As our house is back on the market again for the second time, we've had a few occasional viewing mostly on weekends which is particularly rough on Kenny since he prefers to sleep in on his days off but has to wake up earlier so we can get the house ready and vacate it before the realtors and their clients arrive. We try not to be present when potential buyers are scrutinizing our home as we realized it could be an awkward situation for everybody. We once viewed somebody's residence last year and came upon the homeowner still eating lunch with his shirt off despite being notified ahead of time.  We also marvel at how people can allow strangers to see so much clutter in their abode. Although it can get wearisome at times, we try to keep our dwelling in tiptop shape and decorated it very minimally, not kitschy. A few of the houses we've looked up so far have so much tschotschkes in every nook and cranny that it can somehow detract from the potential of the house. Let's not even mention some of the most dated or hideous decor we've ever encountered. I know we have different tastes and sense of style (nothing wrong with that) but I guess we've seen enough TV shows on TLC or HGTV to know the importance of first impressions when it comes to selling real estate. At least we think so.

Last Tuesday, Kenny told me that we had a viewing while I was sleeping . He apparently received an urgent call from our realtor about a request to show the house that night. He agreed on the condition that the master bedroom will be an exception. He didn't want to wake me up since I have to work that night . He rushed home from work to tidy up and while he was still straightening the basement, he heard voices speaking a foreign language. He came up to the first floor to find three Filipinas with their realtor (a Filipino). Despite being caught by surprise, Kenny managed to welcome them and reminded the realtor that the master bedroom was off limits for the time being. They seemed to have no problem with that and went around inspecting the house.

Kenny thought they appeared to be really interested on the number of bedrooms and were focused on how they can potentially add another bedroom in the basement . He suspects they might be a bunch of friends or relatives who'd be sharing in the purchase. They expressed their compliments over the paint color choices on the walls and seemed wowed by the decorating style and layout. Overall, the comments were positive and encouraging but we've heard them many times before when we first placed the house on the market last August. We still haven't received a reasonable offer so we try not to get too excited anymore. We've been down this road before and we are aware that it's a "buyer's market" out there right now.

 I  do love our house as it's our first one and we've put so much work on it to suit our needs and sense of style. We've shelled out considerable amount of money on some pricey upgrades so we were fairly confident that it will get sold quickly when we first placed it on the market. Alas! The real estate market deteriorated right around that time and with winter came even less chance of people being interested in purchasing and moving. Our one attempt at an open house was unsuccessful so we're not considering it again.  We also had our share of no-shows which was certainly annoying. Now that it's spring, we are hoping that we'll be able to beat the odds. Otherwise, we'll have to consider selling the house on our own, without using a realtor, which can be difficult and inconvenient to say the least.  

Allthough buying a house was nerve-wracking the first time around, it was easier and more enjoyable than selling one. When Kenny and I get into a bellyaching session on how exasperating it is becoming, I can't help but ruminate about how it wouldn't be a huge problem for me back in the Philippines if I need or want a place of my own. Modesty aside, my family have inherited substantial land and property and as long as I don't mind living in a rural area, I can have a picking of a plot of land to build a house on, with a big backyard to boot.  It might not be a grand mansion complete with all the high technology gadgets but it would be all mine. I wouldn't have to go through a credit check, save for a down payment, apply for financing and anxiously wait for approval. I also would not have the monthly mortgage payments we're paying right now. Even if we get our house sold eventually, we are faced with the possibility of buying a substandard property (and still expensive) for the sake of location.  

The one thing I learned from our home buying and selling process is the first rule of real estate: "location, location, location".  When I first came to the US, I was amazed at how much emphasis is placed on the location of one's residence. Safe and affluent neighborhoods with commendable school systems are just some of the factors that make an area with high property resale values. In order to get into one of these sought after locales, one might end up biting too much house. That is, a too-big house payment which can, at the very least, leave you with too little money for other goals: retirement, vacations, college funds for the kids. At worst, it can leave you vulnerable to foreclosure and bankruptcy.  We certainly don't want that.

Years ago, I never would have thought I'll be dealing with matters like real estate, taxes, financing, mortgages, etc. I usually wouldn't pay any attention to any subject using jargons that my brain finds too intricate to fathom. For me, those kind of stuff are for my parents to handle . I guess I have to accept the fact that I'm clearly an adult now and have to make an effort in comprehending all these business and financial verbiage  . With the help of the internet and a lot of research, Kenny and I have been able to wade through all the information and weed out the faulty ones. We just hope that we are better armed to make an intelligent decision once we find ourselves in the homebuying market again.  

Will somebody please buy our house already!

 

I can relate to this post I enjoy watching house hunters & Sell this House. Sell this house esp is fun to watch as they "stage" a house for sale. A few years ago, we were selling a home we were living in and it was a pain to keep it clean esp with two young kids. I prefered to not be at home when our realtor was showing our house. Luckily at that time, it was a sellers market so we sold our house within a few weeks. You are lucky that you have the option of living in the PI if you wanted. The rural areas are marvelous actually & that is what my parents did chosing to live partly in the PI and partly here in the USA. I was lucky enough to have a Mom with foresite to urge me to invest my salary in buying a home when I first started working, rather than spending my money on frivolous things. So I decided to buy a home in a location that is so very unafordable now to the average person, our plan is to head there when we are old and remodel our little house in paradise. anyway, good luck on selling your home. I'm sure it will sell, it just takes longer nowadays.