Catherine how is house sale going?

[iris lilies]

Any progress on getting your next door house sold?

[catherine]

Hey, thanks for asking, IL...

It's actually not even on the market yet, although we have made great progress fixing it up on the inside. There have been a couple of bumps in the road.. we hired a landscaper to give the house curb appeal (just basic stuff like trimming hedges, mulching the garden, edging the walkway, and weeding between the patio brick pavers, which were OUT OF CONTROL--BIL hadn't touched them. While they were weed-whacking them, a stone flew up and shattered the French door. $500 to repair. So this cheap landscaper wound up being very expensive, and he really didn't do a very good job. He's more of a grass-cutter with no real sense of aesthetics. So the garden still looks "meh," and the bushes were attacked too aggressively so there are parts with no leaves.

The driveway SHOULD be done because of the cracks, but no way am I shelling out more money. I'm getting aggravated by BIL again, because he's SO passive-aggressive. He has absolutely no pot to p*ss in but he keeps throwing out these signals that he's not "ready."--that this is all rushing at him and he can't deal with it. . Rushing??? HE's the one who came to US LAST WINTER.. and now, 8 months later, he feels rushed? Isn't feeling BROKE the motivating force??

I've been extremely busy and have no time to manage this whole thing. DH is pretty much on it, but his relationship with his brother is not conducive to productivity. They had a huge blow-out the other day, and BIL is like a little kid. Those tactics only serve to make him more rebellious.

So anyway, I expect that it will be listed by September. NO reason why it shouldn't be. But, I've been-here-done-that before with my MIL's house in New York, and "reason" unfortunately seems to take a back seat all the time.

[Teacher Terry]

Sorry to hear that your BIL is being a pain. I hope it sells quickly so you can get this behind you.

[catherine]

When we were on vacation, my DD brought a "friend" (male) and we invited him to dinner.. He asked me when I thought DH and I would move to Burlington (DD probably told him about our love of VT). I told him "When the decision is no longer a decision--it just feels like the right thing to do."

This morning I got this in my inbox from a real estate agent in VT I had signed up with.

This is exactly the kind of house I would move to (http://www.zillow.com/homes/18-grove-street-burlington-VT_rb/?fromHomePage=true&shouldFireSellPageImplicitClaimGA=false)...

Isn't it a cutie?

[JaneV2.0]

Can you get a bridge loan? Tell BIL to start packing. :D

I'd love a little house like that, if I could find one in a location that appealed to me. Vermont is a bit far away...

[catherine]

Can you get a bridge loan? Tell BIL to start packing. :D

I'd love a little house like that, if I could find one in a location that appealed to me. Vermont is a bit far away...

Yeah, if I sold both houses and bought this one, I'd be able to get rid of all debt and NEARLY get this one paid for in cash. Then I'd be at Ground Zero for savings--in other words, any money I made, I could save, minus taxes, phone, cable, etc..

[mschrisgo2]

Wow! That IS a cute house, and the price seems so low, by California standards, anyway. It's been on the market for a long time, over 3 months. I wonder why?

[catherine]

Wow! That IS a cute house, and the price seems so low, by California standards, anyway. It's been on the market for a long time, over 3 months. I wonder why?

I don't know... definitely something to look into, but I have 3 kids and a DIL who live there, so they'd be able to give me good info on the neighborhood. Vermont real estate is VERY cheap compared to CA, but Burlington is relatively high because it's a college town, and a great community.

[iris lilies]

When we were on vacation, my DD brought a "friend" (male) and we invited him to dinner.. He asked me when I thought DH and I would move to Burlington (DD probably told him about our love of VT). I told him "When the decision is no longer a decision--it just feels like the right thing to do."

This morning I got this in my inbox from a real estate agent in VT I had signed up with.

This is exactly the kind of house I would move to (http://www.zillow.com/homes/18-grove-street-burlington-VT_rb/?fromHomePage=true&shouldFireSellPageImplicitClaimGA=false)...

Isn't it a cutie?
This house is uber cute, it is exactly the kind of of house I would love, too!

The LR with that curved doorway and partial steps up into it isreally nice, and the floors are beautiful.

[Teacher Terry]

Very cute home! It also looks like a beautiful area to live in.

[razz]

It is cute and has a lovely yard!

It will be very expensive to heat though. What does the insulation look like? How old are the windows? Lots of them too. What about the siding? The age of the wiring? Age of the roofing and eavestroughs? When was the plumbing updated?

In our neck of the woods, this house would cost another $100,000 to bring it up to a livable condition that is not impossible to heat and cool.

[sweetana3]

Those are exactly the questions that I had when checking on the listing.

[Float On]

Such a cute little house!

[iris lilies]

It is cute and has a lovely yard!

It will be very expensive to heat though. What does the insulation look like? How old are the windows? Lots of them too. What about the siding? The age of the wiring? Age of the roofing and eavestroughs? When was the plumbing updated?

In our neck of the woods, this house would cost another $100,000 to bring it up to a livable condition that is not impossible to heat and cool.

They don't have natural gas for heating fuel in that area, I know from looking at hundreds of listing in New Hampshire. So those electric baseboard heat units are common, as is wood burning stove. The house doesnt need central air in that neck of the woods, a couple of window units could be used when needed.

The porch, the room with all of the windows, shouldnt be heated.

Wiring is a concern.

If the house has orignal windows with original stormers, that is a fairly efficient system. But so very few people have the orginal storm windows these days.