Real Estate Stress

05/03/2006 Joan "of Yelp" S. says:

It sure is stressful!  I bought a 1957 house in the Valley a few years ago and it needed a whole lot of work that was not obvious.  I didn't have a very good home inspector who missed a lot of important problems.  Whatever you buy, get a good inspection.  Pay more to get the best inspector you can find & in the long run you will save a ton of grief.  If you are looking at houses, and there are any big trees near the property, be sure  to also get a separate video line inspection of the water pipes.  A chimney inspection also......chimney work is expensive.  Any problems detected during the inspection process means a credit off the purchase price, usually.
When selling your place, remember that overpricing is the kiss of death.  It will sit on the market forever.
As far as your area, I know nothing about it....sorry.    
Good luck!

05/04/2006 doug m. says:

thanks much for the advice.  yeah, hidden issues are wack. we're hoping we're pricing right and wont have it on the market too long. her condo is pretty nice. again thanks.

05/11/2006 Laura L. says:

This post has been flagged as inappropriate by the community and has been removed.

05/15/2006 Jay H. says:

Yes, it is stressful.  Everyone has their hand in your pocket and no one has your best interests at heart.  In today's market you can be a little hard headed on the buying side.  Houses are staying on the market a long time and many sellers are very motivated.  My wife is a real estate agent and the buyer she represented on her last transaction received half of her closing costs plus probably about $12,000 for repairs (including a cracked chimney) on top of an already reduced price.  Condos are actually selling pretty well as they are about the only things out there that many people can afford right now.

Keep your cool and be stubborn.

If you don't yet have an agent, let me know and I'll put you in contact with my wife.

05/15/2006 Jay H. says:

Hey, I just read your reviews and it seems we see eye to eye on Sr. Fish and El 7 Mares (La Playita).  I am convinced that the Sr. Fish in South Pasadena put me in the hospital for a week with some awful employee-not-washing-his-hands -well-enough-after-using-the-t oilet bug.  I'm not reviewing it because I can't prove it, but it was awful.  I guess that could be one of the risks of adventure eating...  maybe I shouldn't complain.  (I'm still never going back there...)

I guess I've plain gone off topic, haven't I...

05/16/2006 doug m. says:

Yo Jay. Thanks for the support. We have an agent currently, but i'll keep your wife in mind. does she have much knowledge of the silverlake to south pass area? Glendale?

You needn't ever feel like you've gone off the topic when you're talking Fish Taco's.

01/31/2007 Sky M. says:

Hey Doug,

Im a broker in Los Feliz and the best piece of advice I have ever heard re:selling comes from a 75 year old guy in my office;
"A house is like a cookie, hot and fresh out of the oven. If the cookie is priced right then everyone will want it but if it is too expensive then it will just sit there and it will become cold and stale."

Price 10% under market and watch the bidding begin.

01/31/2007

This post was removed because the yelper who wrote it has closed their Yelp account and is no longer a registered yelper.

01/31/2007 hen "certified 100% usda organic lil' chicken" a. says:

it's harder to sell condos if it's inside a large condo complex....and there are other units currently for sale...it's always....for relatively the same price....people always want the best and most upgraded....so...sometimes..it might be worth putting in some elbow grease and upgrading the look a bit...only if you can do it yourself.and not spending a fortune.....changing out cabinets doors...changing out doors...painting the inside..(i recommend white)....can really help sell.....empty out any and all decorations..nothing on the walls....and only have the basic furniture to make the place look clean and let buyers easily imagine what or how they can decorate the place....

i sold my home on the first day in san diego...more than my asking price....while other houses sat....i painted the interior 2,300 sq. ft. high ceiling home all white....sanded and painted all the cabinet covers...(about $400 in cost in supplies to myself).....and re-carpeted (with cheap but clean looking carpet...about $1,500).....painted even the inside of the garage....basically...clean green simple lawn..and just no maintainence green shrub outside...shrubs were like $10  $15 each.....inside...i had just a bed in each room..nothing else....sofa, coffee table, tv, small dining table in the family room...nothing but a single sofa table agains the wall in the living room...

01/31/2007 hen "certified 100% usda organic lil' chicken" a. says:

i used the cheapest wholesale paint possible also....$6~$7 per gallon....(forget about the $20 per gallon paints at home depot)....nobody will know the difference.... ~.^

02/01/2007 Joan "of Yelp" S. says:

I sold my last house in an hour!  Talk about priced right...
Yeah, overpricing is the kiss of death.

02/01/2007 Joan "of Yelp" S. says:

God this is an OLD thread, didn't realize I was repeating myself.

02/01/2007 Wilbur "Meeeooow" L. says:

make sure your house is CLEAN.  nothing scares off potential buyers than a house full of clutter.  repaint the rooms and remove all excess furniture so your home looks larger.

when i bought my place, the owners were an elderly couple that did not clean up their clutter.  according to the listing agent, this scared off a lot of buyers.  therefore i lowballed them, and after a few counter-offers, i bought the place for $50k below asking a couple years back.

02/01/2007 doug m. says:

hey guys, thanks for the advice, but if you notice the date at which this was posted i'm sure you'll assume that we either dealt with the situation....or have gone our seperate ways after driving each other crazy. Fortunately, it was the first. We are now happy and settled in Eagle Rock in our new digs. It took a while to sell the condo...but finally did for a reasonable price. Our agent for the sell sucked ass in my opinion....but our buy agent was a bit better. It was definitely a learning experience.

peas.

02/01/2007

This post was removed because the yelper who wrote it has closed their Yelp account and is no longer a registered yelper.

02/01/2007 hen "certified 100% usda organic lil' chicken" a. says:

*dope~!*...i hate it went people bring back talk threads drom the dead.....

02/01/2007 Joan "of Yelp" S. says:

ME TOO.
Hen, did you submit  that zipcode search idear to feedback@yelp?