer will take the pictures and do her thing by cropping or editing the pictures and send these to the realtor. The realtor will write the copy for the ads, flyers and MLS listing on the Internet. She will pick out what pictures will be used and then send it to their layout person to finish.
Sometime next week, we will have the For Sale sign in place and then the real fun begins. All the realtors from this office will make a trip to the house to view it and then it will be open for all the other realtors around to come take a look.
We are in no hurry so if it takes a while to sell, we are OK with that. If it is sold before we are ready to make that move to South Carolina, we will rent around the area until that time arrives. The house looks terrific and we have done everything we can to make it presentable to people. There will always be people who come in and make comments as to why they don't like something. Everyone will have their idea in their mind as to what they want and if they don't see it or feel it, this is their decision to make to walk away and look at another place. We did the same thing when we looked for a single story house. Some of the homes were in poor condition, or needed a face-lift, or just wasn't in the right area. So many things you have to look at when buying. It took us a while to find the home we are in right now. You just have to have patience when selling but it isn't easy. You are anxious to get your life moving on and not wanting to go through that waiting period.
So now it is on to the next step in the process. We are excited and anxious to get that first person to look at the house and get their comments. Comments are just that, comments. It is not a reflection on you but what fits with them. It is still hard not to take it personally and grumble about their intelligence but we have to keep it to ourselves and smile and know you will get through the waiting.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
House almost on the market
Today we will having a photographer come in to take pictures of the house. We have signed our contract with the realtor so the next step are pictures. I just need to make sure everything is in its place and is looking the best it can be for the shots. I also hope the weather will corporate and the fog will lift and we have sunny skies.
The next step will be for the realtors to put the flyers together and the listing posted on several sites. We should have a For Sale sign in the yard by next week. When the house sales, and it is before Dad is ready to retire, we will rent a place. You might be asking why are we doing this now rather than later, it is because we are not sure how quickly it will sell. Of course, we are being told many different things. We have done all we can do to have the house ready. We have the neutral colors, de-cluttered as much as we can, staged the house to give the best look possible, and everything is neat and tidy. Now we wait for that buyer.
We are looking forward to moving to our house in South Carolina. We haven't spent much time there but when we do, it is so relaxing and the people are so friendly. We are looking forward to our trip in October. Hopefully it won't be too long after that we will move there permanently and enjoy everything around us.
The next step will be for the realtors to put the flyers together and the listing posted on several sites. We should have a For Sale sign in the yard by next week. When the house sales, and it is before Dad is ready to retire, we will rent a place. You might be asking why are we doing this now rather than later, it is because we are not sure how quickly it will sell. Of course, we are being told many different things. We have done all we can do to have the house ready. We have the neutral colors, de-cluttered as much as we can, staged the house to give the best look possible, and everything is neat and tidy. Now we wait for that buyer.
We are looking forward to moving to our house in South Carolina. We haven't spent much time there but when we do, it is so relaxing and the people are so friendly. We are looking forward to our trip in October. Hopefully it won't be too long after that we will move there permanently and enjoy everything around us.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
House has been staged
We are getting ready to put our house on the market and because we had taken so many things to our other house in South Carolina, our house was pretty bare. We were able to live just fine in it but to try and sell a home with wide open spaces, it does not give a buyer a sense of what it could be. So we had it staged.
Staging a home requires someone to come into your house, take pictures, look around to get a feel of the house, and return later to change everything. This is what happened on Saturday, the 16th. The realtor we have, had someone that could do just that for us. We did not have a bed in the second bedroom and used that room more as a catch all. It now looks like a bedroom. They placed a day bed, covered it, put on some pillows and placed a tray with napkins and a clear coffee cup filled with coffee beans to represent a cup of coffee. She had us remove a book case (we had two) to make it less cluttered, move some things around and it looks like a regular bedroom now. I will have to post some pictures later.
The designer went to the master bedroom and really did not have to do too much. She placed another bedspread on top of the one we have, which had different shades of blue, added more pillows, and the room popped. Very pretty! We had a dull room after seeing what she chose. We did like the change.
The second bathroom was next. Really not too much was added but some small touches to the counter. It just dressed it up. Everything else stayed the same.
The main room took the biggest change. We had purchased a couch before Jennifer, Noah, and Madilynn came to visit, as we did not have seating for them. We had moved the leather couch we had, to South Carolina. All we had were two recliners for our own use. Those chairs and couch were moved from their original positions. The couch was moved to the place of the recliners. The recliners were moved to the opposite side, facing the couch with our large coffee table in between. It was a nice set up for visiting with people but not a great layout if everyone in the room wanted to see TV. Because it is just the two of us, it didn't matter, as long as we could see it.
We have a long room, so with the couch moved up, the room behind it was a place for a small table and two chairs. It was going to be set up to use as a game table or a place where you could play cards, or even for that cozy place to have a cup of coffee or tea, and to look at the great view we have.
An end table was repositioned with a lamp, a divider was put up with a large ceramic pot with reeds, and some other touches. The dining room table was kept pretty much the way it was except a table runner was used instead of the place mats. The other built-in we have contained the wine cooler, on top of the counter, had a large sailboat that Dad had put together. This was left in its place as well as an empty wine rack for the over flow of wine bottles that did not fit into the cooler. A decorative plate that went along with the wine theme, was placed. A painting, we had of dolphins and the undersea, was replaced with a mirror. Upon looking at the mirror, you had the reflection of our view.
Anyone that has placed a house for sale, knows the stress you get from having to make sure the house is the best it can be, for the buyers. Our house now looks great but it has caused some upheaval with me. Things have been moved and changed. I have been needing things to be kept in its place for my own cognitive needs. It has been stressful to not have that sameness. I will get used to the placement of the new things and where the old things were put, but it was a lot to handle in two hours.
We are hoping to sell the present home so we can take the proceeds to place on the new home in South Carolina. We are really hoping that it will be enough to pay that home off. We would then be without a mortgage. My car has been paid off. We don't have a lot of debt from credit cards either. A good position for retirement.
We would not move to the new house just yet but would rent for probably another year to a year and a half. Of course, this depends on how quickly it sells.
The For Sale sign has not been placed yet but should be in the next few days. Then the "fun" begins.
Staging a home requires someone to come into your house, take pictures, look around to get a feel of the house, and return later to change everything. This is what happened on Saturday, the 16th. The realtor we have, had someone that could do just that for us. We did not have a bed in the second bedroom and used that room more as a catch all. It now looks like a bedroom. They placed a day bed, covered it, put on some pillows and placed a tray with napkins and a clear coffee cup filled with coffee beans to represent a cup of coffee. She had us remove a book case (we had two) to make it less cluttered, move some things around and it looks like a regular bedroom now. I will have to post some pictures later.
The designer went to the master bedroom and really did not have to do too much. She placed another bedspread on top of the one we have, which had different shades of blue, added more pillows, and the room popped. Very pretty! We had a dull room after seeing what she chose. We did like the change.
The second bathroom was next. Really not too much was added but some small touches to the counter. It just dressed it up. Everything else stayed the same.
The main room took the biggest change. We had purchased a couch before Jennifer, Noah, and Madilynn came to visit, as we did not have seating for them. We had moved the leather couch we had, to South Carolina. All we had were two recliners for our own use. Those chairs and couch were moved from their original positions. The couch was moved to the place of the recliners. The recliners were moved to the opposite side, facing the couch with our large coffee table in between. It was a nice set up for visiting with people but not a great layout if everyone in the room wanted to see TV. Because it is just the two of us, it didn't matter, as long as we could see it.
We have a long room, so with the couch moved up, the room behind it was a place for a small table and two chairs. It was going to be set up to use as a game table or a place where you could play cards, or even for that cozy place to have a cup of coffee or tea, and to look at the great view we have.
An end table was repositioned with a lamp, a divider was put up with a large ceramic pot with reeds, and some other touches. The dining room table was kept pretty much the way it was except a table runner was used instead of the place mats. The other built-in we have contained the wine cooler, on top of the counter, had a large sailboat that Dad had put together. This was left in its place as well as an empty wine rack for the over flow of wine bottles that did not fit into the cooler. A decorative plate that went along with the wine theme, was placed. A painting, we had of dolphins and the undersea, was replaced with a mirror. Upon looking at the mirror, you had the reflection of our view.
Anyone that has placed a house for sale, knows the stress you get from having to make sure the house is the best it can be, for the buyers. Our house now looks great but it has caused some upheaval with me. Things have been moved and changed. I have been needing things to be kept in its place for my own cognitive needs. It has been stressful to not have that sameness. I will get used to the placement of the new things and where the old things were put, but it was a lot to handle in two hours.
We are hoping to sell the present home so we can take the proceeds to place on the new home in South Carolina. We are really hoping that it will be enough to pay that home off. We would then be without a mortgage. My car has been paid off. We don't have a lot of debt from credit cards either. A good position for retirement.
We would not move to the new house just yet but would rent for probably another year to a year and a half. Of course, this depends on how quickly it sells.
The For Sale sign has not been placed yet but should be in the next few days. Then the "fun" begins.
Monday, March 14, 2011
We have trips and things coming up
We have a very busy end of the month of March and most of April. At the end of March, on the 28th, we will have some of our furniture and things packed up and then on Tuesday, the 29th, we will have everything loaded to be sent to Bluffton and our house. On Thursday night, we will be flying to Ft. Lauderdale, FL for my 40th High School Reunion. It will only be a quick trip; we will get there on April 1, early in the morning after doing the red eye from LAX. Friday night we have an ice breaker get- together and then Saturday night, we have the reunion. We will fly out on Sunday morning, April 3, to get back to LAX and then home.
Dad has a bid on Thursday, April 7. We have the MS Walk on Saturday, April 9. We will then fly again to South Carolina to see our house and spend time there on April 10 and will be there until the 24th, which we will fly back home.
On Monday, April 25, I will be meeting my foot doctor to go over what will be happening on May 2 when I have bunion surgery on my left foot. I won't be able to put any weight on that foot for a couple of weeks but the healing will take about 6-8 weeks. I am hoping for the lesser side.
Our anniversary is June 12. We wanted to plan something but I am not sure what I will be or won't be able to do. We may have to wait and celebrate in the fall. This will be our 40th anniversary - WOW! I have known Dad for most of my life. I meet him when I was a freshman in High School at the age of 14 and we dated all 4 years. After graduating and three weeks later, we were married. I still can't believe it has been that long. I had only dated one guy and it was Dad. I guess you can say he was my soul mate.
What we will do the rest of the summer is still up in the air. A family reunion has been talked about but that has not been finalized. It will be just nice to stop and catch our breath.
Dad has a bid on Thursday, April 7. We have the MS Walk on Saturday, April 9. We will then fly again to South Carolina to see our house and spend time there on April 10 and will be there until the 24th, which we will fly back home.
On Monday, April 25, I will be meeting my foot doctor to go over what will be happening on May 2 when I have bunion surgery on my left foot. I won't be able to put any weight on that foot for a couple of weeks but the healing will take about 6-8 weeks. I am hoping for the lesser side.
Our anniversary is June 12. We wanted to plan something but I am not sure what I will be or won't be able to do. We may have to wait and celebrate in the fall. This will be our 40th anniversary - WOW! I have known Dad for most of my life. I meet him when I was a freshman in High School at the age of 14 and we dated all 4 years. After graduating and three weeks later, we were married. I still can't believe it has been that long. I had only dated one guy and it was Dad. I guess you can say he was my soul mate.
What we will do the rest of the summer is still up in the air. A family reunion has been talked about but that has not been finalized. It will be just nice to stop and catch our breath.
Friday, March 11, 2011
The Tsunami
We are fine here in Southern California. We are close to the beach but we are on high ground. All the beaches are closed. Two schools close to the beach are closed. Not expecting really high waves but the current and waves will be bad so people are being kept from the water. The tsunami is just now coming into shore. The water is being sucked out to sea and then comes back after a couple of minutes. This tusmani will be lasting for a few more hours before it is all done. Large boats have moved out of the harbor into deeper water. Harbors and walk paths have been closed for safety. Everyone along the beaches are keeping updated. No major evacuations are being given but if one is requested they are urging people to head the request. Fascinating by what is happening but glad to be on high ground. Boats in the harbor of Santa Cruz, which is north of us, has had damage of their boats in their harbor. No injuries to anyone.
Just think, the earthquake happened in Japan and we are feeling the effects of it now. Wow! This is a first for us being here in California. They said the earthquake in Japan was 3,000 times as powerful as the earthquake in Riverside CA which was a major earthquake that did a lot of damage.
Just think, the earthquake happened in Japan and we are feeling the effects of it now. Wow! This is a first for us being here in California. They said the earthquake in Japan was 3,000 times as powerful as the earthquake in Riverside CA which was a major earthquake that did a lot of damage.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
What I am worrying about...
I am to have another colonoscopy next Monday, Jan 17. That unto itself is no big deal. People have them all the time. It is not much fun, especially preparing for it but once you reach the age of 50 and beyond you will need to start having them. Usually after you have one, it is not required to have another for at least 10 years if everything is OK. If you have a polyp that they have to remove and everything is still OK after looking at it, you will be asked to come back in 5 years for another.
Now if they find a polyp that looks suspicious but is not a definite diagnosis of colon cancer, they will ask you to return in three years. This is where I am at. I have been asked to have the procedure because apparently I had one removed three years ago that was suspicious of colon cancer but it wasn't definite.
This came as a big surprise to me when I went in for that appointment. I was told that my results were normal and now I find out they weren't. So I have to worry (and really try not too but that is hard to do) and wait for Monday. My procedure is scheduled for 12:20 PM and I will be going home by 2:15 PM. I really do hope that I get some results before I leave and not have to wait for any biopsies if they have to do anything like that.
I am now on a restricted diet for three days before I start the prep work on Sunday for Monday. The prep work consists of drinking a gallon of this preparation that is awful to drink. It just cleans you out. I know TMI (too much information). I guess you can look at it as a very quick way to lose weight but not in a very pleasant way.
So that is the news I am worrying about. It has caused me to have a headache everyday just from tension and not to sleep real well. I am able to get a sleeping pill to help me on that. I am scared but I try not to say too much. Dad will be with me on Monday. If it is what it is, we will deal with it, what else can we do. We just have to think positive that I will be OK.
Now if they find a polyp that looks suspicious but is not a definite diagnosis of colon cancer, they will ask you to return in three years. This is where I am at. I have been asked to have the procedure because apparently I had one removed three years ago that was suspicious of colon cancer but it wasn't definite.
This came as a big surprise to me when I went in for that appointment. I was told that my results were normal and now I find out they weren't. So I have to worry (and really try not too but that is hard to do) and wait for Monday. My procedure is scheduled for 12:20 PM and I will be going home by 2:15 PM. I really do hope that I get some results before I leave and not have to wait for any biopsies if they have to do anything like that.
I am now on a restricted diet for three days before I start the prep work on Sunday for Monday. The prep work consists of drinking a gallon of this preparation that is awful to drink. It just cleans you out. I know TMI (too much information). I guess you can look at it as a very quick way to lose weight but not in a very pleasant way.
So that is the news I am worrying about. It has caused me to have a headache everyday just from tension and not to sleep real well. I am able to get a sleeping pill to help me on that. I am scared but I try not to say too much. Dad will be with me on Monday. If it is what it is, we will deal with it, what else can we do. We just have to think positive that I will be OK.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Hampton Lake
We started with the kitchen. What kind of cabinet do you want? What color? Light or dark? Detail or none? What type of cabinets do you need? Do you need a trash cabinet by the sink? How about a drop open tray to store your sponges, etc.? What about a separate cabinet for your cookie sheets and cutting boards? Do you want drawers for your pots and pans or just a cabinet? Would you like pull out shelves?
What do you want for the top of the cabinets? Granite? What color? Do you want a back splash? Do you want a design? How do you want the tiles to look and the color?
Now lets move onto the floor. What type of floor do you want? Wood, tile, stone? How far do you want to use this type of flooring? What about light fixtures over the kitchen island?
Do you want to upgrade anything?
So are we are using the same color cabinets and granite that are in the kitchen for all the bathrooms? Are we using carpet for the bedrooms? What color? What style? What thickness? How does it feel? How will it wear?
Oh, and what about the shower? Are we changing to tile or keeping the standard? If changing, what will it be and what color? Will both bathrooms be changed?
This process lasted all day! We started at 9:00 AM and finished around 5:00 PM. We did stop for lunch but the rest of the time we were choosing everything. We had to do it this way as making trips back and forth are difficult. This should give you a little idea of what the colors should be...
Here are some pictures of our lot and of the back.
I hope this gives you an idea of what things might be looking like. We are looking forward to seeing it all together. We are still waiting on four more things to be priced before a final contract is signed. The contractor wants to build and close on this home by Christmas. So Very quick!
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