Any good stories about selling your house?
 

So often I read comments like, "We've moved X times since we bought into TV."
I had to wonder, does any one have any remarkable stories about all those moves? Things you didn't expect? Or always smooth as silk? (TIA.)

We had a couple back out on a deal. No problem give me the good faith deposit. Oh no not so easy.

Relator was useless, title office who held the deposit were rude. Everyone wished me luck.

So I sued the title office and buyers in small claims. It took seven months before I prevailed.

Edit to add this was a Villages home.

Just sold our Michigan home in July. 45 showings in 4 days with 15 offers over asking price. That was great! We took the highest offer and then the buyers inspection. Everything went great until the last thing they checked was the sewer line and found a hole in the clay pipe about 8 feet outside the house. I was getting quotes to replace or install a liner that were running $20,000+. It was the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat in two days! I ended up finding a plumber that just lined the bad spot as the rest was good so it only cost $6,500 and I was happy with that.

Wow, clay pipe for sewer, now that is old.

Village of Springdale ... sold in 5 days John Starr Remax .. seamless transaction

Once had an estate agent come to give a valuation for our house to go on market.
He asked what we were hoping to make on the house.
We quoted a number, and he bought the house on the spot.
Far as I know, the family still live there.
Quickest sale we ever had.

When we sold our villa late last year, the Villages Realtor put up an open house sign in front of our property. Unfortunately she banged the sign right through our sprinkler line. Around the same time our lawn mower guy ran over a sprinkler head that didn’t retract. We were part-time Villagers and now I don’t have to worry about our 61 sprinkler heads at the Villages since we moved back up north.

I should add that our Villages realtor gave us a $100 gift certificate at Lowe’s as a result.

The house is 70 years old this year. Hard to believe that we were in that house for 36 years but everything was redone at least once. The kitchen was redone three times and the main bathroom twice. I did all of it myself and I patted myself on my back when the inspector said everything was rock solid.

Language
 

Always get a kick out of the language variations either side of the pond. I now know a little more about estate agent vs letting agent vs real estate agent and even a bit about a Licensed Conveyancer. :-)

My up north house was built in 1971 and had terra cotta (clay) sewer pipes.

From the net:
"Clay pipes were commonly used between 1900 and 1980. They provided an economical way for builders and sewer workers to create main sewer lines for all building types and locations."

Our septic systems have clay pipe up north

I’ll be selling my house myself in Briarwood this Fall when I get back. Why are people telling me I will get less if I sell myself. I am doing all the work an agent would do, photographs, marketing, showings, etc. why is there the impression I can’t ask the same amount a realtor would for the asking price?

You can ask. Most buyers will offer less deducting for the commission. Negotiations will determine selling price. Comps are easy in TV since the houses are similar, upgrade values known. It’s a buyers market now, unless your home is on a great lot or offers some other desirable features it may take a while.

If you do FSBO use a RE attorney for the contract, not a title company or Internet blank that isn’t reviewed by an attorney. It’s critical to have any contract reviewed. You’ll need to decide if you’ll offer an agent who brings a buyer a commission and how much.

My guess it's the profit motive

We just sold our home to the third buyer that made an appointment to see it. It took 3 weeks to sell however it came on the market the day before Debbie storms came in with heavy rain, first open house rained, 2nd open house rained, sold on the day of the 3rd open house. There were only 2 four bedroom homes on water available and now there is only one. So, if there are buyers that want 4 bedrooms and want it to be on a water front lot, very slim pickings.

Yeah, they were great. Until the ground shifted or a Magnolia tree grew up and its roots stretched out in search of moisture - easily found in a sewer pipe, unfortunately. Even PVC pipe will get brittle after years in the ground. No real good solution, unfortunately. Maybe steel-braided pex, like I use for my washing machine hoses?

Had built a four bedroom home on Lake Hartwell in SC and had three buyers bidding on it. Sold for $25 k over the asking price. Had another home where soon to be ex and I agreed to split the difference between the mortgage and an independent appraisal. During the crash about ten years ago prices were down. She drug out the divorce for over a year. After that year prices went way up in that market. Got divorced. Paid her the previous amount from the appraisal. Sold it three months later for $50 k over the appraised amount. Hope no one knows her as I’m sure she would want another $25 k. Remember, we had an agreement.

///

Perfect example of that special house & lot. A CYV with no view on a busy street not as easy to sell.

Good job selling quickly

Was it an MLS or VLS or FSBO listing? Some people think that matters. I think no matter who listed you’d sell quickly due to your property

The Villages, I feel that is the only way to move them fast. They sell way more re-sales than all of the MLS agencies combined.

Hmmm, interesting. Data source?

The Florida Realtors Report.

Florida Market Reports | Florida Realtors

This is the closest I could find in my attempt to validate your claim. Perhaps you can provide a more direct link / data? Trying to figure out, also, how a Realtor's report would have data from non-real estate agents like The Village's Agents?

First of all, congratulations on the sale of your home in The Villages. I know you and your wife are ready for some life changes and I wish you both the best.

When we sold one of our Village's homes, we didn't even get it listed on FSBO and it was sold. We happened to notice The Villages was holding an open house that day three doors down. We looked at each other and decided why not take advantage of the foot traffic. We didn't even finish putting the sign in the ground and people were at the door to take a look.

Some of our neighbors who heard we were moving told us we'd never get that price and it was quite high but we knew it was a good, well cared for product that was furnished. We had invested money into improvements and we diligently monitored real estate prices for our home model and in general in The Villages.

We accepted the offer and a check from the first couple going through the house. They were extremely familiar with the ins and outs of buying in The Villages, fees, restrictions, etc. They had done their legwork and we provided the offer to purchase contract provided by our attorney backed title company.

We went over the clauses and upon agreement, the offer was accepted. Everything went smoothly and closing was timely. Everyone was happy and we banked the realtor fee we would paid. There definitely is a place for realtors, many people don't have a clue regarding home sales. For them, realtors are a necessity.

If you have the wherewithal for selling by yourself, go for it. We've never had anyone try to negotiate an adjusted price for the realtors fee. But if they had, we would have declined and rejected the offer.

If I wasn't in the midst of packing I would show you. The figures for The Villages Agents is sent to each home every quarter showing the quarterly sales as well as year to date for both sold and pending sales which you can compare to the MLS sold and pending homes for the same period.. You need to do your own homework from this point on.

Just wondering, how many folks who are still reading this forum have actually moved “back north”?

Btw, we tried The Villages and ended up moving back to the Midwest. We still enjoy renting there occasionally but it’s not for us on a long-term basis.

Wow! That was quick. I wish you the best in your new place.

Well, I've told this story before, but it's still the most "interesting" house buying story I've ever heard.

My seller stole a chair that was on the inventory list before the sale, which I discovered in the morning pre-buy inspection, and after the closing, I found them in my new living room trying to steal the TV.

They acted like I was a hillbilly hick for being outraged to find them in my home, stealing my TV. They snidely asked (in their nasally NY accents) "where the hell are you from, anyway?" While they stood there berating me in my own home, I called the Sumter Sheriff, and reported a home invasion and burglary. Instead of a squad car and the crooks carried off in cuffs, I got 20 questions. The moment I mentioned that I'd just driven from the closing to find these crooks in my new living room, they told me to take it up with my closing agent.

The worst part (other than cops that don't enforce burglary) was the Villages closing agents, who refused to enforce the contract. When I told them to cancel the deal for contract failure over the stolen chair, they said I'd forfeit my $10,000 deposit -- forcing me to close the deal anyway. They put us in different rooms for the signing, and cut the crooks loose a half an hour before us, giving them time to beat me to the house.

The crooks finally left, laughing at me, when I hung up the phone with the Sheriff. At least, they didn't get the living room TV. But as they drove away in their Porsche Cayenne SUV, I could see the bedroom TV and TV stand in the tailgate window.

It was a helluva welcome to "Florida's Friendliest Hometown"!