Hick gave the Realtor Guy a walk-through of Bargain House on Tuesday. Supposedly Hick had moved all his tools out, but left the furniture there. I'm hoping he actually put the bed together in the front bedroom. I'd rather have everything cleared out, but Hick said he wanted to show how a bed would fit. I think that takes the prospective buyer out of their dream. They want to imagine their own stuff inside a "new" house.
Anyhoo... I've seen worse pictures on listings, with a tenant's clutter and dirty clothes and hoarded treasures and wall hangings with questionable taste. So a couple beds in the bedrooms are not the end of the world. I did suggest that Hick take down the hand towels hanging in the bathrooms, and let the main tub go without a shower curtain, to emphasize its newness. Hick did the Beauty Shop no favors with his choice of a shower curtain.
Speaking of bathrooms, Realtor Guy said he will list it as a 2-bredroom, 2-bathroom house. That these days, nobody calls a bathroom with just a shower a 3/4 bath.
Realtor Guy wants Hick to fix a minor problem with the front porch. He said some bricks are loose, and they will be noticed in the picture of the front of the house. He asked how Hick got away without a handrail on the front porch, and Hick said, "Huh. I don't know. I guess the inspector likes me." Hick says Realtor Guy didn't mention it, but he still wants to put another coat of green paint on the front door. Which matches the roof.
In the cellar, Realtor Guy found a board that shows old termite evidence. Hick gave him a copy of the certificate that Bargain House was treated for termites by a licensed exterminator just a couple months ago. Hick said he did that because he had also seen old evidence on some boards up under the house, but never any signs of active termites. Realtor Guy said that's good, and took the certificate, and told Hick to cover up or get rid of that one board in the cellar.
Realtor Guy liked Bargain House. He asked Hick if he'd done all that work himself, which Hick confirmed. Not slighting Old Buddy. Just emphasizing that a contractor was not needed for the renovation. Just a couple of professionals here and there, like for the ceiling patch-and-match in the kitchen, and digging out and replacing the sewer line. Realtor Guy was impressed, and Hick was VALidated.
Realtor Guy is sending his photographer on Monday or Tuesday. He said he will honor our contract with Realtor, and only take 5% for his commission. He's doing it for all her properties. He mentioned the price Hick had originally mentioned to Realtor when Bargain House was about half done. Realtor Guy said, "That's not enough!" Hick agreed, and added $19,000 to that, for a starting price.
Realtor Guy said he's going to push Bargain House with a certain type of loan that I forget. He told Hick that he might need to put in a vapor barrier under the floor with this kind of loan. Hick said we'll cross that bridge if we come to it. He's not sure how much that would cost, and what type of buyer we might get. In case they don't need that kind of loan.
This is a good time of year to get a house on the market, I think.
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